finger food and self feeding problems

[rosie and joe's mummy]

rosie is now 12 months old and she's always been pretty good at eating solids, until a few weeks ago.

she was pretty good with finger foods too.

we're having problems now because she seems to have totally lost interest.  partly I think we have some issues because she still only has 2 bottom teeth, so she finds it difficult to eat much in terms of finger foods.  she also seems to get fed up with feeding herself, and has a tantrum, throwing what you've given her onto the floor.

she is refusing to be spoon fed at the moment too, even if you give her a spoon for herself.  she just thrashes her arms around and screams at you.

i've tried giving her  the bowl to see if she'll try and feed herself, but it also gets thrown straight onto the floor in a screaming tantrum.

if you put more than one piece of food in front of her, even if she's happily eating some of it, she'll throw all but the one piece she's eating, onto the floor.

i'm finding feeding her a real struggle at the moment because i just can't find any food she'll eat enough of, or consistently.  some days she'll eat a sandwich (cut into fingers and given one piece at a time), and not other days.  Some days she'll eat pieces of fruit out of a bowl. other days she just throws it all around.

any hints/tips or ideas of what to expect next?  do I just persevere and hope it gets better?  i'm worried because she really doesn't eat much at all:


breakfast - cup of milk and half a slice of toast + half a banana

snack - drink of juice/water and a biscuit/muesli (granola) bar type thing

lunch - (good day) sandwich, handful of baby crisps, fruit
          (bad day) few baby crisps, possibly a baby rice cake, fruit puree

snack - juice/water and a biscuit or muesli bar (most of which is fed to the dog!)

tea (dinner) - (good day) spaghetti bolognese plus fruity pudding
                   (bad day) fruity pudding only after throwing main course on the floor.

milk before bed

now obviously I don't want to get her only eating sweet things, but some days that's all I can get into her at mealtimes without a screaming fit.

[binxyboo]

Hi there,

My first thought was teething. Since she only has two, you know there are a lot more in there waiting to burst through! At around a year, there does tend to be a drop in appetite. Children just don't grow as rapidly as they do in the first year. To be honest, I would have killed to have had Riley eating as much as Rosie at that age! We have really just turned the corner in the last few months regarding the amount of solids that he takes in. Somedays he still eats half-nothing. But he is growing, healthy and obviously thriving, so I can just assume he is getting what he needs.

Those behaviors that you describe are really quite typical at this age, it does get better! I am sure others will be on here to share their experiences, that's my two cents worth. Are you nursing as well?

[rosie and joe's mummy]

yes i'm still nursing first thing in the morning and before bed.  I just can't give up that early morning snuggle in bed!! 

i just feel like she's not into feeding herself, she's not into being fed and really all she wants to do is feed me or the dog!  honestly you give her something and she holds it out to either me or the dog and then throws it on the floor.  it's driving me mad!

at nursery (she goes one day a week) they say she eats loads, and they give me a list of what she's eaten - pizza, sausage, tuna sandwiches, all things that I cant get her to even taste at home.

[binxyboo]

Is she getting a cup of milk in addition to her morning nursing? If so, maybe you might want to drop the cup of milk and offer it with her snack instead if you would like her to have it. Maybe she is filling up too much on milk and juice throughout the day? At this age, most people would do breakfast before nursing, but I actually agree with you that the morning nurse and cuddle is too precious to miss. It's a great way to wake up together. And nothing can compare to the nutrition of breastmilk IMO. That's great that she is willing to try new things at nursery, although I know it is frustrating that she does it there and not at home. But at least you know she CAN do it. There is a thread for picky eaters on the toddler board. I found great support there when Riley was going through that stage. The best thing was just trying to relax over it all. I remember when I was just nursing exclusively, and I thought it would be great to know exactly how much he was eating every day. Well, it actually sucks counting ounces and bites and I have given up on that and just try to be like when I was nursing him, observing how content he was in general, asking if he is playful and alert and active, and if he is, I just go with the flow.
Rosie sounds like a real character, throwing her food to the dog!

[rosie and joe's mummy]

sometimes we nurse in the morning, sometimes we do a cup of milk!  it depends on whether we have time to snuggle or if we have to get going!


she's been great today - she ate toast and fruit for breakfast, then some sausage and bread and pieces of apple for lunch, and for tea she had a HUGE bowl of pasta and sauce, followed by some more fruit and a biscuit. I think I just need to distance myself from it and just let her do her own thing!

it's just such a stress thinking about what she has or hasn't eaten today!

thanks for the words of encouragement.

[binxyboo]