Spoon Feeding Forever?

I am going to post a follow up soon regarding making our own baby food. It is going really well and now that the Little One is 8 months old we are becoming a bit more adventurous in what she eats. Well, I am becoming more adventurous. She would beg to differ I'm sure. Sweet E loves her purees. Give her one tiny chunk and you would think you were trying to poison her food with the dirty looks she gives you and the hacking and coughing production she does. But I continue to offer finger foods and I do see some tiny tiny progress with each offering. The goal with the finger foods is 1) to move away from purees to table foods and 2) to teach her to feed herself. She could care less about either of these goals. So runny squash served on a spoon by Mommy or Daddy or Foxy it is. Forever.

My mom (aka Foxy) assured me that things seem slow nowadays but in the future, when looking back on these times, things will seem fast. In hindsight it won't matter that Everleigh took a few months to catch on to the idea of chewing her food or picking it up herself. She'll get the hang of it and I will miss the days I got to feed her with a spoon.

For now I'll share some of my ideas for offering finger foods I've been using. If you have any other ideas or just words of encouragement please share, they are highly welcome!

Also, I know a lot of babies her age are eating the puffs that you can buy. I haven't tried these yet because I don't like the fact that they have added sugar in them. However, it may be just the training tool I am looking for since they are easier to grasp than slimy fruits and veggies and they melt in their mouths right away. I figure she probably won't be actually eating too many anyway.

Warning: the following pictures may contain a messy face baby. Look away if you don't find it endearingly cute like I do!

I gave her a frozen hunk of banana. It is a legitimate natural teething soother.

I thought she would love it!

I think this face says it all. I don't know if the reaction was because it was so cold or because it was solid, not liquid. But I will tell you, this is the face I get whenever something remotely chunky is in her mouth. At this point I was just happy she was holding it and even attempted to put it in her mouth. It landed on the floor very shortly after this picture was taken.

She loves (LOVES!) banana. So lately I have been using chunks big enough for her to palm to practice. She definately makes the attempt to put it in her mouth. But removes it quickly. If I hold it for her she'll gum it a little and seem to like it. But she'll only tolerate this for a few "bites." I think banana is the best to practice with because she likes it so much.

This is egg yolk. This picture is what I am striving for. She picked up the pieces, put it in her mouth, and actually ate it! This was the second day I'd offered her such solid finger foods. I was so proud! Needless to say, she hasn't done it since.

She's not so sure about the consistency.

"What is this, mom????"

She looks repulsed here. She did actually eat quite a bit of it.

But again, after a few bites, she spit most of it out.

Last night I tried just setting a lump of mashed (not pureed) sweet potatoes in front of her. I think this is the key. She put her hands in the potatoes and then in her mouth. She's figuring it out. I think I just need to let her get messy and play around with the foods I know she likes so she can figure out the feeding herself part. I am also working on gradually increasing the textures and consistency of foods in order to get her closer to table foods. I don't have a goal for her, I know she needs to learn and be comfortable at her own pace. I am trying to have fun with it and I really do love serving her with a spoon!