Finger Foods

When Tyler turned 9 months I started trying to get him to eat finger foods. Much to my dismay Tyler wasn't having any of it. Whatever food I put on the tray he would smash with his hands and fling it to the floor but wouldn't put it in his mouth. When I tried to show him how to do it he would make gagging noises and dig the food out with his hands. Okay, I can take a hint. I guess he's not ready for this stage and back to purees we went. In the past week or so that has since changed. Yay! We started small and easy with some toast. Now he's getting to be really good. The foods he eats best by himself are toast, grilled cheese, mandarin oranges, deli meat, cheese and, once, macaroni and cheese. He'll also eat pears if I feed it to him on his spoon. With this new talent come new mannerisms. I have learned that I can only put 1 or 2 pieces of something on his tray at a time because he will try and stuff whatever is available in his mouth at once. His eating also reminds me of my cousin Chad who grew up with the nickname "72 Chew". With purees Tyler could house his whole meal in minutes. Now he takes forever to eat! He'll chew on one bite for 5 minutes before he decides to swallow! Mealtimes are so fun now and with all the new foods he's trying it's always an adventure!