When do i start finger foods

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. I often field questions like these from parents who started feeding their babies with purees and are cautious about starting finger foods for baby:. The truth is your baby is most likely going to be ready for finger foods well before his first birthday talk to your pediatrician for more precise timing. In fact, a growing number of parents are using baby-led weaning or a combination or this and purees when feeding their kids.

Contrary to popular opinion, your baby does not need a single tooth in order to eat finger foods, just as long as the food is diced into small enough pieces and is soft enough for his gums to mash.

A baby's development isn't like a light switch that turns on at an exact age in months. Babies progress at their own pace. So when it comes to starting finger foods, you'll want to be sure that your baby has reached these milestones first, likely sometime between 7 to 10 months of age.

Additionally, you'll want to follow these tips before starting your baby on finger foods:. Looking for more protein-rich, vegetarian baby finger foods? Try beans. When first introducing beans, smash them just a bit between your fingers before serving to baby. Homemade muffins. While store-bought muffins are often loaded with sugar, there are plenty of healthy muffin recipes out there. Use whole-wheat flour, sweeten with applesauce instead of sugar and add healthy ingredients like mashed banana or grated zucchini.

Bake in a mini muffin tin or use a standard-size tin, and, once baked, break off into small pieces for baby. After soft foods, diced chicken breast and ground beef are pediatrician-approved next-stage finger foods for baby.

Fish is another allergenic food that doctors now say can be introduced before baby is a year old. Most important, make sure to remove any tiny bones. Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.

Baby-Led Weaning Basics. Getting Pregnant. Popular links under Pregnancy First Trimester. Popular links under Baby Baby Month by Month. For example, some research shows that babies who were introduced to lumpy solids after 10 months of age had more feeding problems at age 7 compared to those introduced earlier. Babies who are allowed to self-feed from a young age may also become better at self-regulating, eating when hungry and stopping when full.

There's also the fear factor to consider. When babies gag during self-feeding at a young age, they're able to register the texture and move on. But babies begin to acquire fears at the one-year mark, says Peterson. If transitioning from spoon-feeding to self-feeding still makes you jittery, Peterson recommends starting with foods that your baby can mash easily with her gums, like pieces of steamed sweet potatoes and very ripe avocado "fingers" long spears your baby can hold.

Then advance to other soft foods like canned green beans and boiled broccoli. Believe it or not, babies can even self-feed foods like steak! Peterson recommends pieces that are long and two-fingers wide that babies can hold, gum, and suck on without the risk of breaking off bits. See this Born to Eat video for examples of what safe first foods look like.

Though BLW advocates like Peterson recommend that self-feeding be a part of your baby's meals right from the start, some parents may still choose to wait. If that's you, be sure your child is getting finger foods at each meal by at least months. Almost any shape is baby-friendly as long as you cut it into small bites — but wheels, shells and bow ties may have special appeal and be easier to handle.

If your baby's nuts about cheese, dust a little Parmesan on the pasta for a calcium-boost or serve her some mac and cheese homemade is best — the packaged kind can contain chemicals and preservatives. And little meat-eaters will enjoy pieces of meat ravioli — with or without sauce or you can stick to cheese ravioli if she prefers.

You may have heard that you should avoid feeding babies allergenic foods — including eggs — during the first year. But the American Academy of Pediatrics AAP now recommends introducing allergenic foods early, between 4 and 11 months, to prevent food allergies.

Once your doctor gives you the okay to introduce eggs, t he easiest way to slip some into your baby's diet is to hard-boil them, then cut up the yolks into little slivers. Soft scrambled eggs make a good finger food, too. Oh la la! What could be a more delicious way to start the day than to eat a few soft cubes of French toast? Make it baby-friendlier i.

But you can sprinkle a little cinnamon on top there's no reason to skimp on spices for your baby's sake and serve it with cut-up blueberries or melon for added sweetness.

Other breakfast or anytime options: pancakes — especially the multigrain variety — and waffles, as long as they're offered to your little one in small, soft pieces. When it comes to feeding your baby solid food, the biggest issue is to avoid choking hazards. So don't let him eat anything unless he's strapped in his high chair and you're sticking close by the whole time.

Most doctors don't recommend these foods until your child can safely eat them — around 4 years old though depending on the food and your child, it could be closer to 3 or 5. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy. The educational health content on What To Expect is reviewed by our medical review board and team of experts to be up-to-date and in line with the latest evidence-based medical information and accepted health guidelines, including the medically reviewed What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.

This educational content is not medical or diagnostic advice. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy. Registry Builder New. Best Finger Foods for Babies.

Medically Reviewed by Marvin Resmovits, M. Medical Review Policy All What to Expect content that addresses health or safety is medically reviewed by a team of vetted health professionals. Now that your baby is able to pick up food and put it in his mouth on his own, you can break out the finger foods. Back to Top.