9.5 month DD refusing food

[qazxc]

Started spoon feeding DD at 6 months and she was very enthusiastic, eating anything offered.
But now she doesn't want to know, she turns away, waves arm in front of face...
Even meals she used to love are refused.
What do I do? I thought it was because she didn't like the lumpier food but even smooth purees get the same reaction.
Is it teeth? Do I cut down on the bottles in hope it makes her hungrier? I'm worried she's not getting enough food.
I have tried finger foods but most of them end up on the floor after a bit of gumming.

[SheWhoMustBe]

It does sound like at 9.5 she's ready to feed herself and may be rejecting the spoon/method of feeding rather than the food itself. Was she more enthusiastic about the finger foods? You really can't let the fact that most finger foods end up on the floor put you off giving her them, it's a messy business and will be for quite some time. And although you think she's just gumming it, some will go in - you'll see the results in her nappies as the unchewed bits turn up there (sorry, yuck I know, but you'll actually find it reassuring when you see bits of tomato, sweetcorn etc coming out the other end.) I'd advise you to put something on the floor to catch the bits, buy a good cover up bib, and let her get on with it.

[qazxc]

She generally just chucks finger food on floor without eating or trying. There are exceptions to this (toast and Heinz finger shaped biscuits) but not enough to give her a balanced diet or enough to keep her from being hungry.
I'll try her on different finger foods this week and see I things improve. Any meal suggestions?

[SheWhoMustBe]

Yes, I think at the start the things they'll eat/gum tend to be pretty limited, but you can build on that - if she'll eat toast then you can spread different things on it for her to try, then gradually increase the amount of those things you give her - eg start with spreading/mushing a little bit of avocado and salmon on to toast, then another time you can give her bits of both on her tray and she might eat them on their own. They're learning all the time - how to get stuff from the tray to their mouth, how to chew it, how to swallow bigger bits, so it does take them a while to get the hang of it - and even if she doesn't put something in her mouth this week, chances are she will the next week, then the week after she might actually swallow some! I think it goes quite slowly at first which is a surprise because you think they'll just take to it right away. But I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising if you think how long it takes them to get the hang of other skills. Good luck, she'll get the hang of it - although be prepared to spend half your life picking food off the floor for the next 6 months!

[qazxc]

Thanks, I gave it a go tonight and she did seem much happier. She didn't immediately chuck everything on ground and tried some sweet potato wedges and broccoli. I don't know if any went down but I suppose she won't let herself starve.

[Beatrixemerald]

I found that dd same age as yours will happily feed from a spoon of she can touch what she is eating at the same time, messy but it works for us, it also helps if I give her her own spoon to hold

[qazxc]

Aaaaarrrgggghhhh! the novelty of finger foods has disappeared and now she's not happy with either self feeding (because she's getting impatient at not eating) and spoon feeding (because she wants to do it herself).
Any ideas where to get recipes (preferably easy and/or batch cooking) for finger foods?
Any ideas where to get a bowl that sticks to highchair tray?

[TwoLittleTerrors]

For easy finger food maybe try the babyledweaning.com website. But tbh 9mo can eat pretty much anything as they have the pincer grip already. And you dont need finger food for self feeding. For example spag bol or mashed potatoes arent considered finger food but easy for a baby to pick up.

As for bowls. Just forget it. Plonk the food on the high chair tray.

[qazxc]

I was just thinking that a bowl stuck on the tray and her own spoon would occupy her while i spoon feed her. If it's not stuck she'll frisbee it across the kitchen or tip it over herself.
Her pincer grip isn't brilliant she just seems to grab fistfulls and not quite know how to release them, although maybe if i proferred up a few chocolate buttons it might improve.

[BentleyBelly]

Hi ladies. I have been where you are and am kind of out the other side. My dd is 19 months. She refused a spoon from the word go so we did blw. She ate very little until about 11 months and even then it was hit and miss. I went back to work when she was 10 months and she literally went on hunger strike! Food has been the biggest stress for me, I have actually sat and cried at the dinner table as yet another meal was refused. We eventually had success with porridge (as long as she could feed herself) sandwiches, cheese, ham, pasta, sausages, peas and cucumber and I have to say we are still eating them mostly on a daily basis. I have read all the books but feel happier knowing she is eating something rather than nothing. I offer as much cows milk as she wants since she self weaned from the breast at 13 months. Its still a big issue but she is gaining weight now after dropping 2 centiles and I always offer her something new alongside the favourites in the hope she will try it and like it. The thing I regret most is listening to a hv who told me the reason she wasn't eating was because I was 'drowning her in milk'. I then cut down on the breastfeeding which effected my supply and resulted in a hungry baby who noticably lost weight and didn't eat any more food! I would definitely recommend giving a multivitamin, we give Abidec, so they are getting the nutrients they need even with food refusal.