Who feeds?

[Phoebe]

My baby thinks she is very grown up and lets me know she wants to feed herself. So far we have primarily been feeding her pureed foods because she has spit out textured foods. Little by little I have tried to introduce more textured foods like the 3rd size jarred food and various table foods in small pieces without a lot of it passing her mouth.

She has now decided she prefers feeding herself over me providing food to her on a spoon. To feed her, I have given her, her own spoon or little fingers foods to keep her occupied. If I don't she gets tired of the spoon, pushes it away and refuses to eat. When I give her finger food as a meal, she ends up spitting most of them out even if they are foods she normally enjoys in a pureed form.

Meals are becoming a hassle and a big mess because she tries to stick her fingers in the food I feed her and gets it everywhere. She clearly seems ready to feed herself, but she swallows about 10% of what she puts in her mouth. I worry she isn't eating enough.

Any suggestions???

Jennifer

My vote is to let her feed herself and to put plastic down around the highchair!

Let the games begin!


Kris

[houseelf]

When my little guy started independently feeding himself, I stripped him down to his diaper before a meal to minimize the laundry. In the end, I let him feed himself because if I tried, he became frustrated and clamped his teeth shut refusing to eat anything. I would just turn a blind eye and replenish his plate if he ran out of food.

For a few months, our kitchen was a disaster area. I got smart after awhile and put old newspapers down under his high chair which could be thrown away after the meal rather than washed like the plastic drop clothes. Necessity is the motherhood of all invention.

It looks like toddlerhood is imminent!

Kelly

[SueC]

My 1 year old has been feeding herself for the last few months or so, unless it is applesauce or yogurt or something. She even tries to use a utensil, though she really doesn't have the coordination for that yet. I just give her one to hold while she is eating. I think seeing her big sister feed herself with utensils has motivated her.

[mommax3]

This is one of my LEAST favorite stages -- but here are my tried and true finger foods--

Ritz bits sandwiches (either the cheese or the peanut butter)
Ritz bits crackers
goldfish
peas
mandarin orange pieces
torn up pieces of American cheese
torn up pieces of lunchmeat or shredded chicken, etc.
Cheerios (of course!)

Right now, Nathan is eating the Gerber baby cereal (mixed with a stage 3 fruit and whole milk) pretty well, along with a few cheerios in the mornings. At lunch (formerly his "vegetarian" meal) he eats peanut butter ritz bits, some peas, and about half a jar of another vegetable (if I'm lucky!) -- or sometimes he has a piece of cheese. For dinner, he still will eat baby food (stage three) and he is especially fond of spaghetti and lasagna. Also, usually crackers with every meal.

He did go through a stage earlier in the summer where he wouldn't accept anything that I gave him on a spoon. I just let him eat what he wanted from the above list and made sure he was getting plenty of formula (with my other kids at this stage, I was nursing, so I made sure they slowed down long enough to nurse).

Babies won't electively starve, and once she has figured out that she *can* feed herself, I bet she will go back to letting you feed her, too.

Me: Strip kid to the diaper
Put kid in high chair
Protect surrounding carpet
Pull on face guard
Put food in front of kid
Have many wet papertowels (strong ones) waiting

Here's what my kids begin eating around 7 to 9 months of age:
-Gerber biter biscuits
-Gerber rice cakes (I think they call they wheels)
-Cheerios
-pizza crust (if we're having pizza)
-TINY bits of stinky cheese (if we are having stinky cheese)
-yogurt (yo! baby is the best tasting imhp with a layer of cream on top)
-small pasta (if we are eating pasta)
-tiny shreds of beef or chicken (depending on what we are eating)
-bits of muffin
-peas
-raisins (IF they can manage them - they're often a bit tough)

In short, we try to feed the baby an item or a bit of whatever we are eating as soon as they show interest - within the bounds of safety of course!

Jennifer

[Phoebe]

This is great advice! Thank you. I thought I may be missing something on this one being a new mom and all. I guess I have to continue to go with the flow and not worry so much. I realized that someone gave us a big splat mat as a shower gift so now I have something to put down under Avery's highchair.

I am relieved after reading all your posts. I was feeling like an inept mother. You saved my sanity and gave me more food ideas.

Jennifer