10 Finger foods for 7-month-old with no teeth

As a mom, you would always be confused and curious about the best diet that you can give your little one. Till the age of 6 months, your breast milk is the best food for your baby. However, as the baby grows older than 6 months, its body needs more and more additional nutrition apart from breast milk as it cannot alone provide all the nutrients the body needs to grow afterward. This is why, it is recommended by pediatricians across the globe that you introduce additional liquids, semi solids and solids to your baby after 6 months. But 6 month old babies don't always have teeth, do they? Not really, which is why you need to give your baby soft, mashed or pureed food that your little one can easily swallow, chew and ingest without choking. One category of foods for such small babies is called "Finger Food".

What Are Finger Foods?

Any food that is bite-sized and can be easily nibbled upon by a baby is called Finger Food. The term finger is used to indicate the size and quantity of the food. It signifies that the pieces of food that you introduce to your baby should be small and easy to hold by your baby's small fingers. So yes, now you get the idea for the size!And, no salt to the baby till the age of 1!

Generally, small pieces of steamed vegetables, meat and chicken, drumsticks, cheese, bread etc. are used by mothers all over the world to act as finger foods. However, you must make sure that there is an adult supervisor while your baby nibbles onto these foods as a 6 month old could choke on larger pieces. The idea of finger foods is to make eating an enjoyable experience for the baby by making him or her feel the texture, size, color and taste of different things and encouraging independence while eating. Introducing finger foods also helps in developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination in young babies.

Can Finger Foods Be Given To 7 Month Old Babies?

The ideal age to introduce finger foods to your baby would be around 7 to 8 months, you can always track and observe if your baby is ready for independent eating or not. Signs like using hands to eat food, putting food into mouth by him/her are enough to prove that your baby wants to move to the next step of self-feeding. This also helps a lot with a "baby led weaning" where slowly and steadily your baby will move onto solid food and require lesser and lesser breast milk. Please make sure you give very soft and chewable finger foods to the baby to avoid choking hazards.

10 Finger Foods For 7 Months Old Baby With No Teeth

Now that your little bundle of joy is little no more, you can start by introducing bite sized foods to him/her. And do not be worried how your champ will swallow them – gums help the babies big deal. Plus, these foods are easily dissolved with saliva when the baby eats them. Here is a list of top 10 finger foods in my opinion:

1. Steamed Veggies: The best in my opinion. Just steam or boil small 2 inch pieces in a vessel and offer to your kid. They will love the different tastes and the bright colors. Veggies give a chance to babies to get a lot of nutrition too
2. Pasta: I know you love pasta but you'll be surprised to see how much your little one loves it. Offer penne or elbow pasta after boiling it till soft. It is easy to chew and requires no teeth. One can easily grasp it in fingers and chew on it
3. Cheese: Since there is so much variety of cheese in the market, go ahead and offer some to your kid too. Cottage, Cheddar & mozzarella are my favorites. However, you must avoid some types of cheese that are heavy on the stomach of a 7 month old
4. Sweet potato: Due to its soft texture, a steamed sweet potato is a great choice for finger food. An excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals, it is quite filling too!
5. Chicken, Meat, Egg: In case you plan to make your baby non vegetarian, offer only cooked, boiled or steamed pieces of egg, chicken or meat so that your baby can get a habit of it. Do not forget to check for allergic reactions. However, introducing eggs, meat and chicken may be tricky for some so do seek your pediatrician's advice on them
6. Cucumber: A small piece of chilled cucumber can be such a remedy for teething. Try giving your baby cucumber pieces to eat. Cut them slightly thick because babies can only swallow the softer, inner part of the cucumber. It is refreshing, cooling and helps a lot with teething related pain
7. Tropical fruits: Giving mango, strawberries, papaya, banana, apple, orange (de-seeded), pears and watermelons can be a great idea for babies without teeth. These fruits are soft, easily chewable and digest
8. Breads: Try giving a toast or freshly baked bread to your baby to eat in the morning for breakfast. You can try roti, idli, parantha as well if they are cooked well and soft. Slightly mash them into chunks and your baby would love to munch on them
9. Potato fries: Prepare potato fries, veggie fries (broccoli, pumpkin, avocado) at home and offer your baby. This will make things little tastier as well as healthier. For additional benefits, fry the baby's food in ghee. Know when you can give ghee to the baby
10. Pancakes: An easy recipe and full of nutrition, pancakes are a good choice as finger foods. All you need is eggs, flour, milk & oil. However, please check for any allergies to egg beforehand

There are a whole lot of recipes and options for babies. All you need to do is keep experimenting and trying different foods with your baby. This way there are fewer chances of them being picky eaters and more chances of getting enough nutrients and minerals into the system which is pretty vital after 6 months of age. Good luck!