Picky Eater - Wilmington,NC

Sounds fun and messy! I have 4 kids, all of them did that. They're independent. Nonetheless, I strapped their hands down and taught them to keep their hands down while I was feeding them. Sometimes I would just hold their hands under the highchair if it was just the one hand. Then after I finished the messy foods I would put foods they are allowed to do on their own....cheerios, frozen peas, bits of banana....things they can practice on their own. Also, I would let them hold and play with plastic utensils during that time or just play time in the highchair. Occasionally I would let them hold a spoon and I would help to start them. My advice is to set boundaries now, they want to do everything on their own, but they will need help and it's good to learn that now.

I also had that problem with my now 1 year old son. When my son learned that he could feed himself, he cut baby food right out of the picture. I went straight to "big" people food that I knew he could handle. They also have baby food that babies eat with their fingers. My son loves them. He mainly eats them as snacks now. The only time he will let anyone feed him anything is when we have something he doesn't. Your daughter is just showing her independence, which is a good thing. As long as she is eating I wouldn't be worried.

We totally had that problem, but now I count it as a blessing. I can actually eat my own dinner while she eats hers.
She eats what we eat sometimes, but our food tends to be extra spicy or has allergy-prone foods in it, so I keep baby friendly foods in the freezer. I buy bags of frozen mixed veggies and steam a bunch at once, then put them in little containers and back in the freezer. I do the same with pasta and chicken. I also keep frozen fruit on hand.
I do still give some baby food so I give her a spoon to occupy her, and occassionally I do have to hold her hands to keep the food from flying. Also, I put food on her fork or spoon and hand it to her so she can learn to use the utensils.
This is a messy time, but as long as you don't get frustrated with her, she'll love her food and learn to eat with good table manners.

I had the same issue with our daughter, now 3. She also started about 9 mos and also refused to nurse any longer around the same time. I switched her to a sippy and pumped and changed how I fed her foods. There is this real neat feeder that you can find in the baby aisle. It looks like a mesh bag on a handle. It works great to give them something to do on their own while you sneak in some from a bowl. I also put finger foods down for her and gave her small amounts in a bowl for her to do herself. It works! She was completely on her own by the time she was 12 months. I know it's a bit messy at first but they get better the more you allow them to practice. And the mess is nothing a quick wipe couldnt take care of. Both my kids learned to use their utensils early and have great table manners now. Like any other skill practice makes perfect. And allowing a little independence boost their self confidence. Worth a little mess if you ask me.

hi L., my name is T......i now have a 15 yr old, 7 yr old & a 2 yr old. to this day my 15 yr old is a very picky eater and rarely eats dinner with us because she "doesn't like that" when i KNOW she does, well, did anyway... so she fends for herself. luckily my 7 yr old will try anything but my 2 yr old is addicted to pink milk at the moment!! i only put enough in to change the color but this is ALL he wants and his appetite varies from day to day. some days he wants food and eats like a little piggy who is tasting food for the first time and other days all he wants is his milk!!

this being my 3rd child and having to deal with my oldest changing here mind (her entire life) about what foods she'll eat this week i've given in to what i've been told thru out my life...and that is...when a child is hungry they WILL eat!!

let your little one have her independence (maybe get the plastic floor covers you toss after each use) and be happy she's shoving that food in her mouth!! if you worry about her proper nutrition use a child's multi vitamin, i use over the counter (some you have to only give 1/2 of one) or talk with your doc to find one they recommend.

relax and enjoy watching her being a big girl!!! good luck sweety :)

I would follow her lead. Let her feed herself. My kids were mostly off baby food by the same age. They got so they really liked popping food in their mouth. One plus is you will save money not having to buy jars of babyfood anymore! :) My one daughter didn't get any teeth until 10 months old but that didn't slow her down in the least. Nutrition wise I wouldn't worry as long as she is still nursing or on formula. Until at least 12 months of age most of their nutrition comes for breastmilk or formula anyways. Happy cleaning! :) hahaha

My girls were both like your daughter, but I didn't view it as a problem. They both pretty much gave up on baby foods around 9 months. They wouldn't eat them even if they'd let me feed them. I fed them what we ate and other finger foods and basically gave up on the really messy foods like pureed baby foods, yogurt etc. for awhile. If I did try to give them the messier foods, I'd put a little bit at a time in a plastic bowl and let them have a spoon or fork. A little bit at a time doesn't get too messy. Also, I sat with them and had a spoon or fork myself and would sneak in bites when they would let me. They didn't go hungry. It could be messy at times, but that's how they learn. By 11 months both of my girls were fairly proficient with spoons and forks. To save myself some time when they were hungry, I'd spend some time on a Sunday night or when they were napping and cut up a bunch of things into really small bites to have ready to go when they were hungry.