feeding lo by distracting her.....eating too much?

[shannon S]

Should I still be giving my lo pureed foods in the jar still?

She is 13 months and it has taken a while for her to enjoy "finger foods", or foods that are not pureed.  I'm starting to wonder now if I might be feeding her too much.

The scenerio is this: 
I allow her to eat what she will with her fingers, maybe some pasta, peas, toast for example.  But she usually spits out pieces that aren't small enough or doesn't finish the portion... plays with it etc.  Then I usually distract her and feed her the jar foods, usually 2-4 tablespoons of the vegie/meat combos.  Then she usually has 3 tablespoons of jarred fruit.  If I were to give her blueberries or pieces of fruit, she wouldn't eat that much of it.  If I give her a spoon and bowl of her own, she will pretend to eat, or sometimes I let her "dip" into the food (although it gets really messy)...and this distracts her while I feed her by spoon.  If I don't distract her like this, then she usually turns away and won't just sit and be fed. 

Is she telling me she's not hungry or should I assume that she is hungry if I can feed her wtih distraction?

Should I stop doing this and just let her eat what she will of the finger/solid foods? 

She is a good size....23 pounds at one year.  And now I'm worrying that my strategy might be getting too much food into her.
Make sense?
oh ya, and her first two teeth have finally broken through the gums!

Please advise....as I'm starting to worry.
shannon

[violet41]

Hi, I dont know the answer to your question, but I do exactly the same thing with my 11-month old!  The only difference is that my daughter is a little under-sized at around 8kg (just under the 50th percentile for her age).  so in my case I feel its necessary just to try and increase her calorie intake.

[tylersmommy]

Well, I think a lot of it depends on what kind of distraction you mean. If you're giving her a chance to practice an eating skill, like using a spoon, then I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But if you have to resort to TV, toys, or a sideshow to get food into her, that may not always be a good idea. You can get just about anything into a kid's mouth when they aren't paying attention, and it's important for babies to learn what "full" feels like
and how to communicate that to you. Dstraction can hinder that, so you can't necessarily assume that she's still hungry just because she'll still swallow food, KWIM? Also, as babies become toddlers, it's just as important for them to learn about the mealtime experience. So, long answer to short question...I don't think all distraction is bad, just don't rely on it too much or jump through too many hoops to get her to eat!

[shannon S]

Thanks for the replies!

dd just started daycare yesterday. It is wonderful because she gets breakfast and lunch there and is fed very well....home cooked meals.  And she has not needed the jar food at all. So I'm happy about that. And of course at daycare they don't have time to sit with dd and distract her.  But apparently it isn't needed because she just wants to do and eat whatever the othe kids are having!

I feel like a bad mom......the daycare lady is feeding her better than I do!  Today she had home made waffles with carrots, peas, and applesauce mixed in and she ate two of them cut into small pieces!  I wish I was a better cook and could be that creative.
I don't think I have to worry any more about the jarred food anymore.

thanks again.
shannon

[occsbe]

Hi

My daughter is nearly 14 months, and we often have to distract her to eat, she is about 22lbs, I feed her home cooked meals and occasionaly jar food, it doesn't make any difference. She also goes to nursery and eats okay there.
I also worry if the distraction is normal, but by reading alot of these comments it appears that it is!  I don't think it has anything to do with whether its home cooked or a jar, so don't worry about that.
My daughter will eat some finger foods, bread, cheese, chicken,  banana etc but she will only eat other fruit if I mix it with yogurt or porridge.
During meal times sometimes she likes to help feed herself ( also a messy experience ) other times she just throws the spoon on the floor,I then have to resort to other thigns like lids of boxes or other items to keep her amused whilst I try to get a spoonful of food into her mouth!

Now I have read the many replies and comments I feel that this is another phase which hopefully we shall get over in time!!