When is she finished?

[Meggie]

We have been experiencing spoon refusal by DD (9 mo) and so we are now giving her 1 meal of all finger foods.  I can never tell when she is finished eating.  At the begining she will eat a lot, then she starts playing with the rest of the food, but she still eats some of it slowly.  When I go and help her eat some, she will eat from my fingers, so I don't think she is finished eating.  Her meals can last a whole hour sometime!  When do I know when she is finished eating?

[frustratedmommy]

In my humble experience...if she is feeding herself, she will stop when she is full. Also if you are offering her some from your fingers and she's taking it, to me that is an indication that she is still hungry. Normally babies (especially one where feeding is established) will turn their heads, close their mouths, or shake their head no, or all of the above, when they are full.

I also think it's normal for her to slow down and play with the food. She is still learning with all her senses. So the touch and texture of the food is probably interesting to her.

Hope that helps...and if you're really worried, monitor weight gain...

Is she still drinking enough milk?

[wfabby]

I agree, most babies will let you know when they are done, though I struggle with this also.  I don't ever want to overfeed, but sometimes I feel like my lo will eat forever!!!  Eating for us can sometimes take a good 45 minutes if my lo is enjoying himself and not ravenous.  He will linger through his meal.

I did teach my lo to let me know when he is done.  Every time he finished a meal, I would put my arms up in the air (like a "touchdown" sign), and say "all done?".  Now, my lo will put his arms up when he is finished.  That has helped a lot!

[Meggie]

daybyday - She is drinking about 20-24 oz/day but she is teething and it is sometimes hard to get the ounces in her.  Today was really bad and she only took maybe 14 oz but ate a LOT of solids.  This is the first time she didn't drink at least 20 oz.  I don't think that the solid food hurts her gums as much as drinking from the bottle, but I worry that she just wan't hungry after all that solid food.

[frustratedmommy]

If you are offering milk first and then solids, and she's choosing to eat more solids...so be it!

You can't (nor should you) force feed a baby. She's almost 9 months...so she's figuring this eating thing out...The solids might have felt good on her gums too!

Again...if she's still worrying you, just check her weight! Do you have a local health clinic that you can just drop in and do it yourself?

[wfabby]

The amount of solids in ounces can be interchanged in a sense with the amount of milk/formula when you start on solids. If she is having a 4 ounce jar of baby food, or equivalent, that is OK.  However, you need to make sure hydration is maintained.  14 ounces is fine on occasion, but don't be afraid to also offer water.

[Meggie]

Right after I posted last night, about an hour after DD went to bed, she woke up hungry and took another 7 oz!  She is doing really well today so far.  The reason I asked because I was starting to think that I was not offering her enough solids so that she might take more formula... I realize that it is not going to happen and she still is getting enough formula during the day, so I have to increase the solid food.  Some days this learning curve can be so steep!

[frustratedmommy]

Hey that curve is there for all of us...EVERY day is different...I'm on #2 and it's amazing that #1 made it...they are SOOOO different.

Just when you THINK you have it figured out...there's another flippin' curve! And of course no signs posted...haha

HUGS~