Looking for 'self-feeding' tips

[bheemeryck]

I thought my lo wanting to feed himself was such a great thing... I know I'm supposed to be laid back about the whole mess thing but it's getting crazy!! If anyone would care to share tips on how and what they started giving their lo to assist them in feeding themselves, that would be great. My ds is refusing to be fed by me at all, if it goes in his mouth it's with his hands- and last night's cereal EVERYWHERE episode was a little too much :shock: , I need help. Plus, I'm not sure any of it gets in his mouth.

I do finger foods like cheerios, puffed wheat, cooked/soft fruit or veggies, but that infant cereal is supposed to be a main part of his diet (needs the iron) so I guess pointers from someone who's been here would be good. He's only 8 months, I thought he'd let me help him out a little longer!!

[tylersmommy]

Tyler refused any food off a spoon from 9-12 mo. I had to get kind of creative to make sure his nutritional needs were still being met with just finger foods. He was still getting plenty of formula, so that took care of most of it since it has iron in it (as does breastmilk). At his 12 mo dr visit, he hadn't eaten infant cereal in over 3 mo, so I asked to have his iron levels checked...and they were fine!

I often coated his fruits and veggies in dry infant cereal to sneak just a bit into him, and that worked well. Tofu and egg yolk also contain iron. Tofu makes a good finger food (coated with cereal because it's hard to pick up), and I often made french toast with just egg yolk and tore it into bits for finger food.

He survived on finger food alone for those 3 months. Trying to get him to eat with a spoon himself was pointless...like you said, it's a mess. It's pretty rare for them to have enough coordination to make that work at that age, most babies can't get the spoon in their mouths on their own until well after their first birthday. HTH!

[bheemeryck]

Thanks for the ideas Melissa, I like the french toast idea. Even though I haven't introduced egg whites, bread should be okay? I was glad to hear about your experience with the iron levels, I figured since it's in his formula he should be okay, but iron fortified is in EVERYTHING, so it's hard to judge how much they need... I will try some of your other suggestions as well, I appreciate the information!!

[velvet]

Another idea might be to lay out some tupperware for him to play with while you're feeding.  I put one colorful lid and one bowl on my 8 month old's tray and I am able to distract him for awhile.  He likes to bang them.  Another thing he really likes are the caps from the baby food jars.  They're metal and he likes the noise.