Da refusing spoon while feeding

[fruityb]

My son is 13 months (one then lol) and has always fed really well. We did a combo of spoon feeding and BLW and he’s been great with both. However four days ago he put his hands up and closed his mouth to his spoon. As in batting hand away and getting arsy about it. He doesn’t want it himself and if you give him it he just lobs it or plays with it. He won’t feed himself.

Tonight he wouldn’t eat his food so I made him some toast and gave him some strawberries and he’s wolfed them both. He takes picnic lunch to CM as I call it - so sandwiches, cheese, pastry stuff etc - and always eats that. Am I overthinking this? He eats it if he can do it but doesn’t seem to want me to do it at the mo.

Is he just exerting independence? He will eat his breakfast from a spoon but I noticed this morning he was batting me away halfway through. Do I just stick with BLW? Just seems a big change to before as he’s never rejected food off a spoon!

[thethoughtfox]

Over a year is getting pretty old to be fed. He will be asserting his independence. Just put food in front of him and he'll eat what he wants.

[fruityb]

It’s only messy food I feed him - he eats everything else himself. He can’t cope with a spoon or anything yet; he doesn’t even try to get in his mouth! I’ve never thought about it before - I suppose he is getting a bit big now.

[WheresTheEvidence]

As a nanny/nursery nurse I try to do independent spoon feeding from about 11 months. So heavy foods like soup or potato or risotto so they can do it.

[silkpyjamasallday]

My DD is a similar age and has been doing the same OP, but in her case I'm pretty sure it's fussiness with teething as well as asserting independence. Prior to teething she never rejected a single thing I offered and was a good eater. Yesterday (or the day before I can't remember I'm so sleep deprived) she refused everything I offered whether on a spoon or finger foods until the evening when she demolished a punnet of raspberries, and for the last few nights she has been feeding like a newborn in the night again because she is hungry from not eating her meals. We also did a combination of spoon feeding and finger foods and while she can get a pre loaded spoon into her mouth she is more likely to use it to catapult food onto a pile of clean laundry.

[fruityb]

Seems I need to let him try more then. I’ll try finger food and a bowl of something to eat as well. And get the shower curtain out and warn my husband it could get messy lol.

He’s never shown any interest in using the spoon himself. He’s been very good at eating everything else but just doesn’t have the coordination for a spoon - or at least he didn’t. We shall see!

[fruityb]

Update: he’ll eat from a spoon when he wants to but has absolutely no interest whatsoever in using one himself. This has resulted in his tea being toast, cubes of cheese, brioche buns, rice cakes... he just won’t be spoon fed but when I’ve given him the bowl and left him to it he has no idea how to get food in his mouth!

He’s currently got a spoon in his hand and eating lumps of cheese with the other. Weirdly he’ll eat a yoghurt when you feed him but nothing else. He takes finger food (sandwiches, fruit etc) to CM and eats all his lunch there.

Am I over thinking this?? If he’s hungry he’ll eat won’t he? His other new trick is dropping his food on the floor when he’s had enough. He’s had a good lunch and has his milk at night and we have plenty of dirty nappies.

He’s driving me mad lol. He’s beeb such a good eater and now he’s being a little bugger!

[yikesanotherbooboo]

My advice would be leave him to it. The worst that can happen is that he will eat a bit less for a few days. I agree with very thick soup/ risotto which are easy for him to manage left to it he will pick it up v quickly.i would try not to top up with treat foods.

[fruityb]

I don’t give him treat foods if he doesn’t eat his tea. He has fruit if he won’t eat what I feed him.

I’ve got half term off so will give it a try then. I would have thought with him walking now he’d be ravenous but it would appear not!

[yikesanotherbooboo]

Sorry didn’t mean to patronise just passing on my hard learned lessons!
DS1 lost weight whilst figuring out the spoon but quickly caught on.
He did allow me to continue forcefeeding him yoghurt ( his favourite from a spoon .

[fruityb]

😊 I’ll just have to let him figure this out! It’s hard; he’s my first and likely only and no one gives instructions lol.