Sweet... POOOOTAAATOOOO!!

Things were improving a bit.  I have to admit, I was still a bit skeptical.  It didnt seem like she was getting much food down at all, and I was still nervous as heck for her choking on something.  But we moved on... This time I read as much as I could on how to cook the food.  Many of the suggestions said to bake sweet potato "fries" in olive oil so that it made the insides soft but gave a skin for baby to grab onto.  So off I went... I peeled and cut half a sweet potato into somewhat thick fries, and baked it with olive oil.  They browned up a bit, and seemed to be nice and soft inside.  I discarded (aka ate) the ones that seemed to end up with dark crispy ends.  The rest I kept to give to her.

This was much more successful.  No real choking, and she was starting to get the concept of at least masticating the food to death.  She did gag a few times, but was able to get it moved around in her mouth quickly.  She might have even swallowed a couple of tiny pieces by the third time we gave it to her.  Either way, the sticks were easy to hold and the food softened in her grip.  And as a plus, they were easy to transport for food anywhere else if we wanted.

Recommendation
Sweet Potato:  This is great as an early food.  Peel the potato, cut into thick fries, toss in olive oil, and bake it at 400 for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10.  Allow plenty of time to cool, then serve to baby.