I am a bad mom. I am a slacker.

[Java]

Kael is 14.5 months and he does not like finger foods and he does not like texture. He will ONLY self feed cheerios and Goldfish (and that's only a few pieces). He won't eat little pieces of toast or grilled cheese or even mini-pancakes. He takes them in his mouth, gums them for a bit then spits them all out. I make him mac-n-cheese with turkey and broccoli but I have to cut it into teeny-tiny pieces. If he gets a "large" piece (about the size of a skinny raisin) in his mouth, out everything goes. For breakfast, I really have to cook his oatmeal because if he feels an oat, he will not only spit everything out, but will scrape his tongue with his hands to get rid of the offending piece!

He will eat rice porridge with little bits of cut-up chicken. All he does is basically swallow it - no chewing involved.

I know that you can't push your child to eat, but I feel like I should have been more insistent with him eating finger foods. We go to playgroups and he's the only child not eating anything because he spits everything out! Even when he's hungry he'll spit out anything remotely firm or doesn't dissolve (i.e. cheese bits, bread, baby crackers).

I was hoping that by this age, I would be able to feed him off my plate at restaurants and not have to bring his semi-mashed/pureed foods from home. Did I totally mess up and miss the window of opportunity to introducing finger foods? I don't know what to do. Please HELP!

[pritchettzoo]

I don't have any experience with it, but I just read a thread on another board about a child who needing speech therapy or occupational/physical therapy to assist in learning to eat solids. Do you have a 15 month appointment with your pediatrician? If not, it might be worth calling. If you're not satisfied with the nurse's answer, make an appointment and talk to the doctor.

Here's the thread (may not be entirely on point): http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=223673

ETA: You are NOT a bad mom! And you're not a slacker! :)

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)
and One More (coming July '05)

[COElizabeth]

You're not a bad mom or a slacker! At his 1-year check-up, James was eating only cheerios and purees, and the doctor told me he was not at all concerned. He said he has seen 2-year-olds still eating from jars. That's unusual, but I don't think it's that unusual at your son's age. I just kept offering finger foods, and by about 15 months or so James quit eating pureed food on his own. I'm sure Kael will do the same thing before too long. If you are concerned that there is a motor-sensory problem, definitely ask your pediatrician. But know that you haven't messed up, you can't force your child to eat textures he doesn't want, and most likely he'll soon be rejecting all your attempts to feed him with a spoon!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
and Charlotte, 11-04-04

[miki]

We're Kael and Lorelei separated at birth? Lorelei was like this until very recently. I knew she could eat real food because she ate crackers with no problem. It turned out she was gagging a lot of the time because she just didn't like what I was offering. She likes stir-fried string beans, not the mushy ones from the can. She likes big slices of apple and not a small dice. We found this out because MIL gave her a whole apple to play with and she ate half of it. And since we've been visiting with my parents, she's seen a much bigger variety of food and has really been interested in trying it out. And she likes having something like a Little People toy with her so her little friend can have a bite and she can have a bite. I was really worried for a while but it just took time. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get her to eat this stuff by herself.

You are definitely not a bad mom and no slacker.

[Java]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement!

He was eating more textured stuff when he was younger but then he got sick, didn't want to eat, got better, got sick again... I stopped offering finger foods because I just wanted him to eat and get better. ugh - I should have just continued to offer him pieces.

Anyway, we are back to offering fingerfoods and the first day was not that great. The dog and cats were on cloud nine since Kael was tossing food at them left and right. Every 4th or 5th piece did go in his mouth -- only to be spit out but at least it's a start. It is obvious I'm going to have to feed the animals way less of their food as they are getting food from their best bud Kael.