What is going on with her lately?

[amheusser]

Lately (a couple weeks I think) R won't eat any bits of finger food in her highchair.  She'll eat them in the living room or elsewhere, out of a little snack cup, but not off her highchair tray.  It's literally the same food - today I picked up what she hadn't touched on the tray, and put it in the cup when we went out, and she wanted them.  I give her cereal (several kinds), fruit chunks, bits of pancake, etc, and she isn't interested.  She still eats frozen blueberries, but that's it for small pieces.  She'll eat a slice of pizza or a whole pancake with no problem, just not if it's broken up.  I've never heard of a baby not wanting cheerios!

Today, suddenly, she's started randomly freaking out during meals, and I can't figure out why.  She'll suddenly turn away & cry, kind of like when she's done, but 10 seconds later is asking for more.  Also, she was signing 'hungry' when she got up from her afternoon nap, even after 2 graham crackers, so I'm wondering about a growth spurt but then why the sudden upsets in the chair? 

I'm not going to give in & feed her every meal on my lap, but don't know what to do or why she's suddenly not eating right.  Any ideas?

[jaxnp]

Teeth?

[amheusser]

I don't think it's teeth.  She's way late on those - so far just has one poked through, not even all the way up yet.  She hasn't really shown any other teething signs, though, and is sometimes refusing things that would help (like zwieback toasts).   It just seems like she has to eat on her terms, and I'm not sure what those are right now.....

[tylersmommy]

Could it be a confinement issue? I know Tyler has gone through phases where he hates being immobile in carseats, strollers, etc. You may have hit the nail on the head...she might have come to prefer eating on the go instead of in the high chair. Up to you how you want to solve it...if eating while wandering doesn't bother you, then the easy answer is to let her do it her way. If it does bother you and you want her to eat in the high chair, you're probably going to have to be a big meanie and only allow eating in the high chair. She won't starve and she'll probably get the message pretty quicky if you're consistent!