Introducing finger foods after purees - any tips on how to make the transition?

[TheDivineMrsM]

DD has been eating purees/cereals since 6 months old. At 8.5 months, we're trying to transition to finger foods. I'm running into problems though. I try to feed her purees first, so she's not as hungry. Then offer other soft solids like beans and steamed veggies, so she can explore them. If I try to spoon feed her, she tries to grab the bowl and spoon out of my hands. If I let her feed herself, she can't get the food into her mouth fast enough, and cries that she's hungry. {{insert head-banging icon here}}

Any thoughts on how to handle this?

[DaisyMae08]

Have you tried giving her another spoon to hold?  So she has one spoon to hang onto and wave around while you feed her with a different spoon?

[WifeofAnt]

Have you tried to continue spoon feeding her for meals and letting her explore food between meals?  We do that with our DS occasionally, feed him until he shows he's done accepting food and then sprinkle some Cheerios or dissolving puffs on his tray.  I don't know how many he actually eats but I know he's getting pretty good at getting them into his mouth.

[DaisyMae08]

This is what I do too.

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt 

Have you tried to continue spoon feeding her for meals and letting her explore food between meals?  We do that with our DS occasionally, feed him until he shows he's done accepting food and then sprinkle some Cheerios or dissolving puffs on his tray.  I don't know how many he actually eats but I know he's getting pretty good at getting them into his mouth.

[TheDivineMrsM]

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt 

Have you tried to continue spoon feeding her for meals and letting her explore food between meals?  We do that with our DS occasionally, feed him until he shows he's done accepting food and then sprinkle some Cheerios or dissolving puffs on his tray.  I don't know how many he actually eats but I know he's getting pretty good at getting them into his mouth.

Thank you! This is what I've been doing the past few days. I'll spoon-feed her until she refuses (or tries to rip the bowl out of my hands and dive in!) Then I've been giving her some finger foods. She's still nursing well and pooping regularly, so I'm going to assume she's eating something.