Any way of making it less messy??

[wonderstuff]

I'm no Monica, but I really am finding feeding baby to be a disgusting job atm. She insists on putting her hand in the food as the spoon approaches, and sucking food off her hand, she wrestles the spoon off me and throws it on the floor, I am always finding food up her nose in her hair, in her ears, on my clothes as she grabs them with sticky fingers, any ideas on making it a cleaner experience?? She's 6 mo

No, i'm afraid it's just a bit of a faf to begin with. Gets better rapidly though. If you're brave, give her a spoon too.

Try baby led weaning - no spoons until she can manage better - mainly finger foods.

All weaning is messy to some extent though. Resist the temptation to keep mopping her face, hands etc.

Just give her a good bath at night, cover yourself up with an apron/teatowel. Mess mat on floor if not washable floor. You can get those overall type bibs for her, stick it in the wash every night.

As I feared, no magic answers, not at all glam this mothering malarky is it?

embrace the mess, enjoy the mess! Join in even, it is quite liberating!

Strip her, put a pvc tablecloth under her highchair, and let her be at one with thw food!

Or plonk her straight on the tablecloth with something really messy and tactile like a bowl of yoghurt or better still, a big peeled mango.

My dd2 is 6 months and just the same. It's grim isn't it! I'm just remembering how yucky I found this stage with dd1. But she eats beautifully now so it does end!

OMDB I'm cringing at the thought of mamgo everywhere [stressed smiley] Kit when does it end?

Dd2 is having spag bol for the first time tomorrow!

wonderstuff if you are in the midlands like me I would like to invite your dd to come for tea as well and we will only have one floor to clean up.

I can cope with anything but banana dries to a particularly dark stain and ruins everything.

Bless you lollipop but alas i am darrn sarff innit My lo doesn't get banana cos I HATE the smell when she is sick

Hmm - can't quite remember! But by 18 months she could feed herself pretty well and though still wore a bib it wasn't total carnage every time she ate! By 2.6 - almost like eating with a human being!

I also recommend just taking her top off for messy food (in summer) then wipe her down afterwards. And buy shares in a kitchen roll company...

Also I was told not to keep wiping her face and hands as she ate because it could put her off and make her think mess/food was bad and create a "thing" about food.

Message withdrawn

Nope. We did BLW - very messy. We put a sheet of lino on the floor (IME it is by far the easiest floor covering to clean) and a large oilcloth on the table. We buy face cloths in bulk and give the DCs a wash with those at the end of the meal. DD generally requires a change of clothes too. For this stage, quantity rather than quality is key.

NB Weetabix sticks like cement unless you clean it as soon as the meal is over. Tomato soup is absolutely indelible.

Corrie is right - tomato soup (and indeed any tomato based sauces) will stain everything pale orange. After a week or 2 with very regular scrubbing your high chair tray may look more white than pastel orange!!

This is what will happen tomorrow with my spag bol I know.

Ready brek is almost as bad as weetabix.

Tuna and salmon etc go hard and stinky if you miss any bits. Sorry I'm not helping am I?

Oh, I hate the mess!! It's not that I'm all drama-queeny about a bit of food around his mouth, it's just so much more work in an already crammed-to-the-gills day. No 'quick wipe down after meals' for us - I literally have to dunk him in the sink 3 times a day. And all those stains that you have to get out of clothes immediately before they set forever (why are strawberries about the only thing DS loves?!) so I'm running the washing machine at least once a day with only a few clothes in it...

Put an open bin bag under her highchair and then you can just bin it or to be more eco friendly you could get a cheap shower curtain and put that underneath that would save the carpet at least and then use a flannel to wipe your dd then wash everything down with a cloth.

Get a dog !!