Author Topic: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.  (Read 2503 times)

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Offline Jojo290615

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My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« on: January 20, 2016, 09:38:45 am »
Hi
I was wondering if anyone could advise me :)

My lb is almost 7 months, I started weaning him on purées around 4 months.. The traditional way. It went ok in the beginning, then he got a cold and wasn't interested so I stopped for a couple of weeks.
We started up again seriously with breakfast and lunch around 5,5 months. And he was sitting well in the high chair.
The thing is that he is not keen on being spoon fed.
I give him porridge for breakfast, with a bit of fruit smoothie mixed in. And I always start of by giving him a bit of banana as finger food.
He brings the banana to his mouth and eats a bit then squashes it on his tray! Hehe.
He allows me to spoon feed him a bit while he puts his hands in bowl... Then he insists on having the spoon ! And he eats himself ... I have a second spoon which we exchange when he has done with the first one :)
So breakfast goes ok... But lunch is a different story . Is is fine with food that he really likes like sweet potato.. I start off feeding him with the spoon and then I give it to him and we exchange spoons and so on... But with food he doesn't know he won't eat much.. And will just hit his spoon on the tray.
I have tried finger foods which he seems good with .. But I'm really nervous about choking and so:(
So I'm not sure what I can do now .. We don't seem to be progressing much with solids :( and soon I guess I will have to start feeding him 3 times a day !

Is this normal behaviour? Just seems most ends up on the floor and not much in his mouth .. I'm worried he isn't getting enough food.

I feed him always 1h after his milk sometimes 1,5 hours after.
We are on the EASY schedule.. With around 3 hours awake time and 2 naps of 1,5 hours and bedtime at 6:00pm
 

Offline weaver

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2016, 09:50:27 am »
All very normal hun.  I didn't spoon feed either of mine at all and they are great eaters, always have been :) We did a thing called Baby Led Weaning, might be worth you reading up on that, it is basically offering finger foods, and foods they can try to tackle themselves, and letting them get on with it. (LO1 started solids by grabbing a banana out of my hand and chomping on it!)  Even soup can be offered this way, just with some bread to dunk :)  There is definitely a stage where they mush stuff up, and it seems like not a lot goes in, but bear in mind that their tummies are tiny and that milk is still the most nutritious thing for him (best absorption).

Please know that choking is rare.  It does happen but very rarely.  If you're nervous, it would be a good idea to do a baby first aid course. Babies have an excellent gag reflex which stops things going down the wrong way.  I have occasionally seen my LOs gag (once each I think?) but no choking.  Hope that reassures you. A lot of it is to do with what you give them when, it needs to be the right size (not too big, not too small) and the right sort of consistency, to start with, but BLW babies tend to develop food handling skills really well.  I think if you can steel your nerves you will quickly get past the first hurdle and enjoy watching your baby eat.

Baby-Led Weaning
Spoon Refusal and Finger Food Tips
Information on choking and gagging
*Anne*, loving mama to a honeybee (2010) and a sweetpea (2012).  BF for 4 proud years.


Offline 4isstillnighttime

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2016, 14:26:43 pm »
I agree with Anne - I started purée feeding the twins but that lasted about a week before they just weren't having it so we did baby led weaning by accident and it has worked out brilliantly! With this baby if I want to give him porridge or yoghurt or something I load up a spoon and hand it to him facing the right way and he puts it in....or flicks it at me but that's a different story!!

Gagging in babies is very common, and can be scary, but if you are careful about what you give them to eat then choking is rare.

Offline Jojo290615

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2016, 16:38:22 pm »
Thanks ladies ! I have been giving him a bit of finger food.. But very basic .. So maybe it's time to be a bit more adventurous:)
I always cut things up the size of chips .. Is that the right size? And when should I start giving him a third meal ? He is 7 months next week ?

Offline 1stimer

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2016, 16:57:30 pm »
My LO was identical. He never really cared for purred food but I was so scared to give him finger foods. I did egg yolk and grits for breakfast. I gave him a spoon but he usually ended up using his hands most the time. I didn't mind...it made a mess but he learned and I would put him in the bath. He was a really big fan of cubed sweet potatoes. With soup we added crackers to thicken it. Noodles were great, avacadoes, really anything that's soft. Really I don't think its big as far as how much he gets because if I remember correctly, at that age they still get most of their nutrition from formula or breast milk. I even did cheerios in a little breast milk or just plain.





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Offline 4isstillnighttime

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2016, 18:49:07 pm »
I give my 7 month old as many meals as he is awake for! So my toddlers have 3 meals and 2 snacks, and he joins in whenever he is awake. So some days he gets 2 meals, some days 5!

Chip size is fine. He might poke it down his throat and gag, but that is all part of the learning. You just have to be careful of giving hard foods like apples if he could bite bits off as that would be a choking risk - I either microwave the Apple til it's soft or give him half an apple so he can only gnaw the edges.

Sounds like you are doing really well, and are really responding to your baby's needs and preferences!

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2016, 20:22:52 pm »
On size, I suppose I'm thinking for example bread sticks - you could give him a whole one that he would chew and get all soggy and mushy, but I wouldn't give a baby a mini bread stick that could go into his mouth whole and dry. Does that make sense? You'll get an idea of how your baby eats, a lot of LOs like to nibble and lick things, some like to shove it all in there, so you need to adjust accordingly.

A lovely way to serve apple is to fry slices in butter, softens it up and is yummy! But gnawing is good too

There are some great baby led weaning videos on youtube, baby eating lasagne is a classic.  It's not always that messy ;)
*Anne*, loving mama to a honeybee (2010) and a sweetpea (2012).  BF for 4 proud years.


Offline 4isstillnighttime

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2016, 20:42:25 pm »
Apples fried in butter sounds lush!! Hello, breakfast!!!

Offline Jojo290615

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2016, 14:06:12 pm »
Thank you all for the advice and tips :)
So for lunch I tried some eggy bread, it went good at first  ... He Put it in his mouth, spat it out squashed in his fingers .. Bashed it on the table hehe... But I guess this is normal right ?
I have him a fresh piece .. He did the same but gagged a bit and then he was sick :( :( . He is not a sticky baby so must have been the gagging :( I stay calm ... And reassured him, he didn't cry even smiled after bless him !
Is vomiting normal ? Are there any good first foods that I can give him that he will find easy. I have given him soft carrot, banana, avocado, corn puffs for baby, toast and now eggy bread .
xxx

Offline creations

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2016, 14:59:54 pm »
All sounds normal :)
Whilst gagging and regurgitating can look pretty scary to you, as you've seen, LO is often not bothered by it. It shows his gag reflex is doing it's job and bringing large pieces to the front of his mouth.  Sometimes the gag reflex can trigger a vomit where all their previous food comes up which might be a bit messy and may or may not bother LO (if all the food comes up he might need feeding again as he'll be hungry!).  sometimes it can appear to be a vomit but it is only the piece of food they have just eaten, mine did this with trying to swallow pieces which were too large (not choking, swallowing) and for a moment looked like things were a bit uncomfortable but generally once the piece had been hacked up and landed on his tray he'd pick it up and have another go!!  In our case I found giving him a friendly "hey, you're supposed to chew it you know!" helped.
Talking about the food is great as you go along. I have lots of videos of my boy self feeding from 5.5 month old, it amazes me to look back at them and see just how much he understood of what I was saying. I pointed out parts to be eaten and parts not to be eaten (eg melon wedge, skin on to aid picking up but not to be eaten).

PP mentioned a paediatric first aid course. I would recommend one too. I only managed to attend part of the one I booked into (as DS was screaming in the creche so I had to duck out) but in that short time they covered the vital part for me, what to do if he chokes.  If you are on a waiting list for a course perhaps you can get some idea from on-line videos, it's not the same as a course but it is something.  Staying calm, checking for breathing are vital. Don't hit on the back (as many people are tempted to do), it can cause more harm (creating a choke or causing the food to lodge further).

Must dash now, there's a list of finger food ideas on the recipe board if you can see where that is.


Offline 4isstillnighttime

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2016, 15:31:36 pm »
He will get used to it really quickly. Eggy bread is brilliant. My baby likes pancakes, I make biscuits and scones with no sugar or salt, melon, broccoli. Sweet potato wedges are great, and he likes chicken - I pull bits off a roasted drumstick.

Keep going!

Offline Jojo290615

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Re: My baby doesn't like to be spoon fed.
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2016, 22:14:52 pm »
Thank you ladies !! xxx