10 month old spitting all food out

[MuffinMclay]

This is driving me nuts! Ds has discovered that spitting food out is much more fun than eating it. He has always been a very hearty eater. A few weeks ago he went through a brief phase of spitting out all food, laughing as he did it. Friends told me to ignore it - walk away from the table, or avoid eye contact - the idea being that if he didn't get a reaction he'd stop. We did this, and it worked.

Now spitting is back on vogue again, and the ignoring isn't working. I've tried saying 'no' and doing a stern face (that one really makes him giggle), distracting him with silly noises and actions, etc. And now I'm a bit stumped. I'm also starting to get worried that he isn't getting enough food now. He's certainly pooing a lot less, implying that not enough is going in.

Any helpful suggestions would be very welcome.

is he self-feeding or being spoon fed? can you leave him with some finger food on his tray and let him get on with it? he's only 10 months, so as long as you think he's getting plenty of milk then he shouldn't be missing out too much nutritionally.

He will eat it if he is hungry. I bet he doesn't spit the first few mouthfuls, and if he does he will soon stop!

I've tried that but he just throws it on the floor.

Unfortunately he's been on the absolute minimum milk for months now. He's been formula fed since 3 months old. At around 7 months he started to refuse milk, and now only has 2 bottles a day. HV said this was fine because he was eating lots of real food, and I make lots of milky sauces, custard etc to ensure he gets the required amount. Obviously that strategy isn't working too well at the moment.

Sorry Colditz - crossed over. In fact, the spitting is worst at the start of the meal. He evens starts spitting as I bring the food to the table, before aby has entered his mouth.
If I persevere he sometimes gets bored (this can take up to an hour), then stops spitting and eats.

sorry - any not aby

hhhm, i can see why that would be a worry. is he teething? dd always goes off her food when she's teething, although she does 'up' her milk accordingly. does he not do that at all?
have you tried feeding him sitting on your lap? if dd's ill i'll often have something eat while she's sitting with me and it seems to encourage her to make a lunge for it.

sounds like a great game...
what about putting the food on the floor while you're doing something else and see if he picks it up?

I don't think he is teething at the moment.

The lap idea is an interesting one though. I'll try that.

I won't rule it out, but I don't think the floor idea will work. He has recently started crawling (around the same time as the spitting but I doubt the two are related). The moment I put him down on the floor he's on the move.

i must say dd likes nothing more than a bowl of halved grapes and some cheese and oatcakes left on the floor for her, and she's not the sitting still type either. give it a try, it might work.