WHY does feeding DD have to be such a messy affair?

[ha98ed14]

I am SO frustrated by the mess that becomes of DD when I try to give her baby food. She is 8 mos and the ped told me I should really start feeding her solids. Prior to this she has been ff only. So for the past couple weeks I have been trying to do a lunch of baby food (Earth's Best Organic. I am not one to make my own.) I feed her with a baby spoon, but it is like her tongue gets in the way and she spits it out half the time. Some spoonfuls go down fine, but others she looks like she is trying to chew her tongue and ends up spitting it out. Of course then it ends up all over her face, clothes and the floor and anything else she manages to touch before I can corral her with a washcloth! I hate having to wipe down everything day after day. I feel like the baby's maid!

[jhrabosk]

I definitely sympathize...baby food is a messy affair. Even at 2+ I'm amazed at times about how much of my DD's meal ends up on her face/bib/floor under her chair.

It'll take her some time to get the hang of "solids"...it's a different mouth/tongue process than a bottle. Be patient. She'll catch on!

At 8 months, you can also consider giving her little bits of things to pick up and eat herself. My DD was 8 months when we first gave her Cheerios and bits of banana. She didn't know what to do with it right away, but really enjoyed trying.

I'm curious also why you're "not one to make your own." At this age, it's really as simple as peeling a banana or microwaving a sweet potato and mashing it.

[egoldber]

It sounds like she still has a lot of the tongue thrust reflux.

I would offer her a few bites at a time and thats it. It doesn't really need to be a "meal", just something for her to practice with a little bit.

[spunkybaby]

Honestly, feeding is just a messy activity, but I definitely understand the frustration of endless cycles of feeding and cleaning up. With DD1, I ended up putting a sweatshirt (a hand-me-down that I didn't particularly care for) over her clothes each time I fed her to protect her outfit. I also put a plastic pocket bib (the ones with Sally Huss designs) on top of the sweatshirt. And I put newspapers on the floor underneath her high chair. That way I could just scoop up the newspapers at the end of each day and put them in the compost/green waste bin instead of having to continually clean the floor.

Oh, and I also bought multiple trays for her FP high chair so that I could clean the trays at the end of the day instead of in between each meal.

With DD2, I just gave up :)

Hope you feel better knowing you're not alone...

[hellokitty]

I second beth's suggestion. Maybe your baby is not quite ready for solids yet. Although the docs tell you to start at 6 mo (or even earlier!!!), some babies are not ready. My youngest son kept gagging and throwing up when I tried to give him pureed foods (I make my own babyfood, and even bought some to make sure it wasn't something wrong on my side). Around 9 mo old he was ready for solids, BUT he refused to have anything to do with pureed stuff. He wanted to pick things up that were itty bitty pieces, so I often just cut up whatever we were eating and let him eat really tiny pieces of it. It was sooooo nice to skip the whole babyfood phase. I agree, it is such a mess and I think that babyfood smells gross, it always wants to make ME barf. I found out after I did this for youngest son that many women do this (skip babyfood and go straight to table food just cut up really tiny). I wish someone would had told me about it before I had to figure it out on my own.

[ha98ed14]

Hope you feel better knowing you're not alone...

Thanks! I do! It's why I hang out on this board ALL DAY LONG! So I don't feel so alone at home with my one baby... Sometimes I feel like I am going insane!!!! Run for the Hills!

[LarsMal]

Honestly, feeding is just a messy activity, but I definitely understand the frustration of endless cycles of feeding and cleaning up. With DD1, I ended up putting a sweatshirt (a hand-me-down that I didn't particularly care for) over her clothes each time I fed her to protect her outfit. I also put a plastic pocket bib (the ones with Sally Huss designs) on top of the sweatshirt. And I put newspapers on the floor underneath her high chair. That way I could just scoop up the newspapers at the end of each day and put them in the compost/green waste bin instead of having to continually clean the floor.

Too funny! DS was/is a very neat eater. DD, OTOH, is a total mess. I don't even bother with bibs or anything to keep her clean. I strip her down when she eats now! I don't mind if her onesie gets dirty, so I just take her clothes off and she eats in her onesie! She also likes to run her hands through her hair while she eats- so gross! I need to get her a shower cap to wear!

And the floor- the only reason we still have our dog is so she can clean up the mess!

[LarsMal]

Thanks! I do! It's why I hang out on this board ALL DAY LONG! So I don't feel so alone at home with my one baby... Sometimes I feel like I am going insane!!!! Run for the Hills!

I'm with you! Except I have two babies, so I AM insane- not "going" insane!

[ha98ed14]

[QUOTE=hellokitty]I second beth's suggestion. Maybe your baby is not quite ready for solids yet. Although the docs tell you to start at 6 mo (or even earlier!!!), some babies are not ready. My youngest son kept gagging and throwing up when I tried to give him pureed foods (I make my own babyfood, and even bought some to make sure it wasn't something wrong on my side). Around 9 mo old he was ready for solids, BUT he refused to have anything to do with pureed stuff. He wanted to pick things up that were itty bitty pieces, so I often just cut up whatever we were eating and let him eat really tiny pieces of it. [QUOTE]

Ok, I have a question about this: I agree that she still has the tongue trust reflex. Does that mean she isn't ready for solids? She seems to like them fine and gets happy and excited when I break out the baby food jar & pink spoon. How do you tell if they are ready? Is spitting it out 50% of the time a sign that they are not ready? She shows little to no interest in trying our food. I have offered her bits of it.

And my other question: DD does not have the coordination to pick up Cheerios or any other small finger food. She picks up blocks and her MAM pacifier, bit nothing smaller than that. She also cannot crawl, which the ped told me not to worry about, but I worry she is delayed in her motor skills. She can pull herself to standing from a sitting position in her crib. Is there something wrong here or am I just suffering from first-time-mom-syndrome?

[ha98ed14]

Well, since you are already living in the insanity, can I come over? I am moving there quickly!

[ha98ed14]

And the floor- the only reason we still have our dog is so she can clean up the mess!

That's the answer! I need to get a dog! I love dogs! Too bad my apt complex doesn't allow them... :(

[egoldber]

She sounds fine. :)

She may need some practice to get over the reflex. But you don't need to make it a whole meal to give her practice, just a few bites once or twice a day.

And I would offer finger foods. She may have a hard time, but again, its all in the practice.

[o_mom]

Ok, I have a question about this: I agree that she still has the tongue trust reflex. Does that mean she isn't ready for solids? She seems to like them fine and gets happy and excited when I break out the baby food jar & pink spoon. How do you tell if they are ready? Is spitting it out 50% of the time a sign that they are not ready? She shows little to no interest in trying our food. I have offered her bits of it.

And my other question: DD does not have the coordination to pick up Cheerios or any other small finger food. She picks up blocks and her MAM pacifier, bit nothing smaller than that. She also cannot crawl, which the ped told me not to worry about, but I worry she is delayed in her motor skills. She can pull herself to standing from a sitting position in her crib. Is there something wrong here or am I just suffering from first-time-mom-syndrome?

DS3 is almost 9 mos and really only in the last few weeks has he been interested in solids. We offered them around 7.5 mos, but he couldn't figure it out.

A few things to try:

Get a bag of puffed rice cereal. This is plain puffed (not crisped) rice, the ingredients should be rice and maybe added vitamins. You can just put some on the highchair tray to let her practice picking up stuff. A bag is around $1 and lasts forever. It is dry, so not very messy. You can also look for wheat free O's if you haven't introduced wheat yet (check whole foods/wild oats/trader joes).

Go chunkier/thicker. Mix the purees with cereal or mash your own banana. Some babies just don't like purees as they are too much like liquid and they are used to using a sucking motion for liquid. DS3 definately has this going on. Anything on a spoon he tries to suck - puts his tongue out and cups it like he is nursing.

If she can pull to standing, she is most likely fine, even though she isn't crawling. I think if you offer more tiny things for her to practice with she will build the fine motor skills quickly. I know my younger ones picked small stuff up earlier because we just have more small things laying around here.

[hellokitty]

[QUOTE=hellokitty]I second beth's suggestion. Maybe your baby is not quite ready for solids yet. Although the docs tell you to start at 6 mo (or even earlier!!!), some babies are not ready. My youngest son kept gagging and throwing up when I tried to give him pureed foods (I make my own babyfood, and even bought some to make sure it wasn't something wrong on my side). Around 9 mo old he was ready for solids, BUT he refused to have anything to do with pureed stuff. He wanted to pick things up that were itty bitty pieces, so I often just cut up whatever we were eating and let him eat really tiny pieces of it. [QUOTE]

Ok, I have a question about this: I agree that she still has the tongue trust reflex. Does that mean she isn't ready for solids? She seems to like them fine and gets happy and excited when I break out the baby food jar & pink spoon. How do you tell if they are ready? Is spitting it out 50% of the time a sign that they are not ready? She shows little to no interest in trying our food. I have offered her bits of it.

And my other question: DD does not have the coordination to pick up Cheerios or any other small finger food. She picks up blocks and her MAM pacifier, bit nothing smaller than that. She also cannot crawl, which the ped told me not to worry about, but I worry she is delayed in her motor skills. She can pull herself to standing from a sitting position in her crib. Is there something wrong here or am I just suffering from first-time-mom-syndrome?

If she gets excited about it, just give her a little bit. I just have very strong feelings that at this age, solids are all, "just for practice" and more for first time mom's excitement than anything (milestone). Don't worry about her motor skills, she'll do them when she's ready. If she isn't ready to pick up food, there isn't much you can do about it, than be patient and to continue to offer it to her and when she's ready, she'll pick it up. I guess what I am saying is that you shouldn't worry too much about solids at this point. Like I said, it's all, "just practice" at this stage. Your baby is still getting most of nutrients via ff anyway, so it's not crucial that she takes in 100% of everything put into her mouth, kwim? I think that we often see commercials of babies on tv gobbling up baby food and we think that is what is, "normal." It's not, your experience with the big mess is IMO more normal than the experience baby food companies would like to lead you to believe.