Transitioning from Purees to Baby Finger Foods
So your baby has mastered purees, but you aren’t quite sure how to start offering finger foods… Or your baby is refusing them - what next?
If you feel overwhelmed about advancing to finger foods or if feeding your baby has become stressful, check out the following tips and information that I have used in my private nutrition practice to help families navigate this transition with ease.
You’ll find practical tips, evidence-based approaches to introducing solid foods, and answers to common questions about starting solids - as well as a few healthy recipes for you and your baby to share.
When should I offer solid foods to my baby?
By about 6 months of age, your baby’s growing body requires higher amounts of particular nutrients (most importantly iron and zinc) and can no longer meet all of their nutrient needs from breastmilk and/or formula alone, which, up until now, has been their sole source of nourishment.
A baby girl seated in a high chair self-feeding with a spoon!
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), most babies can and should begin eating solid foods when they are about 6 months of age and showing signs of readiness. These signs include sitting well in their high chairs with good head support, holding objects in their hands, bringing them to their mouth, and showing an interest in eating.
That being said, some pediatricians recommend starting babies on purees or infant cereals between 4-6 months of age. If this was the case for your baby, you might be wondering when it’s safe to start offering finger foods and how to make the transition.
As your baby is nearing 6 months of age, look for those signs that they are ready to move on to more textured foods. A good rule of thumb is to begin by offering your baby solid foods 1-2x per day at 6-7 months of age. As they reach 8-9 months old, start to offer foods 3x daily as meals.
How should I offer solid foods?
Some parents choose to start feeding purees first and then move on to more textured solid foods. Other parents start with baby-led weaning (BLW), in which solid foods are introduced as finger foods from the family table for self-feeding. Both ways are valid, either alone or in combination - it is up to you to decide what is right for you and your baby.
What is most important is to feed your baby responsively, which means that you closely watch and respond to your baby’s signs of hunger and fullness. According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, responsive feeding helps young children learn to self-regulate how much they need, which may reduce their risk of becoming overweight later in life. As a pediatric registered dietitian specializing in infant and child nutrition, I’ve found that most caregivers also report an easier mealtime experience as well as more bonding opportunities when they feed responsively.
Here is a helpful chart to help you learn the signs to watch for with your baby while responsive feeding:
What is the importance of introducing textured foods to babies?
As babies near 6 months of age, they begin to gain more control of their bodies and have purposeful movements. Most are ready for finger foods at this age and able to start eating a wider variety of different textures. Babies are born with very few innate taste preferences and will usually learn to like the foods that are introduced to them regularly during infancy.
Some of the factors that influence a baby’s feeding journey include repeated exposure to a food’s taste, texture, and appearance and observing others eating a food. Research also shows it is best to introduce textured foods before 9 months of age to help prevent picky eating later in childhood.
This means that no matter how your baby is initially introduced to solids (i.e., purees, finger foods, or both), it is ideal if they are self-feeding and eating finger foods by about 9 months of age to help prevent feeding issues down the road. While babies still get most of their calories and nutrients from breastmilk or formula until age 1, eating solid foods allows them to learn self-feeding skills, expand their palates, prevent food allergies, and meet specific nutrient needs.
Choosing first finger foods for babies
As your baby is either starting solids or progressing from purees, aim for balanced baby meals made up of first foods that are energy-rich, high in iron, and paired with a fruit or vegetable that is high in vitamin C.
Try rolling avocado wedges in hemp seeds for better grip.
Between about 6-9 months, most babies use a palmar grasp to bring foods up to the mouth. Start by serving pieces of soft, finger-shaped foods for babies using a palmar grasp. A few examples include slices of avocado, banana, scrambled egg, or roasted sweet potato.
TOP TIP: If it is difficult for your baby to pick up slippery wedges of foods like avocado, try rolling them in ground flax seeds, ground nuts, nutritional yeast, bread crumbs, wheat germ, or fortified infant cereal to give them more texture and a better grip.
As your baby’s fine motor skills advance and a pincer grasp emerges (which is when they pick up small objects using the thumb and forefinger - usually by about 9 months, although every baby develops at his or her own rate), cut soft foods into smaller pieces about the size of a Cheerio. A few great recipes for babies starting solids include these blueberry muffins, baked salmon, and this spinach and cheese frittata.
According to the AAP’s 2019 review, research now shows the importance of early introduction of common food allergens, such as peanuts and eggs, to help prevent food allergies.
Before serving top food allergens, consult your baby's pediatrician for guidance, especially if your baby has allergies, eczema, or a parental history of allergies. Once introduced and tolerated, keep these common allergens in your baby’s diet about twice per week to help prevent food allergies from developing.
What if my baby rejects finger foods?
If your baby spits out a particular food, it does not necessarily mean they do not like it. According to the AAP, it can take 10-15 exposures to a particular food before a baby will accept it. Don’t pressure or force your baby to taste the food again if they refuse it, as this can increase mealtime stress and lead to negative associations with feeding.
Every exposure is valuable, even if the food doesn’t make it into your baby’s tummy. Stick to small starter portions (1-3 pieces of food) to help reduce food waste and simply offer the refused food again in a few days.
If your baby has an aversion to picking up solid foods, try to identify a reason and match the solution to it.
Self-Feeding Tips for Babies Who Won’t Pick Up Finger Foods
Puree preloaded on a spoon.
Perhaps your baby is not hungry if they just finished a milk feeding or ate solids not too long ago; try to space out meals and milk feedings at least an hour apart or more
Does your baby have a negative association with the high chair and cry every time you put them in? Try sitting your baby in your lap for a meal or moving the high chair to another side of the room for a different view; distract your baby when you first sit them down with a toy in the high chair or sing and dance once you secure them
Some babies dislike being cleaned and start associating having their faces and hands wiped with sitting in the high chair; try to remove the process of cleaning up away from the chair and at a neutral location not associated with meal time, like the kitchen sink or bathroom
If your baby isn’t showing signs of readiness for eating or just doesn’t seem interested yet in finger foods even if they have reached the 6-month mark, try waiting another week or two before starting foods; babies develop so rapidly at this phase that sometimes even a couple of days can make a world of difference
If your baby won’t pick up pieces of food, double down on role modeling and eating with your baby, preferably the same foods so that your baby starts to understand the purpose of finger foods
If your baby is used to spoon feeding and seems to want to continue, encourage self-feeding by preloading the spoon, turning it around, and handing it to your baby for self-feeding
Some babies get frustrated while trying to pick up pieces of food from the tray or plate; it can help to offer finger foods in a shallow bowl that is suctioned to the tray, so the baby can brace their hand against the lip of the bowl while grasping the food
It also helps to hand pieces of food to your baby in the air at your baby’s chest level to encourage the self-feeding of finger foods
It is important to try to remain calm and confident! If you continue having difficulty introducing any solid foods after 8 months of age, talk to your pediatrician and consider a referral for further evaluation and support
Should I still offer my baby purees along with finger foods?
Absolutely! Encourage independence by handing them a preloaded spoonful of puree or providing a bowl that suctions to the tray and allows them to scoop food with their hands. Consider offering a puree, such as this easy cashew dip, on a raw carrot or spread thinly on a piece of toast.
Some parents also opt to offer a puree after their baby eats solid foods, especially if they do not actually swallow much of the solid food. Use your judgment when considering whether to do the “puree top-off” after finger foods.
In some babies, topping off with purees discourages the acceptance of finger foods because it’s easier for them to sit back and be spoon-fed. Topping off with purees can also make it harder for some caregivers to read a baby’s fullness cues because they are focused on getting in a certain number of bites.
However you choose to navigate, if your goal is to help your baby advance from purees to finger foods and you want to continue incorporating purees, add in more lumpy purees to familiarize your baby with textures other than smooth - for example, this yummy chia seed pudding which is high in vitamin C, fiber, and protein.
Tips for BLW Success
Small portions of mango and scrambled egg for safe serving to baby.
Make eye contact with your baby during meals to be sure you have their attention and model how to pick up and take a bite of food; keep your mouth open to allow your baby to watch you move food around in your mouth as you chew
Try to keep small portions of food on the plate to prevent your baby from being overwhelmed; if they are showing signs of hunger, offer more foods
Expect a mess; messiness is part of your baby’s eating experience - it is how they explore and become familiar with the foods on their plate; in the beginning, most babies may only actually ingest a small amount of food, but their time spent practicing self-feeding skills and building their palate is invaluable
Try to be patient and allow your baby time to eat; babies often do not eat as quickly as adults and need time to learn how to move food around in their mouths
Try to eat family meals regularly; it may be a challenging season for you to sit for a family meal], but try to prioritize eating with your baby as often as you can; have others at the table role-model eating with exaggerated chewing and swallowing
Try to always follow your baby's lead and feed responsively; watch for signs of hunger or fullness (see graphic above)
Babies are most likely to become interested in the foods their parents eat; try to feed yourself and your baby well-balanced meals; check out my 12-Week Baby-Led Feeding Meal Plan (with over 30 recipes and photos of every meal for food sizing guidance) to make this process easy.
Baby Finger Food Safety
Many parents fear their baby will choke when starting solid foods, which is absolutely understandable! It helps to learn about the differences between choking and gagging and how to serve foods appropriately for each developmental stage.
Many infants will gag on foods that they are still learning how to eat, which is a normal response. Gagging is more common in babies 6-7 months. It is a noisy, normal part of the process of learning how to eat, as babies learn to move food away from the airway that they are not ready to swallow. Watch and monitor your baby as they gag, making sure to only intervene if it appears that the food has become lodged in their airway.
For babies with an excessive gag reflex that seems to interfere with mealtimes, offer lots of larger, resistive foods. Examples include the heel of a crusty loaf of bread, a large raw carrot, corn cob, pork rib bone, mango pit, or even a chicken drumstick. Foods like these allow your baby plenty of opportunities to poke around inside the mouth and explore the structures inside, which can help desensitize the gag reflex.
On the other hand, choking is a silent, serious event that occurs when food blocks the airway. A choking baby may get upset, turn blue, and grab at the throat. Intervention is always necessary with choking, and it is important that all caregivers are trained in infant first aid and CPR.
There are a few safety measures to keep in mind while feeding your baby:
Always watch your baby while eating to monitor for any difficulties with textures or choking episodes
Offer proper sizing of foods based on age and developmental abilities (soft, finger-shaped foods for babies with a palmar grasp; smaller pieces of bite-sized foods for babies using a pincer grasp)
Avoid feeding any small round foods such as grapes, cherry tomatoes, and hotdogs; if serving these foods, cut into small pieces (4ths or 8ths)
Give small amounts of any sticky foods such as peanut butter; try spreading a thin layer on a lightly toasted piece of bread
Avoid dry and difficult-to-chew foods, such as popcorn, raw carrots, and nuts, as well as tough foods, such as large chunks of meat
If you’re getting ready to start your baby on solids, or if your baby has recently begun his or her feeding journey and you need guidance on food sizing, balanced baby meals, and introducing the top allergenic foods, check out my online course for parents, based on my best-selling book which will walk you through the whole process of starting solids using a baby-led approach.
I also offer a FREE Baby-Led Feeding Essential Checklist to make sure you have everything you need to get started. In addition, I am accepting new clients in my private practice if you are looking for more personalized one-on-one support. Thanks for reading!