8 month old seems to eat best when feeding herself. Advice please.

[mammaemma]

Hi,
I am looking for some help and advice please.
I have cooked every annabel karmel / lorraine kelly recipe under the sun. You name it I have made it. And dd will eat probably about 5 -6 mouthfuls before getting bored / fed up. She then takes ages to eat the rest. I don't force her at all she will open her mouth but it just takes so long. Pudding of course gets woofed down!! She is better with jars as well.
However if I give her steamed brocolli, bits of wholemeal toast, basically anything she can feed herself she is happy content and eats loads.
What is the consensus, should I go with the finger foods alone if so will she get a balanced enough diet? Should I just keep mixing one meal finger, one meal mush?
I am so worried about her becoming a fussy eater or not enjoying meal times.
Has anyone read a good book on develping healthy eating habits? There are lots of recipes out the but I haven't seen many with tips on how to feed them e.g. highchair toys or no toys?
Any advice would be great.
Thanks a lot :-)

[Clary]

hi mammaemma
It sounds to me like yr dd is doing really well.

TBH 5-6 mouthfuls is quiet a lot for an 8-mth old at one go - maybe that's enough?

I would keep going with that then offer finger foods as well. A balanced diet of finger foods is easy enough - cooked veg, raw fruit (halve grapes and cherry toms), sandwiches and other bread, cooked chicken, fish, pasta with a bit of sauce on etc etc.

Mashed potato and porridge have been finger food in our house tho maybe that's not advisable

At 8mths I would ditch the special cooking and just feed her what you are eating. Highchair is fine, I wouldn't use toys, just a distraction. Children of this age need to eat little and often - just make sure the snacks you are offering are healthy eg cut up apple or segments of orange, raisins (such fun to watch them being picked up one by one!), slices of banana, slices of cucumber, pieces of toast etc.

HTH

[bogie]

My DS is the same has been since he was about 7 months (he is 14 months now) we let him do it himself, otherwise he just won't eat anything. I think he will just grow out of it i always give him a spoon and he will now after 7 months try to use it (but usally gets fed up and throws it on the floor) I think soon he will be using it properly i'm just leaving him to it. Not much help but i think it is quite common.

[serenity]

DD was the same, hated being fed so I just gave her finger food and let her get on with it. I can't see why she can't have a balanced diet on finger foods. If she's happy with lumps, give them to her You can combine the mushed up stuff with finger foods though. DD lived on pasta (the easy cook ones as they came up softer) for dinner for ages, I'd just make different sauces (the mushed bit!).

[JodieG1]

Have a look here

[Astrophe]

My DD (now 2.8) and DS (almost 1) have both been 'finger food babies' - they will tolerate being fed yoghurt ar fruit puree from a spoon because they are so nice and sweet, but not much else. My son does have a favourite spaghetti dish he will now let me feed him, just in the last few months. My DD is now a pretty good eater.

[fibernie]

My DD (now 14months) was exactly the same. She started refusing spoons at about 8months, apart from for fruit pots or fromage frais. She's still the same, although will try to use a spoon or fork herself now. She's grown into a lovely healthily plump wee thing on finger foods alone and everyone marvels at how good she is at feeding herself!
I say go with the finger foods... there's loads you can try and plenty recipies available from other mumsnetters and on Aitch's blog www.babyledweaning.com
The best thing about it is that you can go out for lunch with friends and be able to eat your own lunch while your child happily eats theirs!
The only problem I've had is it backfired a bit on me at nursery when she refused to eat any mushy baby food. We solved that problem by putting her on the childrens menu rather than the baby one - she manages all that fine, and she still has no teeth!

[mammaemma]

Thank you so much ladies, sometimes you just need that boost of confidence especially as a new mum that what you want to do is the right thing ! I read the babyledweaning site and it sounds great. Breakfast this morning was a breeze we sat down together and like you say fibernie I could eat mine as she ate hers. She is funny, I gave her some toast fruit and some oat hoops and she wouldn't let me feed her a hoop she had to be passed it so she could feed herself !! Little miss independent !! The dog is happy too... he is camped out under the high chair loving the scraps! Happy household !! i also ordered a book finger foods for babies and toddlers for further inspiration. Thanks again !

[Hulababy]

My DD always prefered to feed herself. I quickly gave up on mushed food and gave her more meals as finger foods. Most things can come in that form - meat, fish, veggies, pasta, bread, cheese, etc. Not much you can't give her I'd have thought so long as you supervise her whilst eating. Another thing we did was to make sure DD always had a spoon in her hand when other foods were given like yogurt, rice pussings, etc so that she could help feed herself and I could get a couple of spoonfuls in at the same time.


Would recommend a highchair up at the table, so she can eat along side you rather than seperately.

We never had toys at the table, aprt from when eating out at restaurants, etc.

[fibernie]

How's it going mammaemma? Read your post and laughed - wishing I had a dog in my household to clean up the mess! I've resorted to a 99p Ikea shower curtain on the floor. Best 99p ever spent.
I hope your little one is enjoying all the lovely grub. I used to think it was going to be a huge hassle providing enough nutritious finger foods, but it's not really, and for a long time I've felt very lucky to have such an independent child!
My problem was I had to develop iron will not to eat it all myself! Since I've managed to resist the temptation of her cheesy polenta and lentil patties, I've lost a stone!
Fibernie

[Enid]

apricot wheats or mini wheats moistened with some warm milk make a great finger food breakfast (dd3s fave)

[fibernie]

Oooh yes, DD loves those - you can get cranberry wheats too - in both Tesco and Sainsburys. She'll eat them dry as a snack as well.