My 10 month old has refused anything on the spoon since he was 9 months old. He will eat if we let him "self feed". He only has 4 teeth, so he's been living off bananas, avocado and puffs!! Any ideas on other foods to mix it up?
Gerber graduates have canned veggies (in bite size pieces) and the pastas, even Gerber Lil entrees are great for this age. Most of it they can gum and chew with only a few teeth. VERY HEALTHY too! Hope this helps!
Put some oatmeal in a bowl, and hand him the spoon, just for the sake of handing him a spoon, one day he'll get it... let him dig in! Same goes for veggies, fruits, dry cereals - ANYTHING!! Just go through the grocery store and fill your buggy with ANYTHING finger foods - too much avacodo is not healthy for him, and he's young, so you want to be careful that he won't develop strange allergies... but seriously, he's ok, just going through his first stage of independence!!
Whatever you eat, chop it into smaller bites - teeny bites at times - put it on a plate, and you all sit down to dinner together! Seriously, no worries... he's just independent! :D
My friend does something I wish I had thought of for my boys - frozen veggies. Just thaw and serve, and they're already nice and soft. Serve them in a bowl with a spoon handy so if he decides to use the spoon like a big kid he can!
Mr grandmother and my mother both always told me that they will eat when they are hungry. Just continue to offer him foods he can hold and feed himself safely. My daughter is now older, but I remember a company that made little ready to eat meals for children. They were great for such times as this. English peas may be another good option. They are small and mushy and will enhance his fine motor skills, just by picking up the peas.
Good Luck!
My daughter loved rice & beans at that age. Okay, she still does...
Uhm. I can't even think what else I fed her, but she was the same way. SO independent.
potatoes & carrots that are cooked very very very well and cut up might work
Why not let him self feed? Let him hold the spoon he will make a huge mess thats ok, its normal my son did the same thing at that age I just watched him carefully and let him go he may just be more mature he sees his sister feeding herself and mama and daddy so he wants to as well. mashed potatoes with gravy, chicken soup drain off liquid, oatmeal, applesauce, for protein try mashing up beans or let him eat whole kidney beans. Boil your apples and cut them up and let him eat them finger size ( you can do that with everything carrots too. He sounds like a lot of fun. I miss that age.
THE INDEPENDENCEY HAS STARTED! Get ready its going to be a bumpy ride. My daughter was the same way but she used the spoon. She didnt want me to feed her at all but yet could not stand food on her hands. Be patient and let your child feed his self. even if it means him getting messy. It will clean up. Just make sure you dont give him winnies. They can choke him. fix him some dumplings from chicken and dumplings and cut into small pieces. Go with your gut on other things. just make sure it does not have skin to it.
Princess
Check with your son's peditrition and ask if it might be okay to steam some vegetables that will be and can be cut into small sizes. Have you tried the mixed can vegetables? It has carrots, potatoes,etc already diced up pretty small and are very soft and has some salt or they may have salt free. You can buy a small can, I think it is Del Monte that has this. I have a niece that cuts up grapes in small pieces (skin removed). Try placing the spoon beside his plate at each meal, have your husband, little daughter and yourself put food in your mouth with the spoon and saying ummm! loud enough where it attracts his attention or call him by his name. Have a cup of jello bright and pretty-and facing him take a bite and umm again and try to give him some on a spoon, while you are saying umm to him.
It is something he hasn't seen or eaten in awhile and he may go for it.
You might put a small stack of food on his plate and take a bite of it with your spoon, too. Hope this helps
My almost one year old is the same way. He doesn't want us to feed him. As much as I hate to say this, I just let him eat everything himself. Peas, carrots, squash, chicken cut up very small, spaghetti (the messiest but a big fav), mac and cheese, etc. He loves yogurt so we spoon it out and hand the spoon to him, and he doesn't seem to mind. I know it is way messy but my little guy is a big eater when we let him feed himself. We just put a bib on him and let him go. We give him a spoon so he can try to spoon-feed himself. I know he'll get it eventually. We always try to let him eat with the whole family so he can watch us. I don't know if this helps, but hope it does.
I am in the same boat. Gerber Graduates has a dinner with pasta wheels and peas that is good. They also make little ravioli cups you can cut into smaller pieces. Luncables is also making Baby Lunchables with turkey, cheese and crackers. They also make half cans of veggies. My son loves eating green beans.
My son is the same way. He's 11 months old and he wants to feed himself. He loves the Gerber Graduates Pasta Pickups. There's like 5 different varieties. Also, we feed him diced veggies that have been steamed (carrots, broccoli, potatoes,peas), small pieces of chicken and ham that you can buy at just about any grocery store, Velveeta mac & cheese, tater tots, fish sticks, apples, bananas, peaches, Cheetos (the puffy ones), pieces of turkey and beef. He eats just about everything that we do, just smaller portions and sizes. As with anything, just keep an eye on him to assure that he doesn't choke. Also, Gerber just came out with Veggie crackers that he seems to really like. They are quite independent at this age aren't they? Best of luck!
My daughter has been self feeding since that age. She is Little Miss Independent and always has been. I loved going out to eat with her because she loved to feed herself and would spend an hour doing it!
Rice, Beans, noodles with tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, pears, oranges, peas, green beans, ground beef, diced lunch meat, shredded cheese, lima beans, black eyed peas, maybe corn, beets, asparagus, fruit cups, boca burgers diced, scrambled egg, toast with apple butter.
Get ready for the mess! It is so much fun though!
Even a little guy with few teeth can eat a lot more things if he only wants to self feed (which will be really helpful when your new baby comes!) Scrambled eggs, ground meats, little squares of grilled cheese-you would be amazed what gums can chew!!!
Also if he is on formula or breast milk, he doesn't need a whole lot more at his age, so don't worry.
