No purees, what else can I give 6 m/o?

[Asparagus78]

DS2 really doesn't like eating purees, but he's interested in food and wants it. I've been feeding him tiny (almost microscopic...) pieces of avocado, pear and banana. He loves it but it takes forever that way (it took about 45 mins. for him to eat about 1/3 of a banana). I'm just so paranoid he'll choke if I give him anything bigger than a grain of rice. What's safe for him?
Thanks!!!!

[Abraisme]

After my kids have eated soft fruit, veggies and meltable puffs for a couple of weeks I start feeding them what ever we're eating at any given meal. So long as there are no allergies you can feed your baby anything healthy really. Soft meat (slightly chewed), cooked veggies, fruit, grains, cheese, beans (squished), etc. It's not really as complicated as many people make it seem.. If I'm eating chicken soup I will fish out some small pieces of chicken and green beans and give her that. Babies do gag a lot when they're learning to eat, but it's very rare for a baby to actually choke.

[Alisse]

Have you tried using a mesh feeder? They are awesome for foods that might be an aspiration hazard like peeled grapes. They're also good for bananas because they ooze out of the mesh so easily and the baby can feed them self once they get a hang of it.

[mamadelbosque]

We never did purees with either of my boys... I just always gave them little bites of whatever we were eating (though, much bigger than a grain of rice... so like, maybe a cm or 2 square? Somethin like that)... They've both gagged a few times, but neither one has ever actually choked...

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by Alisse

Have you tried using a mesh feeder? They are awesome for foods that might be an aspiration hazard like peeled grapes. They're also good for bananas because they ooze out of the mesh so easily and the baby can feed them self once they get a hang of it.

We did this for MONTHS with banana. DS loved it. I'm sure you could put avacado and whatnot in them as well.

[kismetbaby]

Lentils are great for LOs. . .you can cook them till very soft and they are already very tiny. Quinoa also is a nice grain that is soft and small. I just bought my LO some organic teething biscuits and he loves them! But he's the type to always want to self-feed, so he loves stuff he can hold onto. And when he does get a bite off of them it just dissolves, so no choking. If you're ok with the store bought stuff there are also these baby rice cakes called Mum Mums that my LO likes.

If you're read to do wheat, you can buy orzo pasta, which is already little tiny pieces.

My LO has a very strong gag reflex, but he's never actually choked. . .I still watch him like a hawk when he eats, but I'm getting less and less paranoid that he'll choke.

[Asparagus78]

Thanks - all great ideas! DS1 choked on a piece of sweet potato when he was 8 m/o and it's pretty scary, so now I'm paranoid. I loooooove lentils - let's see if DS2 likes them too!

[DevaMajka]

I read that anything bigger than a pea is a choking hazard, so I've been doing pea sized bites for ds since he was 6-7 mo.
He also liked the mesh feeder a lot!

[texmati]

what's wrong with purees? DS had his first taste of mango today, they are in season and heavenly!

[Blueone]

I didn't really do purees, I just gave him banana slit down the middle and let him feed himself while I supervised. Then moved onto mango, blueberries, thin sliced toast topped with the purees we had left, pasta, etc.

I watched while he ate and he's never choked. He spits out the too hard or too big bites that he occasionally has.

[tzs]

good idea with the toast/puree combo!!!!
we get purees with WIC that i donate...but was planning to bake with or add to stuff. my 7 mo loves to gnaw on bread but i feel a little bad about giving empty calories to her.

[Asparagus78]

Originally Posted by texmati

what's wrong with purees? DS had his first taste of mango today, they are in season and heavenly!

There's nothing wrong with purees (at least that I know of!!!), but DS2 just isn't a fan, a texture thing I guess. He'll open up for the spoon, move the food around, then grimace... whereas with an actual piece of food (banana, avocado...) he'll "mouth" (for lack of a better word) it, swallow and ask for more (well, not literally *ask*, but open his mouth and try to grab more food, kwim?). I stocked up my freezer with organic, homemade purees, and now I'm eating them! Some of that stuff is really yummy!

BTW, I tried the mesh feeder yesterday and he liked it! I also tried a food mill which resulted in a chunkier texture, and he was all over that too! (carrots that we were having for supper).

I agree that we make solids more complicated than it needs to be, but there is just so much conflicting info out there. I guess you just have to do what feels right... thanks guys!

[texmati]

sorry if that sounded snarky-- i just think purees get a bad rap around here, even though I feel they do have their place-- esp for some 6 and 7 month olds.

We just did apples, mangoes and sweet potatoes chunks this weekend.

We let him gnaw on a big peice of apple and mango, watching him carefully-- ready to fish a peice out of his mouth if it looked like he couldn't handle it.

We basically don't feed him anything that greatgrandpa can't eat (hates putting in his teeth!)

[GretchenC]

Originally Posted by texmati

sorry if that sounded snarky-- i just think purees get a bad rap around here, even though I feel they do have their place-- esp for some 6 and 7 month olds.

We just did apples, mangoes and sweet potatoes chunks this weekend.

We let him gnaw on a big peice of apple and mango, watching him carefully-- ready to fish a peice out of his mouth if it looked like he couldn't handle it.

We basically don't feed him anything that greatgrandpa can't eat (hates putting in his teeth!)

Too funny about great grandpa! We do whatever we are eatting, pretty much from the get go, just in smaller pieces or in the food mill. try putting ice in the mesh self-feeder (frozen puree) and see if that goes over better.

[maddymama]

I've been putting steamed apples through a potato ricer lately- so it's big chunks, not quite a puree, but obviously not too big chunks. DD2 loves it. AND I don't have to peel the apple before steaming, it leaves the apple skin in the bowl of the ricer. :-)
I second the lentils, DD1 ate those for a long time. Just about to start DD2 on lentils, too.