So frustrated with feeding my spirited 11 month old!

[lukemom]

Hi

My DS will be 12 months in a couple of weeks.  When I feed him solids about half way through the meals he starts to whine, rub his eyes put his hand in his mouth then rub all the food in his eyesand keeps rubbing. He is whinning but will still take the food when I offer it. Not sure why he is acting tired cause he has only beenup for an hour or two.    It is soooooo annoying.  I am so frustrated, I don't enjoy feeding him at all.  I don't think it is allergies cause there are no other symptoms.  Does anyone have suggestions on how to make the whole mealtime thing more enjoyable for the both of us?

Here is what a typical day looks like for meals

Breakfast: oatbran and fruit, every other day egg yolk.
Lunch: yogurt, fruit/veggies
Supper: rice/pasta, veggies

[RachelC]

What happens if you end meal time when he starts whining?

Is he feeding himself at all?

[deb]

If he's Spirited, it might just be a lot to take in; he may have a low threshold for the new stuff but will still take it if you do your share of the work. In other words, could be more OS than OT.

[lukemom]

Rachel C
Well to answer your question he just goes and crawls around and is pretty much happy.  Tonight he was crying when we put him in his high chair, so we waited a half hour then tried again but still the same fussing and crying.  Tried putting himin his bumbo chair.  Same thing.  I am trying to give him more finger and table foods, wonder if he just isn't taking to it as smoothly as others?

Deb,
Not sure about the OS thing cause when we go out to eat like we did yesterday he had a blast!  Was all smiles, looking around eating everything.  So not sure what is going on!  Maybe he just wants pureed food.  LOL

Stumped.

[my3girlsjde]

My girls had a hard time with finger foods and it took several tries for them to take it. We did the pureed thing for much longer than I'm sure some people do and they're also spirited so it got pretty messy sometimes lol.

I know spirited babies can be known to 'dive right in' when it comes to eating solids and mine certainly were with pureed food, but not with finger foods at all. If it makes sense the textures seemed to 'weird them out' iykwim.

HTH

Vicki

[lukemom]

I totally know what you mean.  I thought that about DS since we started him on  solids.  Sure enough I went and just put his supper  ( rice, spilt peas and squash) in the food processor for just a few seconds and go figure he ate it!  It wasn't even that much of a difference!!!!  Oh well!  So weird. 

[my3girlsjde]

Now that the girls have been on solids and eating table food for a while, I'm trying to get them to try mushy things like stew and casserole. Do you think they'll touch it? NOPE!!! lol. They're still weirded out by play-doh and paint too. Must just take a little longer due to their texture sensitivites.

I'm currently reading Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Kurcinka and it's like she put a camera in my house. It's explained so much about sensitivities with the girls and given me so much insight to what the world really must be like for them. I highly recommend it

Spirited children really make us think outside of the box sometimes

[deb]

Deb,
Not sure about the OS thing cause when we go out to eat like we did yesterday he had a blast!  Was all smiles, looking around eating everything.  So not sure what is going on!  Maybe he just wants pureed food.  LOL

Stumped.

If he's OS in terms of textures but not in terms of stuff going on around him that might explain it. J overloads on lots of noise and visual stuff, but needs to have additional stimulation movement-wise, she's constantly twirling and running. Different senses, so different needs and capacities for handling them.

Just a thought, anyway.

[JJshappymum]

I know how frustrating mealtime can be! DS is 11 months going on 12 and mealtime is a chore. What is good today is unacceptable tomorrow and he turns his entire body away from me as I get near with a spoon. Finger foods just end up on the floor...

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

If it makes sense the textures seemed to 'weird them out' iykwim.

Exactly describes Spencer...she was on purees until 9 (or maybe 10?) months old. My memory is really going since I had her. The first finger food she really loved was her Mum Mums because they are dry to the touch. If I offered her fruit she would poke at it with her index finger and make a face. It really took going to daycare to get her eating "real" food, not sure if it was because she could see the other babies eating it too or what, but it worked.

Now she'll eat all sorts of messy things without complaint! Of course she also loves throwing them too   

[lukemom]

I just feel like i am under pressure to hurry up and get him off the pureed foods cause the dietician told me that kids should be off of it by 12 months.  He doens't eat as much of it now, but like today he had a whole jar of peas cause we were on our way home  froma test and it was easy to feed him this in the car.  So I guess it's partly my fault.  Oh dear!  Got the spirited book, just starting to read it, hopefully it might have some good suggestions.  HE does LOVE his mum mums.  LOL.

Vicki: two spiritied babies at the same time!!!!!!  I would go bonkers!!!  LOL

[deb]

Not all kids have read the books and know to be off purees the day of their first birthdays! If they're on only purees much after that, it might be an issue, but if he's getting some of each, it might be a texture thing and it might take longer to transition him. Certainly keep trying, but any doctor who treats those milestones as set in stone has either never had kids or only had Textbook ones!

[lukemom]

Ya you are right deb, I am so darn literal sometimes.  My friends make fun of me!  This what I mean when I say I am probaly making this harder then it needs to be.

[Deb_in_oz]

also my spirited one is stil hard to feed at almost 5.  she is a little and often girl most of the time. some days eats a lot, but most days it is a small breakfast (always was anti-breakfast as a baby even), a snack/ breakfast #2, lunch - hit and miss, a snack in the arfternoon, maybe another snack, dinner and then even at bedtime is looking for food so she gets an apple.

he may be fussing because he really is done for that meal butif you come back later for more food he may happily eat some more. i tried sohard to have liv not be a "snacker" but from breast to bottle to solids to big girl she had always preferred to eat this way

[lukemom]

I think you might be right.  just today he didn't want to eat that much, but then later was all for it!  Always keeps me on my toes.  Now todayhe has come down with any aweful barky cough.    So really just gotta go with the flow.  Still pretty happy though!  Woohoo!