Swap Out The Puffs

puffs

Teaching babies to eat finger food can be very scary.  You worry about the gaging and chocking and allergies... ugh!  I totally get the appeal of the "puffs" and don't get me wrong I use them... but I limit how often I use them.  Puffs are good for helping babies with their dexterity as well as figuring out how to chew so they are not all bad, BUT it's like anything else when it comes to food for both myself and my baby... the less processed the better!! I know it can take time to make homemade baby food, but making finger food is actually easier.  Of course before you take my advice definitely run all of this by your baby's doctor, but this is what I have found worked for me.

Instead of food with zero nutritional value I like to incorporate food that is easy for baby gums to mash that are filled with nutrients and good calories that they need.  My baby loves feeding himself and each day that goes by he likes it more than being spoon fed.  I wanted to share with all the other moms out there in my same situation what foods work for me and my baby and how to make them.  You can make these ahead of time and store them in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

These are the months that I started using these foods.. right now my son is 12 months.

Foods that you don't need to cook AND are portable:

All of these are great cut into small pieces

bananas- at 6 months

avocado- at 6 months

peaches (not the skins) - at 6 months

strawberries- at 9 months

blueberries - at 9 months

sprouted bread (if just starting out you may want to soften this with water)- at 10 months

Foods that are good boiled (cooked very well) and cooled completely:

You want to make sure these are cooked very well so that they are VERY soft... cut into small pieces

carrots- at 8 months

sweet potatoes; peeled- at 8 months

yukon gold potatoes; peeled- 9 months

apples; peeled- at 8 months

broccoli (cutting the stems off)- 12 months

**I also did a well-cooked (not over cooked) egg yolk once or twice a week.  Once my baby was around 10 months my doctor said it was ok to feed him egg whites as well.  I still usually only give him an egg twice a week at 12 months.**

puffs

puffs

baby food bananas