Self-feeding: if he doesn't like it, what do I do???

[deborah_r]

In case you're wondering, yes I could ask feeding questions ALL DAY long and still not ask all of them that I have!!!

At 10 months of age, if I put food on his tray and he doesn't want it, do I offer something else? Is he going to learn this young that he can resist it and I will give him something else? (I much preferred spoon feeding, because he ate much more that way, and usually ate what was offered.)

EDIT: I think I may have made my question too murky - what I am specifically wondering is this: say I give him peas on his tray and he just pushes them around and isn't very interested. I know he WILL eat Cheerio's, so should I put some Cheerio's on his tray, or is that teaching him to hold out for what he would rather have?

[signsing]

I usually do both. I offer food on the tray to keep him occupied while I get the food I'll spoon feed him. He always gets more when I feed him but I like him to develop the motor skills needed to self feed. I do it for the hand eye coordination I guess.
I don't really expect him to eat a whole meal of finger foods. I stick to his favs on the tray though, its just easier.
I wouldn't stress too much about it, at this age feeding is just to introduce him to foods, his main source of nutrition is breastmilk or formula.
Betsey
Buddy's Mamma 6-10-2003

[deenass]

My son seemed to take FOREVER to be interested in food. I started feeidng him at 7 1/2 months and most of the time he was rarely interested. I would try a few times and if he ate 1 oz of food it was a lot. Anything that wasn't pureed was quickly thrown up, so I kept waiting and trying. At about 10 1/2 monthys he finally became interested in puffed rice cereal and quickly moved to completely feeding himself.

He's 1 year old now and anything he eats he puts in his mouth himself. Gie it time, your baby will get the hang of it!

[jubilee]

That is exactly what I do too. A little finger food on his tray and also spoon feeding him something else. Like at dinner I had little cubes of ham on his tray, but I was spoon feeding scalloped potatoes also.