HELP!! She Has to Have the Spoon & Cries

How about 2 spoons? One for her and one for you. That way she feels like she's participating, but you can still put food in her mouth. Never mind about the mess - just get used to it because it isn't going away any time soon :) The other thing is that she is probably ready for some soft finger food - bananas, cooked cubes of sweet potato etc - and that is less messy and she can pick it up herself.

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Hi S., You have gotten some great advice - 2 spoons, etc. I wanted to add that if you haven't tried it Sassy makes a great ergonomic spoon that will help your daughter get more food in herself. The handle of the spoon is at an almost 90 degree angle to the head of the spoon. This really helps. Sassy sells it in a set with a fork. You will find it a Babies R Us. Target and Kmart don't usually have it. Or you can take an inexpensive spoon like you'd find in a cafeteria and bend it. There is also a spoon that has holes in the bottom so the food sticks to the spoon better. Good luck!

Let her have the spoon a small amount of food on her plate and and let her make her mess. Use another spoon just like the first one to feed her in between her efforts. Then after meal time hose her off in the shower, lol and the chair too. She won't need a whole bath just rinse her off and lotion her down and dress her and go on with your day. I used a shower wand for mine. She just needs practice. If she is soooooo hungry do plenty of snack times during the day. Sounds like a growing spurt. The have all kinds of baby snack out there now all of it finger food too. This will help to develope her motor skills she will need to feed herself. All you need is patients and plenty of water,lol Good Luck.

Of course she will make a mess! How else is she going to learn to feed herself? Don't worry about it! Let her make a mess and then get your own spoon and get some food in there in between her attempts. Does quash her desire to do it herself. She is developing that part of her personality!

Do you give her a bottle first? My daughter is the same age and if she's REALLY hungry she doesn't do well at all with being fed (never mind the fact that she wants to hold the spoon or not).

I always give her a 6 oz bottle when she gets up and then about 10-15 minutes later she has breakfast. Lunch it's a 4 oz bottle first. She has a bottle in the afternoon so no bottle right before dinner.

I would try that in addition to giving her a second spoon like everyone has already mentioned.

LOL! Yeah, try the two spoons... that is what I did and that is what the others say too... :)

Give her some finger foods to keep her occupied while you feed her. My daughter is the EXACT same way. She always had to have a spoon or cheerios to keep her occupied while I fed her. She's almost 11 months and really wants to use the spoon now. We just let her. I figure she'll wash after mealtime. At 7 months your little girl should be ready for soft finger foods or those Gerber puffs. Hopefully that will help.

Try giving her some cheerios or other small finger food. I found that when my son (now 9.5 months) was that age, he really wanted to feed himself. Finger foods like cheerios were a great compromise. That way his hands are busy, and he gets to feed himself. Meals take a lot longer now that he's feeding himself even more, but we both get less frustrated than when he was constantly trying to grab the spoon.

Hi S.,

I went through the same thing at the same age. I too gave her own spoon, sometimes two spoons for her one for me. I alternated them. Let her feed herself (at least try). I always made something (i.e. mashed potatoes) that stuck to the spoon. She's having fun and learning. My daughter is now 13 months and I still clean the floor after every feeding. I let her get especially messy on bath nights. Then we put her right in the tub.

It's frustrating at first, but let her do it. She wants to learn. She watches you and wants to do the same.

Have fun :o)

I agree with Karen. Thats what worked with our son. Give her a spoon, let her "feed" herself while you put a spoonful of whatever into her mouth. Also, you can help guide her hand. it's a phase and will pass.

I, too, agree with Karen. Try two spoons! Sure it might be messy now, but at least she's learning.

I didn't think it was possible to shove the food in fast enough to satisfy our son. Fortunately, he has grown out of that phase...so your baby probably will too. It's frustrating though, isn't it?

She might also be grabbing the spoon because she's teething. Our son used to grab the spoon and then clamp down on it.

I had to rotate 3 spoons. DS would grab the one I had, so I'd get another, but he'd grab that one with the other hand. So with a third spoon I'd shovel some food in, then he'd want that spoon, but would have to drop one to get it. So if I had 3, I could keep shoveling food in.

It gets better, hang in there!