MOMS: Good finger foods for 9mo old?

[KaterBell]

Hey everyone... I know there are a TON of great moms on this board, so I figured I'd ask for some advice... as a first time mom, I'm feeding my son finger foods. He loves his Cheerios, Fruit & Veggie puffs, and he's eaten some cheese, steamed broccoli, blueberries, wheat bread pieces, etc. He is starting to get annoyed with the mush (jarred baby food) and wants more finger foods to feed himself. I'm figuring this is normal, but I just need some advice on what are other good finger foods.

What did you feed your kids that they loved around this age? What worked, what didn't? Any suggestions are great.

Thanks moms!
He's also eating Yo-Baby, too, which I think is great. and I just realized how outdated my signature pic of him is. That was my boy at 8 weeks!

 

[Bob Slydell]

We've started feeding DS little cut up pieces of chicken and ham, plus other fruits and veggies that you didn't list, like cantaloupe, green beans and carrots. Anything mushy and bite sized has gone over well so far.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

peas, pieces of well-cooked carrots, bananas, avocado, chicken nuggets (at first I though these would be too hard for a baby, but since they are just mashed up and formed anyway, they are much softer than "real" chicken).

Avocado was one of our favorites. Nice and soft, the girls loved the taste, and they are full of those good fats that babies need!

Hmm, I'll edit if I can remember more.

 

[Hannathy]

pasta like macaroni or shells with or without sauce, cheese. mashed potatoes,scrambled eggs if you are giving eggs, I'll think of more my son never ate baby food so I used a lot of things.

 

[ahutton]

DS is finally eating finger foods, he is 13 months and had a very sensitive gag reflex for a long time. His first favorites were cooked, flaked fish like salmon or red snapper (with any bones removed), steamed cauliflower and much of what has already been mentioned.

 

[Maleficent13]

Can I add a question? Do the babies have to have teeth before they can eat all the stuff mentioned above? We're still waiting for our teeth, but I know she would LOVE to eat finger foods...

 

[Bob Slydell]

Can I add a question? Do the babies have to have teeth before they can eat all the stuff mentioned above? We're still waiting for our teeth, but I know she would LOVE to eat finger foods...

Things like those veggie and fruit puffs babies should be able to gum -- they disintegrate pretty well. Other than that, and maybe some baby crackers (Gerber makes a good veggie cracker), it's usually advisable that babies have teeth before most solid food.

 

[Maleficent13]

*sigh* That's what I figured. We're going to the ped this week for a check-up...and I'm going to ask why no teeth yet!! Poor baby...she wants waffles in the worst way...

 

[Nancy]

How old is your baby? My middle DD didn't start cutting teeth until 10 months. It was a pain still buying baby food for her.


My kids loved spaghetti-os, cut up pieces of cheese slices, bits of french fries and ground beef. Fruits and veggies were always a good choice too.

 

[disneygals]

Cheese toast cut into teeny pieces was a favorite. I made my kids scrambled eggs with cheese, but now are they saying hold off on eggs? Noodles, peas, waffles.

 

[tiggger1]

My daughter ate alot of stuff before she had teeth. as long as its cut up small and soft enough for her, she should be able to gum them..as friend son didnt get teeth until he was 14 months and he had been eating reg foods since 9 months

 

[RadioNate]

MY DS never ate baby food. We started with the Gerber graduate jars of diced veggies and fruit. Those were really soft and I was really scared he was going to choke.

After he was ok with those I gave nearly everything mentioned. Pasta, flaky fish, really well steamed veggies, peas, diced soft fruits like peaches, he loved canned beef stew that I would mush up and cut into little peices, eggs, small bits of waffle and pancakes. He did choke on part of a cresent roll so I avoided flaky, fluffy bread and stuck to very tiny bits more dense bread products.

Snacks were fruit and veggie puffs, cheerios, other cereal like chex, mini goldfish, the Graduates wagon wheels and crackers.

On occassion if he was really hungry he'd eat the pasta and chunky stage 3 baby food so you may want to try that too.

 

[disykat]

I used to make a meatloaf out of ground turkey and spinach that we would have for dinner. Then I'd cut the rest into little cubes and stick portion sized baggies of it in the freezer. I'd also bake some sweet potatoes, remove the skin, and chop them into cubes as well. This was a favorite of both my babies and a real standard for several years at my house (we haven't had it since though!). Another easy favorite after I introduced wheat (not until 1 year because of my history of allergies) was beans and macaroni. I just heated a can of baked beans and combined it with a bunch of cooked macaroni. Frozen vegies cooked until they were soft worked well. My boys also liked short grain sticky rice - the kind from the Asian food section that clumps really well.

 

[katerkat]

Russ started eating by himself at 8 months old, right around the time he got two bottom teeth. He eats Cheerios, Chex, graham cracker sticks, Wheat Thins Low Sodium, toast and bread; any and all fruits, cut up and steamed; occasionally yogurt and applesauce (he doesn't like to be spoon-fed); cubes of cheddar and mozzerella cheese; and pretty much NO veggies. I've even tried soaking the green beans in peach juice (his favorite!) and he just spits them out.

Once he hit 10 months old, the only things I haven't let him try are the high allergen foods - nuts, strawberries, eggs, etc. (I've never successfully separated an egg so I don't bother!) I limit some - too many citrus or sweet potatoes and his butt turns red!

 

[AnaheimGirl]

Can I add a question? Do the babies have to have teeth before they can eat all the stuff mentioned above? We're still waiting for our teeth, but I know she would LOVE to eat finger foods...

My kids ate nearly everything mentioned in this thread before they had molars. The first teeth to erupt (in the front) aren't used for chewing anyway. Our pediatrician told us that babies are able to mash soft foods up just fine with their gums.

As you can see, opinions will differ. Talk to your pediatrician about it and see what he thinks, then do what you are comfortable with.

 

[RangerPooh]

DD 11.5 months just got her first 4 teeth last month! However, there are a few things that she was gumming before hand, and still is. She eats crackers (Ritz and the Club are her favorites) that are broken into pieces (gag reflex), baby goldfish, corn, finely cut up grapes/orange/apple/banana pieces, pieces of bread, cheerios, rice, teething buiscuits, TINY pieces of meat. Generally if we are eating it so is she. We just make sure that the peices are tiny enough for her to not choke on.

 

[labdogs42]

I used to make a meatloaf out of ground turkey and spinach that we would have for dinner. Then I'd cut the rest into little cubes and stick portion sized baggies of it in the freezer.

This sounds like somthing my DS would like -- would you share the recipe?

My DS loves pieces of colby jack cheese, animal crackers, graham crackers, toast, grilled cheese, meatballs, mac and cheese, hotdogs (cut in tiny pieces), and Nutri-Grain bars to name a few things. He is a year old now. At 9 months, he was eating mostly Gerber puffs, Cheerios, and toast as his finger foods. He still likes baby food fruits and some dinners, but he won't eat a veggie in any form right now (except sweet potatoes!). Aren't babies fun?

 

[2sweetangels]

DD is 6 months and I already give her some finger food. I but the Bitter bisquits from Gerber and let DD gum on them, I have given her Ritz crackers and vanilla wafers as well and she loves them all. I started feeding DD solid foods at 3 months old, DD is a big eater.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Cubes of tofu are great for this age- buy firm or extra firm so they don't squash it as easily. Try it plain, or dipped in a bit of soy sauce. Some people soak it it apple juice too. My kids all loved tofu when they were babies- still do.

Jackie

 

[Talking Hands]

tofu cubes, avocado, banana, papaya, small pieces of chicken and hamburger, hot dogs diced small at least quarter rounds, most anything we ate except for steaks. Also used a Baby Grinder to fix food with the coarsest blade. No baby food or formula for my kids.