How do I know if my son is ready for finger foods?

Question

My son is 8mo old and just started (Earth's Best) 3rd foods. He is currently sitting up on his own, but not crawling yet. I watch him when he eats and I'm not sure if he is really mashing food with his gums (since I don't really know what I'm looking for). How do I know if he is ready for finger foods? If he is do you have any suggestions for good organic first finger foods? When is it safe to start something like the Gerber puffs and is there an organic version of those?

Answer 1

All babies are different and there is no set-in-stone age for when to introduce finger foods. The average age for introducing baby finger food is between 7 and 8 months of age.

Your baby should be able to "chew" using his or her gums to mash foods. Your baby should also have a pretty good pincher grasp. The pincher grasp is the the ability to grab and hold objects between the thumb and the fore finger. If your baby has the fine motor skill to manuver and grab and hold onto foods with the pincher grasp, then your baby is may be ready for finger foods.

Babies don't get the teeth they actually chew with (molars) until anytime between 13-24 months of age!

Ideal Finger foods are those foods that baby can easily pick up and easily mash between his gums. Finger foods help baby begin to learn to self-feed. Good Baby Finger Foods are any foods that baby has already had - and anything that you can make into small soft and mashable bits!

Gerber Puffs - have you read the ingredients? Take a peek and you'll see lots of sugars and other ingredients baby doesn't need!

Organic finger foods? Just buy Organic fruits & veggies, steam them until nice and soft & serve. Banana, pears, avocado are some good fruits that will be soft enough to use as finger foods, buy them Organic and VIOLA! you have Organic finger foods!

Answer 2

the 3rd stage foods were the worst for my son and I found they did not help him learn to chew. They're pureed with lumps added back in and my son would just swallow it all without chewing. If you're not sure how he will do, start out with big foods that he will not choke on like bagels or biter biscuits. he'll probably just suck on them at first though. very ripe bananas and avacadoes are great self feeding foods because they are so soft they'll pretty much be mashed in his hands by the time it gets to his mouth, it's a mess but they have lots of fun, also good foods in this category: very soft cooked pieces of potato, sweet potato, carrots, apples, and tater tots are a personal favorite. for gerber puffs, they will eventually dissolve but it's better if they chew it a couple times, so wait until you see him using his jaw to mash. Babies will actually surprise you, it is much harder for them to choke than you may think. If you allow the baby to self-feed, they will generally not be able to push the food to the back of their throat unless they can swallow. If they are not ready for chewing it usually just comes right back out. It may be scary but just go for it and see what happens, it's really the only way to find out.

Answer 3

I think the best time is when baby has at least two or four teeth and can pick up foods with thumb and forefinger. I believe Gerber has organic vege puffs as well as other organic baby food.

Answer 4

The best first finger food is Cheerios (and yes there are organic versions...try Full Circle Organics). They are easy for babies to pick up and they dissolve in the mouth so you don't have to worrying about choking.

Answer 5

At 8 mos. baby is more than ready for finger foods. This is a great way for him to get perfecting his chewing and strengthening his muscles. It will also developed hand and eye coordination. Sample foods: small pieces of pears, bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, stars pasta, cheerios.... I prepare meals at home. Another thing you can try is a half of a plain bagel, let baby hold it and chew on it, sit there and watch him for large broken pieces, let him enjoy.

Answer 6

as soon as he has 4 teeth but watch him