Meal time dramas!

Layla - posted on 08/08/2010

My son do the same ive changed his schedule instead of veggi meal at night i i gave him cereal it was better but after few days he started doing the sames spitting of locking his mouth i think its teething period and maybe they are fed up of the food im thinking to add little salt to his food but afraid of health problems as its early to taste salt, im also confused

Angela - posted on 08/07/2010

My daughter went for a few weeks where she just wasn't interested in eating. She wouldn't spit it out but she would grab the spoon and squish it all over the place. She then wouldn't open her mouth and wanted out of her chair. I never forced her just kept trying and would clean her up and take her out of her chair. I thought she just didn't like what I was giving her but then I would try things I knew she like and got the same results. She is just starting to eat again. I also discovered that she seems to prefer more solid food. She would rather eat fruit that we are eating (like a ripe peach or banana) than have puree peaches or bananas. Since starting to have her more solid food she is starting to eat her cereal again and is not playing with it as much.

As long as she was getting enough to eat and wasn't hungry I wasn't worried. I heard a saying once that is a cute and makes sense. Under one food is for fun. As long as they are getting enough formula or breast milk they are just learning how to eat solids.

Sarah - posted on 08/06/2010

Is she spitting it out and making a yuck face or gagging on it? Or is she just playing with her food? Ben (also 7 1/2 mos) plays with his food and to be honest, I don't mind. I figure he's just a baby and he's learning how everything feels - the different textures and flavors in his mouth in addition to figuring out how to make certain things work (like "hey, if I stick my tongue out like that, my food dribbles everywhere and that feels kinda cool!")
if it's really bugging you that she won't eat properly, I suppose there's a few things you could try that you didn't already mention. you could completely ignore the behavior and continue feeding her like nothing is out of the ordinary. You could take away the food and try again until she understands "okay, if I do this, mommy takes away the food and I don't want that" and maybe she'll settle down to eat. I wonder, too, if it could be that she's simply not that hungry when you go to feed her? You said some times she spits it out and some times she doesn't - perhaps the times she when she isn't spitting out her food are the times that she's hungry and ready to eat. Could she maybe also be distracted? I know the way our house is laid out, Ben can see the TV from his high chair and some times it grabs his attention.
Good luck!

Darlene - posted on 08/04/2010

My son goes in and out of the phase though he does seem to do it more when it's something he doesn't like or when he's had enough. I actually asked the doctor if there were any tricks!! She said it'll pass. In the meantime, I've been wearing more baby food then he's been eating!!

Jamie - posted on 08/04/2010

My son did the same thing for a while. I think its just a new thing they discover and they think its fun. My son would do it and food would go everywhere and then he would just smile. He did it for a while and now he doesnt do it anymore. Hopefully its the same for her and it will be just another phase they go through.