I was petrified to start my first baby on anything that he could hold in his fist and munch on! Even though I am CPR certified and First Aid trained, at 8 months, I was still holding out! Oh, sure I would give him Cheerios or Gerber Puffs, and would feed him tiny cut up pieces of table foods, but I was too scared to hand him a cracker! Has anyone else felt this way? By the time the third kid came along, I was handing her pizza crust and just about anything she could hold by the time she was sitting up in her high chair!

So, how do we know our babies are ready? Ask yourself some of the following questions…are they able to sit up on their own? This is important. If a baby is not able to sit, and must be leaning back, a piece of the food item may break off and block the airway. If they are sitters, then gravity doesn’t take over! They can move their tongue to mash and press that food item around until it has softened or dissolved enough to be swallowed. Are they able to pick up pieces of food in a fist and bring it to their mouth? If not, then it’s probably too early. Have you already started baby foods and small finger foods, such as Gerber puffs? If yes, then this will be a nice next step!

Really, with or without teeth, they are mostly going to suck on what you give them and gnaw on it with their gums. And it probably feels GREAT for teething! With the encouragement from some other Mommies (and okay, an OT friend) I hit the store! Here are a few ideas to try!

• Biter biscuits
• Gerber wheels
• Baby Mum Mums
• Celery sticks (thick cut) – just for gnawing on, not biting pieces off
• Teething biscuits
• Vanilla wafers
• Crackers, such as Ritz, Townhouse, or graham (not a Wheat Thin or Triscuit type)
• Mozzarella sticks (as time moves on)

Adding these to his list of finger foods and baby foods really gave him some necessary skills! I also found out that there are many recipes online for healthy baby snacks that you can make at home!

What are some of your baby’s favorite snacks?

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