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470885 tn?1326329037

Finger foods

Baby G is now 10 months old - he'll be 11 months old on the 27th of this month.  

He's great with his puréed foods (meats, veggies, fruits) and his cereals although he definitely has is preferences!  He's even ok with new textures - lately, I've been adding finely chopped fruit to his yogurt, cereal, etc.  

I've been offering him Mum Mums for awhile and the Gerber Graduate puffs.  And, lately, pieces of regular crackers like we eat...and some finely chopped ham, steak, chicken, cheese, etc.  He really doesn't seem interested in picking things up with his fingers.  I mean, he'll do it, it's not like he CAN'T....but not to the point that he could have a whole meal that way yet and get much substance from it.  Daniel did this much sooner - by this age, I remember him eating all sorts of things with his fingers!!    G just doesn't have the same interest - he'd rather be fed using a spoon.

I asked the doctor about it, and he said that this skill develops anytime around now to when they're a year old.  I'm not worried per se (he's his own person and with everything else - like drinking formula,...for anyone who followed THAT saga, he's FINALLY doing it, out of a sippy cup....yay! - he seems to do things at his own pace and when HE'S ready...not according to what his brother did or our expectations).  I guess I'm just wondering how other babies of a similar age are doing with their finger foods :)
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800427 tn?1324945719
April, he's getting closer! still not going though....
he gets up on his hands and knees by himself and rocks back and fourth now and can push him self from his tummy onto his bottom (new skill he just learned) and he pushes himself backwards across the floor lol but still not going forward!
Matthew loves the little crunchies too (the cheeto things haha)
he also loves pancakes and egg yolks, he wasnt a big fan of cheese though (but we just tried cheese yesterday)
Helpful - 0
621803 tn?1302888341
That's really funny about the sippy cups! Braeden won't hold his own bottle (but he's still swaddled to sleep most of the time, so he doesn't get a chance much since he only gets a bottle at my parents house and at night before bedtime), but he LOVES his sippy cup. Actually, I think he just loves water. He actually won't eat whatever is in front of him if he can see his sippy cup, or a cup with water in it with a straw (we'll put some water in his mouth from a straw if we're out), so we have to hide it from him in between drinks when he's supposed to be eating.  
He's doing really well with the finger foods now. His favorite so far is cheese! (Any type so far).  He's not real interested in the Mum Mums anymore, but he's still a big fan of the puffs and the things that look like cheetos.  

sunkissed- How's Matthew doing on the crawling?  
Helpful - 0
800427 tn?1324945719
haha told ya, it was so weird. the first couple days i put them in front of him he didnt do anything and then one day i put it on his tray turned my head, turned back and everything was getting gobbled up! Silly boys! We still havent got the hang of the sippy cup here yet either...although i bought one that was more tube shaped (like a bottle) and has a silicone spout (like his bottle nipples) and he seems to be taking to that a whole lot better...he'll drink some if i hold it
Helpful - 0
470885 tn?1326329037
Amanda - it's funny you say that, because G has just gotten a LOT better with it, too!!  He's still not able to get a full meal in that way, but at least he's putting things in his mouth more readily now, giving it a shot :)  He loves chicken nuggets, lol!
Helpful - 0
377493 tn?1356502149
I jsut have to add to this.  Suddenly he has mastered finger foods.  It was like Sunkissed said...all of a sudden he just took to it. I was putting them on his tray, then feeding them with my hand piece by piece.  All of a sudden he decided he was going to do it himself, and boom. He still throws a lot of it though..lol. Eating an entire meal of finger foods is a very slow process though..lol.  But he gets it done.  Now, if we could just manage that sippy cup!!  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My DS is similar. he is a great eater - when it comes to what he will eat. But, my Ryder would rather chase a piece of food in my hand with his mouth than pick it up and stick it in his mouth himself. He has gotten much better about this, but whenever we introduce new foods, we have to feed him with the spoon first. The only exception is bananas - he loves bananas and we don't feed him fast enough. when he does feed himself, I have to give him the food piece by piece. If I put 5 pieces of food on his tray, he will pick them all up and stick them in his mouth together. Ryder will be 11 months in a few days and he is far from able to use the sippy cup. He knows how to drink from it, and will occasionally. But usually he enjoys filling his mouth up with the liquid, pulling the sippy cup away, and then making motorboat sounds with his mouth so that the water spits out. If it wasn't a nightly event I would find it very funny and cute.
Helpful - 0
800427 tn?1324945719
Jen- i forgot to mention....i always give him the finger foods (like the puffs) before meals...i think it really does make a difference. Feed him a couple and then wait and see what he does...encourage him every once in a while by giving him one but just keep it up for a couple days...i bet he'll get it :)
Helpful - 0
800427 tn?1324945719
lol thats cute, maybe he doesnt want to get icky! Matthew just took off running when it came to food...he picks up puffs and mum mums and chows away...i make boiled potatoes (like sweet potatoes or yams) and make them in finger food sized chunks and he will pick those up and eat them too lol ...im pretty sure he would eat his solid pureed foods with his fingers and fists if i let him too LOL. He's been holding his own bottle for the last month and a half but he, like Ryder does not get the sippy cup...he throws it...chews on it. I can get him to take sips here and there but mostly he just wants to bang it around lol.  Crawling on the other hand....i really think he could do it if he tried but he just wont....he rolls (when he feels like it) and sits up great but he just doesnt seem to be interested in going anywhere...i dont get it lol I try  and motivate him to move but he just doesnt care...he gets super frustrated and then cries.
I really dont have any advice because i honestly just put the puffs on his tray and he couldnt and wasnt picking them up and then literally two days later he was...
I just wanted to share and tell you that im in agreeance with some babies do some things and not others and vice versa....they really just do what they want dont they? lol

oh and Matthew is 7.5 months now
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470885 tn?1326329037
Amanda....Yes, G took to the sippy cup earlier....but, then again, he told us flat out that he wanted NOTHING to do with bottles, lol.  He would only drink water out of it at first....it's only in the last month that he's been drinking more than a sip or two of formula in it.  Good timing - I go back to work at the beginning of February!! :)

I'm glad that G isn't the only one who doesn't really seem too interested in finger foods yet.  He seems sort of bothered by how some thing feel and that seems to distract him to the point that he won't try them (ie. berries because they're soft and wet).  I tend to feed him his pureed stuff first and then put some things on his tray for him to pick at, but I guess I should try doing it the other way around - maybe he'll be more likely to try more if he's more hungry.

Helpful - 0
377493 tn?1356502149
Ryder is only 5 days older then G, and it is pretty much the same.  He is great with his Mum Mums and toast strips.  But when it comes to meat and vegetable pieces, I am still helping him out most of the time.  Slowly but surely he is picking up more fruit and veggies pieces, so I guess it just takes time.  What I have been doing is spreading out the pieces on his tray, then I pick them up and put them in his mouth. I also put a few in mine while he watches, and he seems to be getting it. I personally think that it takes him so much longer to eat this way, that he loses patience, so I find that the end of the meal is usually something pureed fed by a spoon to make sure he gets filled up.  

You are ahead of us on the sippy cup.  We are not making much progress there at all!  He just wants to play with it which usually means throwing it..lol.  He also will not hold his own bottle.  I think you are right though...it's not that they can't, they just sometimes choose not to.
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