Help with Feeding Difficulty

no matter how hard it is dont laugh at her.babies will do anything to make you laugh.It will pass it is a stage just tell her no mam please dont do that in a firm voice and she will stop eventually.I no it sucks but she will quit soon.

Don't worry she will not starve! She has discovered something new. My advise to you would be to get a toy or something that she can hold while you feed her to distract her. or just stop feeding her if she spits the food the first time.....let her just sit there for a while with a toy to play with and try to feed her in about 30 minutes. her tummy might be hungry enough then for her not to play with her food! good luck!

J.,

This is normal, but quite frustrating for the mom! I have 4 kids (three are 1 year old triplets) and they all did this to me. In the interim, try to put the spooon on her tongue and not pull it out until she swallows the food - but you might want to try some foods with more texture now. When my kids were ready for texture they started doing that. FYI - all of my kids were off "baby food" at 9-10 mos.

Good luck!
T.

This behavior may be happening because she may not like the taste of what she is eating or she may be just playing. If she normally eats the type food you are giving her then I would try in a stern voice tell her no and call her name we do not play with our food like this. It may take a few times but she will get the understanding as long as your reaction is consistent. Don't laugh or let her continue. That is what I did with mine.
Hope this helps,
J. G

My advice is to enjoy it! They are only that small once and you have to admit it is pretty cute :) She is really too little for discipline. So I would take out the video camera and maybe get one of America's funniest videos! She will eat what she needs to!

Relax, it will pass! Your daughter has just discovered a new talent and is enjoying it. While it may be a bit frustrating (and messy), she will eventually stop, especially when she learns another new skill. My little one went through the same thing, and I just enjoyed the fact that she had learned something new! And now she is 17 months old and I can't remember the last time she blew a raspberry . . . too busy learning to walk, talk, etc.

Oh how precious! My advice, just take pictures and enjoy the beauty of your baby learning and being silly!
I know you are tired of the mess.....someday she'll be out of the house and you'll miss these messes. :) Good luck though.
I clean my kitchen floor numerous times a day right now because of a baby in the high chair. Your request made me stop and think that I too need to just enjoy this messy time, so thank you!!!!
Blessings, J.

have you tried something with more texture (or if you are pureeing her foods then not doing so so much, so that it's lumpy)
she may be telling you that she is tired of that texture & wants more, i would try not pureeing them so much or getting the next stage foods...if she chews you can try raviolis cut up into small pieces, my kids loved these at that age.

She's just experimenting (and learning) about textures and how her mouth works, etc. It is a PAIN, but you really should just let her do it because it is an important stage of development. She's getting some swallowed, I'm sure. Besides, at that age, they really are not getting much nutrition from food anyway. She'll stop doing it eventually. Probably the less you react to it, the more boring it will become. My suggestion is to take her shirt off when you feed her...and maybe YOU can wear a bib, arg!!

We started with steamed broccoli stems and mashed potatoes mounded up in front of Sierra on her Bumbo tray. (We skipped cereals - it's hard for the young digestive systems of babies to process cereals without discomfort. Also, I learned that purees are mainly for 4 to 6 month olds with pediatrician OK and that a 6 mo old can handle all types of finger foods with their incredible gag reflex - even without teeth!)

The approach is called baby-led weaning. I call it "Finger Foods From the Start." (I found out about it on Mamasource!)

Check out http://babyledweaning.blogware.com
It's a very informative and funny blog from a Scottish mom about her adventures with solid food.

There's a Y! group too. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/B-LW
"Baby-led weaning is an approach to the introduction of solid foods which involves babies from around six months of age feeding themselves with their fingers, thus avoiding the need for spoon-feeding and purees. Babies who are allowed to take control of their eating in this way seem to enjoy the process enormously and to become
less fussy eaters later. It's also less work for Mum! Join the group to share the experiences of those who are using (or have used) this method."

Sierra is the BEST eater. She's not picky at all and she even has multiple food allergies! She loves to try new things, especially if we say "oooh yummy (fill in food here)!"
Bottom line is that she is in control of what she eats and how much. On 2 occasions we tried to spoon feed her and she clamped her mouth shut each time. But when we placed finger foods in front of her for her to pick up she was much more happy and she actually ate her food!

I will be posting more food pics at our blog. (I'm way behind on our blog. Sierra just turned 15 mo and I'm posting 9 month entries!)

S.

Baby Sierra updates can be found at our Pregnancy and Birth Blog:
http://360.yahoo.com/ut96grad
Latest entry 7/1/08

AT 7 months old, she is just learning about solids and exploring with her tongue! Formula or breastmilk is all baby has to have the first year, so I wouldn't fret over her playing instead of eating her baby food. If you get frustrated because she is not eating it, just let her explore it. It's hard to do sometimes, because we feel like they should eat if its in front of them, but babies can sense our frustration.
Can a mat to put under the highchair, take off her clothes, step back, and let her have at it. It's the best way to learn to self feed is by exploration and the opportunity to do it herself!

You have to laugh! At least I do - it's funny! I'm going through the same thing with my Grandaughter lately (she'll be 8 months on Thursday) They're just testing out their abilities which is a precursor to language, so it's a good thing she's doing, although very messy! Addyson usually gets me in the face! Carrot orange is NOT my color! It's aggravating that's for sure. At this age they also want to try and feed themselves, bites of banana are good and they make these little cereal bits that are pretty easy to pick up and she loves them(they advise against Cheerios now, these little bits actually dissolve in their mouth after a bit)......also, they will not be rushed at feeding time anymore, it's a learning process now which is much more than just sitting and eating.....it's exploring the food feel, texture etc....and of course it might amuse them to spew food on us but I'm not sure how developed the sense of humor is at this stage! Good Luck and try to have fun!

My only advice would be to say no and to put her down as if you were not going to give her more food for a set period of time (to increase until it is effective). Then when the time is up (not giving in because she is upset). Ask her if she is going to eat? No spitting? and then put her back in the chair and continue. However it has to be consistently every time, if she is indeed hungry she will stop.

And thus, the dinner time excitement begins! First of all, it's normal for babies to experiment with textures, spitting, etc., and your reaction of shock, disgust, etc. only reinforces the fun of it. :-). Like the other moms said, it might be time to start offering food with texture, or some finger foods.
In general though, with meal time antics:
First rule as that if she's not eating, you don't "need" to feed her. You are obviously an attentive, loving parent and I assume you will offer her food again at the next regularly scheduled meal/snack time. :-) Thus, if she's playing with her food instead of eating it, say "oh, you must be done then," then put the food away and take her out of the high chair and do some other activity. Do the same thing every time this happens, and reinforce the concept with words like "You may eat in the high chair, and you may play in the playroom (or floor, or living room, or whatever)."

It may also be time to start spacing meals/snacks a little farther apart as well. As babies get closer to a year old, their growth slows down a lot and your previously voracious eater may suddenly take on a bird-like appetite. Don't let yourself get worried into thinking "She HAS to eat SOMEthing..." This is how children develop bad habits of only eating chicken nuggets and hot dogs. That may seem a bit overdramatic in talking about your 8 month old, but believe it or not, those patterns begin now.
Your child will not starve herself. Also, at her age, you are probably offering some sort of nourishment about every 2-3 hours, whether it's a snack, bottle, or food. If she's not hungry at one feeding time, it's not long before the next. With mine I found that sometimes they just needed about another half hour if they were more interested in playing than eating.

I know it's hard to not feed your kid when you look at the clock and know that it's "feeding time." But you must remember you're feeding a person, not a robot. Just like you, there will be days that she's simply not hungry at the designated hour. :-)

Just know that this is only the beginning. The "food wars" will last until she's about 4. (I'm sure you wanted to hear that...). It's hard to stick to your guns, but the reward is great. There were days in both of my children's toddler years that they literally hardly ate a full meal for 2 or 3 days. Rather than whipping out the mac n cheese or plate of hot dogs, which is what something inside of me wanted to do (that old mommy guilt of "but they NEED to eat SOMEthing..."), I simply left it alone and kept serving up regular healthy meals. On day 3 my children (age 2 and 4 at the time) actually ate salmon, asparagus and fresh spinach. I have to say that this was an experiment when I did it, but it proved to me that they really will eat anything when they finally get hungry enough. It's my job to make sure the stuff they eat really counts and will give their little bodies what they need to grow :)

So, your mantra through these years needs to be "she will eat when she's hungry, she will eat when she's hungry, she will eat when she's hungry," and don't back down!

Good luck!

wear an apron. it's a phase.

It might be a good idea for you to take her to a "picky eaters group." A speech therapist works with kids who have eating issues. I took my son to a picky eaters group and it was great. We went to a private therapy place called Our Children's House at Baylor in Grapevine (right accross the street from Baylor Hospital Grapevine). You bring your child's dinner with, and the kids sit at the table taking turns eating. The speech path blows bubbles after every time a child takes a bite. It is also peer pressure to eat, since everyone else is doing it! Your daughter is very young, so I don't know if it would work, but it's worth a phone call. Good luck!

Sounds like she is bored. Maybe it is time to progress to finger foods, or some food with more texture. Or she is just trying out her lips and has discovered this really cool thing they can do....raspberries. I used to have to feed my second son pratically naked because he got it everywhere, all over his body every meal.
good luck,
L.

Has she eaten raspberries before? It could be possible that she doesn't like them.

J.,
This is how babies learn. She is experimenting. She's learning how to use her mouth, and she is exploring textures. This, too, shall pass. Don't discipline her for it. No baby ever starved to death from blowing raspberries in her food. She will eat.

Blessings,
P.

I have 2 ideas for you...1- Maybe she wants foods with more texture and 2- maybe she wants to feed herself?

Ok, I know you already had tons of responses, but I HAD to write as well because I am going through the exact thing (son is 7 months and has had several meals of raspberries with each bite), and I agree and disagree with some of the responses you've gotten. What I agree with is that this is a phase. Yes, babies like to experiment and they experiment with what they do and how we respond. I really do not believe it has anything to do with whether she's bored or doesn't like her food or needs more textures. My son has done this with food I KNOW he likes, and at times when he should be hungry. Here's where I strongly disagree with responses, that it's too young to discipline and try to stop it, or just accept it as a normal language precursor. There is nothing wrong with making the noise and it is very cute and very appropriate, but not when eating! I love my son to do this and we play games and do it back and forth to each other, but NOT at mealtime. When he did it, I firmly said NO. After he did it 10-12 times in a row, I stopped feeding him. After only a couple of meals, he would try to blow a raspberry and after only 1 or 2 times of saying NO, he stopped because he wasn't getting the response he wanted (laugh, return noise, etc.); now he doesn't do it when he eats. It is absolutely not too early to start teaching appropriate behaviors by saying no (of course she doesn't completely understand, but you're laying the foundation) and teaching her mealtime is for eating. I'm a pretty easy-going mom with 2 very active boys (older is 3, younger is 7 months) but I've never been one to let my kids play with their food at mealtime. They get to self feed, and explore textures through other ways of play, I just don't let them play with their food, and this is a 7 month olds way of playing with food. However, it sounds like while teaching her not to do this, thicker foods may help keep you a little cleaner!

She is old enough now to start feeding herself, Give her finger foods like carrots and cheerios to start out with. And move up to solids instead of puree this wil also fill her up a little better also.