7mth old refusing the spoon and driving me potty

[gigglysheep]

I have a lg who will be 7mths next week and had been puree feed by spoon since 4mths old. In the last 2 days she has decided to go on spoon strike and will only eat food offered as finger food or tit bits from our plates. She has a temper tantrum everytime I try to feed her by spoon. Its this a typical phase we have to go through or is there a way of stopping it before it gets worse. Thanks in advance ladies xx

[Hopeful15]

Hi Giggly, I've no idea. Mine's on the way so have all this to learn but I was worried no one had responded and found thiswholesomebabyfood.momtastic... which appeared pretty calming and nicely written. It would appear you have a forthright child eager to assert her independence!! Good Luck and breathe deeply

[gigglysheep in reply to Hopeful15]

Thank u very much for researching for me. I should embrace her independence really x

[Hopeful15 in reply to gigglysheep]

Well that sparked an avalanche of responses. Thanks in return for teaching me something new! Good luck and buy an apron - looks like things are about to get messy

[Hidden]

Hi, I think that's her growing independence - she wants to do it herself. My lo (9 mths) has never been a big fan of the spoon unless she is holding it herself. So I did more of a baby led weaning approach where you put the food in front of them and they feed themselves. We would definitely have battles if it was all the spoon! It's a bit messy but it's working well for us. I put the food directly on her tray table - no plate or that would go on the floor! The IKEA Antilop high chair is good for this - only £13 and v. Easy to clean. There are recipe books around to give ideas bit basically they eat what you eat, chopped up, with no salt. Whatever you choose - hope it gets easier!!

[Hidden]

I would second the baby led weaning approach, it worked for me.

[Mum2bee]

My lb also didn't like being spoon fed and insisted on feeding himself. I gave him things like softly cooked broccoli florets, carrot batons, toast soldiers with things like cream cheese, hummus, avocado on them. or even plain toast. He absolutely loves all fruit too. It did seem like he was not eating anywhere near as much as his spoon fed babies but you realise babies are not known for starving themselves and all should be fine.

Try and eat with her at the same time so she can watch you and learn.

Check out the baby led weaning website. Don't let mealtimes turn into battles as it's not good for either of you

[Lizzie13]

Babies actually don't need food to be pureed and spoon fed. When a baby is developmentally ready to move onto solids (usually around 6 months) then a baby can move straight onto 'normal' food that the rest of the family is eating. You will probably find she'll eat a lot better too as she is feeding herself and it should be easier for you as you won't have to prepare separate meals

[Cheekymonkey85]

Couldn't agree more with the above comments. Milly is a proper little independent lady & will not accept spoon feeding- except a pre loaded spoon of yogurt which she will attempt to feed herself..... Or flick around the kitchen lol

Baby led weaning is so much fun once you get past the mess xx

[Hotdiggitydog]

My son has been both spoon fed and eats finger foods, etc. I don't really follow styles of weaning....I just weaned him haha. If she doesn't want to be spoon fed, then just let her eat stuff herself My son loves feeding himself and shares our dinners and such all the time....has done for ages. Sometimes, I'll feed him something a bit more awkward mashed up a tad and on a spoon and if he wants it he'll take it. If that day he's not into the spoon, I'll offer something else. Sometimes he's too tired to feed himself when he's refused to nap lol so I'll spoon feed him. Mix and match and go with the flow

[Phoenix85]

I'm not sure why you want to stop her eating proper food herself?

I didn't do purees, with my last baby we waited til 6 months to wean and did Baby Led Weaning - they feed themself 'finger food' off a plate or their high chair.

she ate carrots, sweet potato, plums, banana, baked apple etc etc. Never did purees. And then by about 8 or 9 months she was eating whatever we were eating, and fed herself.

If your daughter wants to feed herself solid food rather than you spon feeding her purees, this is a GOOD thing. Embrace & encourage it!

[deesgirl]

Hi gigglysheep.

My children are a lot older and when my son was beginning to eat food I had similar nightmares with getting him to accept a spoon. It wasn't until I realised that he was becoming more aware of his surroundings that to him it was something else he wanted to understand, not just eat. He wanted to feel it, smell it, throw it on the floor, rub it in his hair. So I succumbed to his intellectual needs and allowed him to do this. I opened bin bags and placed them under his eating area, stripped him almost naked (unless he was outside, obviously) and let him explore. I gave him a spoon and I had one, eventually he allowed me to feed him. Please don't think I wasn't worried that he wasn't getting enough nourishment because I was. As long she is getting plenty of fluids, milk (lots of vitamins etc) and opportunity to eat I wouldn't worry too much. Speak to your health visitor and see if they have any tips but my son is now 15, nearly 6ft tall, and can eat very well and in an appropriate manner.

x

[Hopeful15]

I was just thinking about this and realised you've solved one of my anxieties about baby. Now I know my Labrador is going to simply adore baby - if not at beginning, defo when the food starts flying Thank you xx

[Numbers in reply to Hopeful15]

I know a lab that got proper tubby with clean up. When it lost 4 kg in a couple of mths I worried and asked the owners what happened....baby moved out of high chair! Enjoy