DS has started to scream inconsolably when put in highchair - any advice?

[sloathy]

Hello

I've been slowly weaning DS for the last few weeks - just first tastes, fruit and veg puree and I also offer finger food (steamed veg, avacado, banana etc). I'm hoping to gradually move on to a more "he eats what we're having mashed/chopped up etc" soon but not bothered about being a purist with any particular type of approach. He's been happy to take things off a spoon so far and he occassionally feeds himself and gums at the finger food.

Anyway, its been going really well, he seems to love food and eats everything offered even if he mostly ignore or just plays with the finger food so far. But in the last week he's suddenly started to object very strongly to being put in his high chair, he arches his back and cries and cries (proper streaming tears :-() but at the same time seems desperate for the food and veers between screaming and trying to get out of the chair and leaning all the way forward with his mouth open for the spoon but then just screams when the food goes in his mouth. The only way I've been able to calm him down is to take him out, cuddle and walk a bit and then he'll take the food sitting on my lap.

He's normally a very happy chap and only ever gets this beside himself when he's poorly or overtired. I think perhaps the latter has been the problem a couple of times when for one reason or another I'm a little late getting him into the chair and I'm wondering if I've missed the window and gone over the line into "too tired" so I've tried hard the last couple of days to do mealtimes before he gets tired but he's still melting down.

I'm worried about an association developing between food and him being upset as I'm very keen for food to not be an issue for him. I'm a bit sad because for the first few weeks he was so happy and smiley in his chair :-(

Just wondered is anyone else had experienced this or has any advice.

Thanks!

DD was exactly like this, at a bit older she could wriggle out of the highchair quite easily and we had to stop using it altogether.

He could be overtired, could you offer the food a little earlier? Have you checked his gums too to see if he is teething?

Don't worry about getting a bad association with the highchair and the food, from what you say he seems quite happy on your lap. Some children just prefer not to be in a highchair and our DD weaned by sitting on my lap and eating off my plate, she really, really didn't like the highchair.

Can you borrow a travel highchair and try that? He may feel better if he is sat at the table on one of your chairs?

Maybe it's the position he's in is uncomfortable? I know DS1 started doing this suddenly when put in the pushchair. A chiropractor sorted it out

Thanks ladies

We had a bit more success today - seems to help if I eat something at the same time and then give him some of mine! He has a lot of enthusiasm for whatever mummy's having! He fed himself a hunk of bread and smiled his way through some spoonfed broccoli with grated cheese. He also played happily with some carrot sticks while sat in his highchair after tea as I washed up (although he didn't actually eat them - just squished them between his fingers)

I think his gums were also bothering him before but they seemed better today - so perhaps its a combination of teeth, tired and wanting some company? :-)

DS went through a phase like this, I sat him in my lap with the highchair tray in front of us so he could eat off it, left the highchair for a few days then tried, but stopped if he protested, kept it up until he was OK with the chair again.