Won't eat from spoon

[draught]

My 7 month old has been on solids for a month and was going quite well eating a variety of things from a spoon - rice cereal, fruit, various vegies, yoghurt. Now she won't eat anything from the spoon and purses her mouth tightly shut before the first mouthful goes in, and gets upset if I persist in trying to get food in. She will eat things she can hold herself (steamed carrot, rusks, banana sliced up, playdough thanks to big sister), although she isn't that coordinated so doesn't always get them in her mouth.
Does anyone have any suggestions of ways to get her to eat, and if not, food that I can give her to feed herself? She is breastfed so I know that she isn't starving, but it would be nice to get her onto solids in an effort to reduce the breast feeds one day.

[Rell]

Hi Theresa
Although Nathan doesn't have this problem you could try what we do and give Chloe a spoon too. This way they think they are feeding themself but you can sneek a few mouthfulls in between her attempts.
Good luck I hope something will work for you

[Chickadee]

My DD went through this, and still is a bit at 1.5 yrs. She'd much rather feed herself which makes for some very long and messy mealtimes. I found it helped my sanity to think of meal times as a chance for her to explore the texture of whatever was in the bowl and consider it as a finger painting session :) A surprising amount of mushy food actually gets in her mouth off her fingers.

You might find she accepts a spoon from your if it comes off of your plate instead of her own bowl. DD eats much better if I join her and share whatever is on my plate.

Finger foods I relied on were:
- cooked pasta (fusilli, penne are easy for bub to hold). Without sauce if mess is an issue like in the car or her stroller.
- cooked frozen peas
- pieces of soft fruit. Pear, kiwi (a bit soft and messy), melon, grapes. Watermelon was a huge hit in our house & still is.
- raisins - also a challenge for fine finger movements.
- steamed carrots
- roasted potatoes - cut in wedges, toss in olive or other oil and bake at 180-200 until golden. Might need to trim bits that are too well done and crispy.
- Steamed or roasted cubes of sweet potato or pumpkin.
- fingers of toast

Some of the above might be a risk for choking, like the peas. But my DD always mashed them up in her mouth ok and I never left her alone to eat, just in case.

[draught]

Thanks for the advice. As I type she is sitting in her highchair happily making a mess of some bread and butter and pieces of fruit. I think I just needed to get my head around her being so independant and different from her sister, and to plan different sorts of food. The list of suggestions is very helpful in this regard - thanks again!

[Chickadee]

The one thing I always stress over is if she's eating enough, so I hope the suggestions here helped. I posted a question on the Recipes forum about ideas for car snacks and got some great suggestions, you might have a look there too.

[draught]

Your advice helped me to approach feeding her in a whole new way. I have given her a second spoon with each meal and when she opens her mouth to give it a chew I slip in a spoonful of food - and she hasn't spat many out. I also gave her some toast fingers after her fruit at breakfast and she had a great chew on them, so at least some food is starting to go in. In the meantime I am powering through the Nappisan to remove the excess food from the bibs and her clothes, but I am less stressed and she is having a great time. :p