almost 7 months, hates the spoon!?

Question

I can NOT get my daughter to eat anything off of a spoon. Some things I'm sure she just doesn't like, but others make me realize that it's just the idea of the spoon that she hates. She eats rice cereal and formula (or breastmilk) from her bottle like a champ. But if I put it on a spoon, she clamps her mouth shut, turns her head to the side and leans it back trying to get away from the spoon, lol. I've tried smaller bites, I've tried everything. I tried giving her some pasta too and she gummed it for a while but then spit it out. I tried baby food on a spoon and she won't eat it, but when mixed into her formula and put in a bottle she gulps it down like it's the most wonderful thing in the world. Any ideas on how to get her to like the spoon? I know giving her stuff in the bottle isn't ideal, but I don't think that's why she won't take the spoon. Anything new, I try on the spoon first.

Answer 1

You should just keep on trying to give her the spoon. Stop giving it to her in the bottle. Only give her formula from the bottle. She will get hungry enough to take it from the spoon. It's not cruel. It will teach her to do what she needs to do. My doctor said that they really need to start taking the spoon at this age to help with their speaking development...

Answer 2

Get some of the little plastic spoons and let her play with them. Feed her before you have supper. Then while you eat, sit her in her high chair with some kind of sticky food that she likes (mashed potatoes?...even if she doesn't like them they make a great "glue" to make other foods stick to a spoon!).
Then just let her do whatever she decides to do. No expectations or instructions. If she decides to pick up a handful and shove it in her hair (my girl's absolute favorite activity...ugh), so be it. Eventually, she will find something she likes and even if she just plays with the spoons, they will probably end up in her mouth at some point, with or without the food.

If you know of other people with babies who eat from the spoon, use them to encourage her. Babies tend to be competitive creatures. My daughter would not hold her own bottle up until she saw another baby doing it. Then she had to step it up so she looked like a "big girl", too.

Answer 3

Have you tried formula on a spoon? You can try to give her some regular food, like soft pasta and soft cooked small vegetables and try if she already wants to feed herself. But probably she just wants the convenience of the bottle. But she really has to learn to swallow food (it is a different way of swallowing), so try to feed her a little cereal mixed with formula when she got a little of the bottle (so she isn't too eager) but is still hungry enough to try. Otherwise ask the Pediatrician. Good luck.

Answer 4

Yeah, have you seen this little handheld plastic and mesh thing they have lately?At first I thought it was kinda gross, then I saw how hard it was to spoon feed an extra grabby baby without getting PEAS on EVERYTHING.

You put the food inside of a little mesh bag and screw it onto or somehow connected to a plastic handle and give it to the baby. The food strains through. I've only seen it at Baby Depot inside of Burlington coat factory. Maybe that will help her learn to love holding something that feeds her.

Also, I let my baby play with her baby toss n go spoons provided that she doesn't try to jab it in her mouth too deeply. She's a quick learner (almost 6 mos) so she stopped the 3rd time.

Maybe Yahoo! or google feeding accessories if you don't have a Burlington near you. The product is by the bottles and on the package it says "Invented by a Mom!"

Answer 5

try just giving her finger foods for now. I bought my daughter a really soft spoon and gave it her without food on it to play and chew with at 1st. then i introduced a small amount of yoghurt on the tip as she played. eventually she got the idea.
Best thing to do .. is to be calm and make sure feeding time is a fun time.
Im not really sure you should be giving her solids in her beaker/bottle though.
Try different colours of spoons or soft flexible forks especially for babies. not the disposable picnic ones. Tomme tippee specialise in babies/toddlers feeding untensils. Have a look around see if you can find a good retailer that can help/advice you.
also do you have a Boots near you. They have a huge range there
good luck.. xxxx

Answer 6

My younger son did this too because he didn't want me to put anything in his mouth. He really wanted to be in control and feed himself. I couldn't get him to eat anything out of a jar. Basically he ate nothing but formula, Cheerios and bananas for several months till he got some teeth and could eat table food. I worried about it but he seemed to gain weight and do OK. He's always been a kid who won't do anything that's not his idea!

Ask your doctor, but your daughter may be old enough to be able to pick up Cheerios with her thumb and forefinger and gum those pretty well, and she may also enjoy small pieces of banana which she'll be able to gum and swallow.

My older son used to cry because I couldn't get the food into him fast enough with my spoon so I would make sure to give him a spoon too, which he didn't actually use but it made him feel more in control. I also put some small soft pieces of food on his tray that he could feed himself. Your daughter may be able to do those also, they're in the toddler foods in jars, they have soft carrots and other foods that might work.

The changeover from mom feeding the baby to the baby feeding herself is always interesting and also messy. We used a drop cloth on the floor below the high chair, and one of those big bibs with sleeves in it. Good luck and have fun!

Answer 7

place different finger foods on her table, let her use her fingers but always put a spoon beside her,and let her make the decision to use the spoon.
"fingers were made before spoons" my mother says.
it's funny because my 3 1/2 yr old still has trouble using a spoon so don't worry! it will happen.

Answer 8

have you tried letting her feed herself with the spoon? that may be it, she may just want to feed herself. let her give it a try, i can guarantee she will make a big mess but that is what has to happen for her to learn to use it. Or have you tried making airplane noises when you bring the spoon to her mouth. make a game out of it.

Answer 9

Try different types and colours of spoons. Offer your meal with spoon when you are eating, sometimes this will works fine.
If she still hating that try with hand, once she used to that try with spoon.

Answer 10

keep up trying to feed her with the spoon. you could eat from a spoon and show her what she should do. she'll learn more from watching what you do than any other way.