8 1/2 Month Old Refuses Baby Food/ Wants to Feed Self.

I wouldn't worry about the baby food yet. Let her eat what she wants as long as it is nutritious. Keep trying though. Forget the bottle and sippy cup. It's too late to try to get her used to a bottle and then have to take it away soon. Get her on a STRAW. My husband refused to have my kids use sippy cups (he's an OT and can't stand them). Anyway, I got all my kids used to a straw before their 1st birthday. It's great and their are no future withdrawals to deal with. First, put the straw in a cup of something you know she will want. Put your finger on the end to hold some liquid in the straw. Draw the straw out and put the other end in her mouth (make it like a fun game). Pull your finger up a bit quickly and allow some liquid in her mouth. Do this a lot until you know she is swallowing it ok. Then, Don't pick up your finger and she'll begin to suck on it. Allow her to suck the liquid out and don't release it for her. This teaches her to suck from the straw. Eventually, get her to drink from the straw from the cup. You can buy those "sippy" cups that come with straws and not the mouth piece. It is awesome!!! It is actually easier and cleaner than a traditional sippy cup. It is so convenient that your child will be able to drink something anywhere without having to tag along a cup. Also, it is actually healthier for their teeth, especially when they aren't drinking something good for them. Also, it is developmentally appropriate where you don't ever have to wean them from it. I still drink from a straw. It was one of the best things I ever did. Train that child to drink from a straw. She will be able to drink her milk that was as well. All my children thought it was fun and great at that age.

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Time to let her start eating then. Never discourage the inclination from your baby to start to feed themselves! They are learning to find their mouth and will get better with practice. Start looking for finger foods for them to eat. Soft things that are easy to eat and easy to grasp. If they are beginning to use the pincher move with their fingers, they are ready to eat with their hands. Depending on teeth they might have and how well they are eating their food, you can start giving them soft foods.

Good luck!

Hi J.! Your daughter is a lot like my nine-month-old! It sounds like she is ready for finger foods, which is developmentally on track for her age. For the past couple of weeks, my little girl has been happily feeding herself anything I put on her tray - (a few pieces at a time so she does not shove all of it in her mouth at once) rice krispies, small bits of whole grain toast, mashed up rice with shredded chicken, cut up whole grain pasta, small (soft) chunks of white potato, sweet potato, and cooked carrots. We just started, so I am slowly adding new foods. Then while she is busy mashing up the food and playing with it, I spoon the baby food into her mouth. When she loses interest, I then give her a fun kitchen utensil (like a measuring cup or spoon) and while she is playing with that, I give her more. I feel like between what she is feeding herself and what I am shoveling in her mouth, she is getting enough. It does make a big mess, but it is amazing to see her feed herself! As for the sippy cup, just keep trying every day. You may also want to try some different kinds of cups. Give her a cup with breast milk or water to play with and practice. She will get the hang of it. Here is a great web site for finger food ideas:
http://wholesomebabyfood.com/babyfingerfood.htm
Good luck!

I had a couple of kids like that too. We totally skipped the baby food stage and went to table food. I fed them frozen vegetables. They loved it b/c it also feels soothing to their teething gums.

For breastfeeding babies, as a breastfeeding counselor we always recommended their first food be banana or avocado, not the dr recommended cereal. 4 of my babies took to bananas like they were monkeys and the last LOVED avocado and he would let us feed him like it was baby food rt out of the skin!

Be creative and give her things that she can feed herself. Don't worry about not giving her baby food. It isn't really that good for her anyway! Beans are also a good thing that she can feed herself and have lots of protein.

Blessings,
Mom to 5 Wonderful Kids
www.4MyChildrenSake.com

hi
try getting her home cook meal instead of pre-cook meals and cut down the breast milk. offer her food before breast milk.

My little man loves to "feed" himself. When he was that age I would put puffs on his highchair and let him have his own spoon. This would keep him occupide while I did the feeding. It might be worth a shot. Good luck

Don't worry, LOTS of babies have the same reaction to baby food. It's totally ok to breastfeed exclusively until they are one year old (probably a little longer too!) But it sure is easier once they start eating other things too. Your baby might not just not enjoy the flavor of baby food, she might also not enjoy the texture. My baby still nurses (she's 19 months) but shell eat anything except baby food. If it even looks mashed she wouldn't eat it. I started giving her finger foods like cheerios and peas. I also make it a policy to only give her foods we are eating. I think the habit of having babies eat separate foods sets up a pattern for picky eaters and gives kids the idea that they don't have to eat the healthy food grown ups eat. An added bonus is it keeps the grownups on track eating healthy food to model it for the little ones! Good luck!

I nursed my first exclusively and he didn't eat solids until 13 mo.- He only experimented with baby food. He is completely healthy. I worried lots though. My second would never let me feed him. He's a "Me do it" kinda kiddo. At about 8 1/2 months, I'd give him yogurt to eat and make a mess with. He'd get it in his mouth with a baby spoon. I put some cereal in it to make myself feel like he was getting more nutrition. He also liked feeding himself broccoli and little bites of banana. He ate lots of Gerber Puffs, too. Both went straight to sippie cups and cups drinking lots of water. I weaned one at 23 mo. and the other at 21mo. Just watch for choking and have lots of paper towels. Your little one sounds super and is lucky to have such a great mom. :) A.

If she has any teeth and is wanting to self fed let her. Try things like cooked green beans, cooked carrots, rice mashed potatoes. Yes it will be messy but at least she is eating something. My daughters where both the same way they wanted to feed themselves and we let them as long as it was something easy to eat.My youngest hated jar baby food and never ate it. We would just grind what we at in the food processor, and then she started feeding herself at about nine months when she refused to take food from us. Just the smell of baby food makes me sick so I totally understand why some babies wont eat it.

Hey J.,

Been there---I eventually with the help of my husband had to go cold turkey on breast feeding. My girls would not take bottles, cups, straws--nada. So, for at least 12 hours my husband stayed the course and I stayed away. Once they took the bottle----well, there is no looking back.

I think it was harder on my husband because both girls were so stubborn.

Good luck,
D.

She wants to feed herself to assert her independence. There is no rule that says you have to give her baby food. Let her feed herself, just introduce newer foods slowly so that her digestive system can catch up.

Don't force her to eat baby food if she doesn't want it. Since your still breastfeeding she is getting plenty of nutrition through the breast milk. So just let her feed herself!

First, I have been through the same thing with two of my children and thought that each of them would starve to death if I did not get them to eat. After much prayer and research, I found out that before 12 months breast milk is all they really need and spoon feeding is more just teaching a social skill than for actual nourishment. That said, the way I got past it was letting them feed themselves (big mess) things like mashed sweet potatoes, carrots, and those little Gerber stars. I experimented with breast milk in different types of cups. One chose Avent and the other would only drink from a regular straw but moved to soft spout Nuby cups. My pediatrician gave me some good advice while we were going through this. "If you turn this into a power struggle, they will win b/c they don't yet know how to give in." I hope this helps. I will be praying for both of you.

D.

I didn't have quite as much trouble as you are, but my son choose food as his source of exerting independence. He would only eat baby food if I let him feed himself. Not a very neat and efficency way to do it. Otherwise he only ate finger foods. I had to stop breastfeeding about the age your baby is because I had to go back on my asthma medicines. My mom told me to just keep offering him food every couple of hours and let him feed himself. If he was hungry enough he would eat. I tried it, because there wasn't much else I could do and it seemed to work. He is still a very picky eater and doesn't eat a lot at once, but grazes enough through the day to sustain him and gain weight as he should.