Teething Bisquits for 9 Mo W/3 Teeth

Hi, I have a 9 month old son (well, 9 months tomorrow) with three teeth (all on the bottom) and I have been giving him teething buscuits for the past month+. I give him the Earth's best buscuits. I love it because it keeps him busy for at least 20 minutes working on it. He does get them soft enough and a large chunk comes of in his mouth- I used to fish it out and give him the other part of the buscuit- but now I know he pretty much just handles it. They are HUGE pieces (realativly)that fill his mouth- but he likes it and he has never choked. One funny thing is that they buscuits get soft and stick to the roof of his mouth. I thought he was done once and then about 15 minutes later I saw him chewing on something... I swiped his mouth and found a reserve of soft chewed cookie/ buscuit filling the roof of his mouth. It's funny. FYI- they are messy! Let him try- just stay close.

Teething biscuits basically turn into mush when they get chewed on, not break into pieces. They are messy and your son will love it. With any self feeding he does, don't leave him alone. If you notice him having trouble with something particular, stop and reintroduce in another month.

It is so hard to get a bite off of a teething biscuit, I wouldn't be afraid to give it to him at all. If he gets any, it will most likely be very soggy. They are very messy. If you are still afraid, then get a mesh feeder - you can put just about anything in one of those! Frozen grapes, frozen peas, ice, teething biscuit of course!, frozen banana, etc..
M.

I'd say give it a try. My daughter got her first two teeth at 9 months old, and she loves the Earth's Best Barley biscuits and the Gerber puffs. I prefer the Earth's Best because most of the other brands are just enriched flour and sugar, not a healthy combo. If you are really concerned about choking, start with the puffs or the wagon wheels (my daughter likes the carrot wagon wheels most of all) which will dissolve in her mouth. The puffs are the neatest of the three. The wagon wheels and the biscuits will leave a gooey mess on his fingers. I had to hose off the stroller last weekend to wash off the accumulated mess.

Each baby is different.
I would suggest Cheerios... because it breaks down more quickly, and "melts" once saliva hits it. This is what our Pediatrician suggests as the "first" finger-foods...until they get more mature and adept at it... and you don't want them to choke.

Also, sometimes these types of foods, can become "sticky" and "gloppy" in the mouth... thus, it can get stuck in their throat. Head's up. Babies and toddlers, tend to get a bunch of food in their mouth....and keep it there, like a squirrel, and then before you know it, they food can become just one big ball of "stuff" which can be a choking hazard.

ALso, at this age, they can't bite off just the right amount...and often a bigger chunk of biscuit can come off into their mouth, thus choking. You will need to supervise carefully as he eats things like this.

Cheerios is usually the thing given first. If you look on the box of biscuits, it will often say what age it is for... and for what level of eating skills.

I would wait on the biscuits... try Cheerios first.

Good luck,
Susan

I started my baby on baby biscuits at 6 or 7 months. They don't need teeth--it gets soft and mushy as they gnaw on it with teeth or gums b/c of the saliva. Another similar item is Zweiback toast (it just gets crumbs all over). Both of these are big enough for him to hold on to and you have plenty of time to take them away before they get too small.

Gerber puffs are GREAT to start with too--they melt so fast, they can't choke, and they are BETTER than Cheerios because Cheerios don't melt in the mouth right away (I speak from experience from my baby choking on them!).

In another month or so, you can try some of the other things we have done: wheat bread broken up in small pieces, itty bitty pieces of string cheese, skinless fresh fruit cut into 1/4" size pieces, bite size chicken.

My daughter is 10 1/2 months and is now taking bigger pieces of the above foods, and instead of biscuits, I 1/4 a whole wheat mini bagel for her to hold and eat. I now trust my baby with Cheerios too.

P.S. I just read someone suggest Earth's Best biscuits...I tried them and preferred Gerber because the EB ones are thin and broke so easy and I was afraid of choking on smaller pieces. They might be okay after baby is used to eating finger foods. I'll probably try them again now, since I already bought the box a few months ago.