I was like you a couple of weeks ago! DS liked mashed stuff but couldn't quite get a handle on how to chew. He would gag a bit and get frustrated. I just started by making his mashes and purees more chunky and introducing things in little bits to see what he could handle and then 2 weeks ago it just clicked! He all of sudden loved chewing and picking stuff up and he started eating a lot of what we eat.
Â
I started giving him bits of rice cake and teething biscuits because they dissolve in his mouth and make it easier for him to gum them. Then he got the hang of that and I started giving him steamed broccoli, bits of chicken, ground beef, bits of pasta, bread, banana...pretty much anything! I started out with REALLY small pieces because I was paranoid, but now the pieces are usually about the size of the end of my thumb- some things I guess I give him big chunks and he takes bites off like rice cakes and teething biscuits but other stuffI just make sure the pieces are small and soft and give him water in between some bites so nothing is sticking around too much. I don't give him strips of stuff so much, just bite size pieces. Be careful with giving them all at once- my DS will sometimes stuff them all in his mouth and keep stuff in his cheeks like a little squirrel!
Â
Now he wants to eat whatever we eat and I have a freezer full of mashes and purees that I have to coax him to eat in between bites of solid solids. I think the purees keep his poop softer than if he was just eating solids though because they have a bit of water in them.
Â
Like Terri said, if the chunks are too big and he gags or get frustrated you can stick a finger in his mouth and fish them out. My DS hates it when I do that, but sometimes I get freaked out!
ds has no teeth and eats solids just fine. Just cut things into long strips (cucumber, paprika, whole grain bread, etc. )and put it in his hands. Your ds will manage the rest.
