Question About First Finger Foods and First Non-milk Liquids.

I'm a mom of 4 grown children and a daycare provider of 20 plus years. Try soft cooked veggies that you cut up very small - carrots are great. Also peas, green beans, etc. Fruits are good too, I'd try banana first cut up. That is usually hard for a baby to pick up though because it's slippery but good practice. Canned pears are very soft and good. Any soft breads like toast cut up very small. And then Cheerios. Some choking, gagging is normal as a baby learns. Just watch to make sure he doesn't cram a bunch in his mouth at once.

It's all about how small the pieces you give him are. Also, don't overload his plate/bowl with a ton. I found starting off with half a Cheerio on my kids plate was a good starting point. If they liked that one half, then I'd break a couple more and slowly work at their speed. Here are other foods that my kids enjoyed (well, some did, some didn't, kids are all different)

Avocado
bits of banana (I'd feed these on a spoon or roll them in graham cracker crumbs to make fore easier pick-up)
Sweet Potato
Rice (a couple of kernals on a spoon until they can handle more)
Jarred peaches
Canned peas (I'm not a big canned food person but until my kids understand chewing, canned peas are super mushy)
Canned beans (same as above, mushy but until they can chew I serve them canned)
Bits of butternut squash
little noodle o's
Bits of soft granola bars (like nutri-grain bars)
Yogurt

PS: Be prepared for some gagging to happen, it's scary at first as they learn to maneuver bits in their mouth but like I said, don't make too big of chunks and don't offer too much at a time.

is he happy and content?? then he is getting enough liquids.

for hte first year. ALL nutrition comes from breast milk or formula.. food is practice for eating later. if he never ate one morsel of food except breast milk for the first year he would be totally fine.

at 9 months.. try small bits of any food you are eating.. canned veggies.. peas carrots green beans (cut up) well cooked potatoes.. bananas canned veggies.. gerber makes diced apples in a jar. yes he can choke on anything. but he has to learn how to chew and swallow. cheerios are good.. crackers that he can hold and bite.

melon is soft and easy to bite.

just start trying foods. offer water in a sippy cup .. offer an ounce of juice mixed with water.. he wont drink much but keep offering.

Looks like you're getting some good suggestions on the finger foods. I also soaked or dipped bread in broth or a veggie puree. Fruits and veggies have some liquid content. In terms of additional beverages, I'd stick with water. Juice is not a great fit for little ones. The only sippy cup thing my daighter has had success with was one with a soft straw.

Like Lisa said all he needs is your milk.
The rest is just experimental.

And like June said water is perfect-and straw cups.
My son couldn't figure sippy cups out either.
So my DH taught him how to drink from a straw by putting water in one end and his finger on the other and giving him little sips.
Like a baby bird.
He got it in no time.

Unfortunately you can choke on just about anything so just sit right there w/ him. And relax. It will be ok.

My son's very first finger foods were the puffs that you mentioned. Once he showed he was getting the hang of those we started other things such as: buttered toast (ind of just gummed on this at first and it gets soggy enough to eat okay), small bits of steamed veggies (carrots, potatoes, squash, etc.) small bits of banana cut up, other bits of soft fruit such as watermelon, etc. Basically anything that he eats pureed, just don't puree it. Bananas and toast were my son's favorites (okay, and the puffs.) He also ate cheerios, olives, shredded cheese.