Help! I'm afraid to give finger foods to 9 mo. old!!!

[LHightower]

I'm hoping that someone out there can reassure me that it is okay to give "chunkier" or "little bits" of food to a 9 month old.  I am so afraid to try it because I am afraid my son will choke, gag, etc. and then I won't know what to do.  (Still haven't had a chance to take an infant CPR class)  Currently, he eats two big meals each day (i.e. 4 tbsp. dry oatmeal with 1-2 tbsp. of Stage 1 fruit or veg. baby food) along with five breastmilk feedings.  He is a big boy (19 lbs., 29 inches long) and has always had a big appetite.  At his last doctor's appointment, we found out that he dropped from the 85 percentile for weight down to the 45 percentile.      Even though this is still considered "normal," the doctor recommended that I start giving him 3 meals a day.  The problem is he doesn't want to get in the highchair for that 3rd meal!  :? He has never been a fan of it anyway but the 3rd time is definitely not working... crying and arching his back, etc. 

So, here is my dilema... I know that I need to get extra calories into him during the day but I am just too afraid to cross over to the chunkier food groups.  Maybe because he didn't even start eating solids until he was 7 months old, but the thought just terrifies me.  He still gets a dreamfeed bottle at 9:45pm  :oops: and does sleep through the night.  (I don't want to stop the dreamfeed until he is eating more during the day.)  However, he doesn't drink water or juice and is not eating "chunks" or "bits" of anything yet.  I really feel like I need to feed him more but he had such a hard time initially (that is why I delayed solids until 7 mths) that I am really concerned about the next step.... any advice??

[Daniel's mummy]

My ds has taken to finger foods like a duck to water.  We started him on a farley's rusk.  He would just hold it in his mouth until it was just one big soggy mess .  Most of it just dropped down his front but every now and then he got a bit.  At this point it wasjust practice.  Since then he has tried all sorts of foods - bread, banana, pear (very ripe), small chunks of peach (ripe and rolled in baby rice so its not so slippy), bread sticks and this week, peas.  In fact we find he's ok with anything as long as it disolves in the mouth.  He has 8 teeth already so I don't know if that particularly helps or not with the chewing.  I guess it would a bit.

Daniel surprises me though, with how well he can eat chunky foods.  I'm sure if you take it easily and slowly your ds will surprise you too.  Maybe just start by putting some small chunks of something (banana is great) on his tray and let him play with it.  If he picks it up and puts it in his mouth cheer him on, but if he just plays with it don't worry. Just wait til next time and do it again.  This is also great practice at fine motor control.  I can see Daniel improving with almost each meal when I offer him peas! :lol: It used to take him ages to pik up one pea, now he just reaches out and grabs it.

Sorry I can't be any more help. I'm sure your ds will do great.  Be brave!

[tylersmommy]

Well, you're right, if he doesn't want that 3rd meal, it's not a good idea to force it. What does his daily routine look like? Maybe there's a way to shift his current feeds around so that he is interested in that 3rd meal.

I'm a big fan of trying cheerios to get your DS used to chunky food. Take 2 cheerios and put them in your mouth or in some water so they get nice and mushy. Then offer one to him and put the other in your mouth. Don't chew it...you'll be amazed at how quickly it dissolves. Once it dissolves, you'll know his has too, and you can breathe a sigh of relief. You can continue to do this, offering a less-mushy cheerio each time until you feel more comfortable. Yes, he might gag or cough a few times every now and then, but that's normal.

I was also petrified to start Tyler on chunky foods. I didn't know CPR either, but our neighbor was a firefighter so I always looked out the window to make sure he was home those first few times I offered chunky food! :roll: I never even had a close call because I was so cautious nervous...I'd be willing to bet your DS will do great!

[LHightower]

Thank you both for replying so quickly~ I really appreciate all of your suggestions, too.  I think I am going to try to offer some Cheerios or very ripe banana this weekend.  (Have to buy it first!  )  Jonathan does have four teeth in front, but I really don't think he knows what to do with them.  After reading your reponses, I'm thinking that even if he did swallow a whole Cheerio or a small bite of banana, it really shouldn't cause him to choke afterall.  Although I imagine it would be uncomfortable.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes....it's amazing just how much us Moms can worry about this stuff!   :wink:

As for his routine, here is what most days look like: 

6:00am awake in crib
6:30am breastfed
7:45am - 9 or 10am napping
9:30am or 10 oatmeal & fruit
10:30am breastfed
11:30/12 to 1/1:30pm napping
2:30pm breastfed
3:30 - 4pm catnap (Still takes it at 9 months  :oops: )
5:30pm oatmeal & vegetables
6:30pm breastfed and to bed
9:45pm Bottle of breastmilk for dreamfeed

The times vary a little bit depending on his naps.  A few days I tried to squeeze in a meal around 1 or 1:30pm but he didn't want it.  Since I breastfeed him, it is hard for me to know how many ounces he actually gets per meal but I think it is around 5oz.  I give him 6oz for the dreamfeed.  Any  feedback regarding tweaking his routine would be great!  Thanks again!!!

[annacharlot'smom]

Hi! 

I don't really know much about anything...I am a first-time Mom!!!  What if you tried feeding him his solid breakfast before his morning nap...maybe around 7:00 a.m.?  Then bf as normal at 10:30 when he wakes.  He may be hungrier for solids at lunchtime, maybe around 11:00 or so before his second nap.  This is basically the schedule my daughter is on...though most days, her day starts around 7:00.  Don't know if this idea will help at all!  Good luck!

Jill

[LHightower]

Hi Jill,
Thanks for your reply.   Just yesterday I gave him "lunch" at 1:30pm and then breastfed him at 2:30pm.  (He had his breakfast at 10:15am)  All seemed to go fine except then he didn't want solids at 5:30pm?!  So, he still only had two meals of solids.   :?  I will try again today.  Maybe he will start to catch on. 

As for breakfast, I am hesitant to feed him solids before his am nap because his 6:30am nursing session is his longest one of the whole day!  He nurses for about 10 minutes and all other times only 5 minutes.  Therefore I don't think he would be hungry enough for solids before his 7:30am sleep.  We'll see.... if the 1:30pm lunch doesn't work today, I will try it.  I really want to get more food in to him!   

[tylersmommy]

That's when I was thinking you could add a meal in, too. Hopefully he'll catch on! In the meantime, make sure every calorie counts. Some foods are naturally rich in healthy fats, like avocado, egg yolk (can be mashed and added to just about anything), and full fat yogurt, and these are good foods to offer to help him put a little weight on. Don't worry yourself too much about his weight drop, it's pretty normal for them to start slimming down and losing their baby fat as they enter toddlerhood, especially if he's mobile. Tyler had a similar percentile drop right around then, and he's stayed in the 50th percentile since. He's just going to be a lanky kid, which is no surprise, because DH and I are built that way too! Good luck!

[LHightower]

Some good news!  These past few days Jonathan has been eating three meals of solids!    As suggested, I did some tweaking with his feeding times and it appears as though we are having some success.   (I have been feeding him solids at 7am, 11am, & 5pm) 

I also bit the bullet and gave him some Cheerios.... amazingly, he seemed to know what to do with them!  :lol: The first day, he mostly moved them around his tray but he did manage to eat about 3 of them.  (Only choked once) As of today, he ate about 1/3 cup of Cheerios!  I'm still waiting for the bananas to ripen, but I imagine he will be okay with those too.  I am also planning on offering him some egg yolk, avocado and yogurt as well.  So, while I am still extremely nervous when he is eating, it is good to see that he can handle a little "chunkier" food. 

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

[Eden's Mum]

The first finger food i used was baby rice cakes. they just can't choke on them they disintegrate so quickly when in contact iwth moisture but then it gvae me the confidence to try him on other things. I would give him anything at all as finger food. well cooked carrot sticks, well cooked broccoli florets, pasta, pitta bread fingers, you name it. Just put a selection of loads of different things on his tray and see what he goes for. don't pressure yourself that he has to eat any at first, nd do it with a main meal that you feed him so that you know he is geting the calories from the meal in addition. I can guarantee that if you gve him choclate it would disappear, no matter what happened with the other foods!!!!!!! :roll:

I started giving finger food at 6 months. we have never had a choking incident. I never left him alone with food ever. My frinds daughter regularly choked but the result was laways throwing up so the piece of food would come out at the same time. No casualties and no major trauma.

[ktmum]

I started with rusks and rice cakes and slowly progressed from there.
As long as you dont give them anything too small they seem to catch on.
Other finger foods i give her now are toast fingers, slices of avocardo, banana,peach with the skin peeled off, sponge fingers, bits of ham and thin sausages. I know its frightening but if you take it slowly and make sure they have them in a high chair supervised you will be fine
Oh and Mini babybels she loves them :wink:

[LHightower]

Thanks to everyone for all of their support and suggestions.  As of today, Jonathan will happily eat three meals of solids a day!    It seems like overnight he decided that he actually liked to eat and stopped objecting when I put him in the highchair.   The best part of all is that he is now feeding himself Cheerios, Sweet Potato Veggie Puffs, pieces of ripe banana, and avocado.  (although he really disliked the avocado!)  So, perhaps we have turned the corner... I sure hope so!  This weekend I am going to introduce some egg yolk and baby yogurt.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!   

[Daniel's mummy]

Great stuff.  Hope Jonathan keeps up the good work!