Feeding DD has become a chore!!!

[nicole528]

Hi All...I have a just recently turned one-year old DD who is a very sweet baby (most of the time).  Anyway, for the two weeks or so, every time we sit her down to feed her, she becomes this whiny, yelling, destructive child who throws things and waves her hands constantly whenever we put food in front of her. It has become such a chore every time we try to feed her.  We try to calmly tell her no when she throws things (she doesn't seem to get it) and now I just take all the food away when she does it.  But this means she doesn't eat and then she is cranky b/c she is hungry. If we keep her distracted, we can get her to eat, but it is hard to do this as she gets bored very easily. And as soon as she is bored, things start flying off the tray and she acts like we are torturing her with the yelling and hand waving  When I'm having a good day, I try to deal with it calmly.  But when I'm having a tired day or long day, it drives me crazy !! So I don't know what to do or how to handle it. Anyone else have a child do this?  Is it just a phase?  How did you handle it?  Am I enabling her if I allow it to continue?  Thanks!

-Nicole, mama to DD (11/09)  

[sosurreal09]

DD is 13 months maybe not as extreme as yours but we get the im gonna throw this food everywhere thing here too. she usually starts out ok and eats what she wants then starts throwing so i take it away and she whines and after a couple mins i say to her would you like you're food back? you cant throw it you have to eat it. i give it back. if she throws it im assuming shes not hungry anymore and i take it away for good and clean her up and let her down.

does she eat at all or just instant throwing? any teeth coming?

[RedPony]

Hmm...  I think both my kids went thru this phase at one point or another.  I do know that once we got rid of the high chair  (18 months for my older and 12 for the younger) and moved into a booster, things got better.  They had more control over what was going on.  Yeah, the 4 and 1/2 yo wiggles in her seat and my 18 mo is up and down and up and down, but as long as it's not w/ food, I don't stress it.  Anyway, what worked for me was giving them that control.  I let both girls self-feed - sit them in a chair, put a plate of food in front of them or a handful on their tray (soft cooked, appropriately sized chunks), offer a spoon or fork if you like, then let them take over.  I never pureed or spoon fed anything, so they had total control over what went into or didn't go into their mouths.  At 12 months, my oldest didn't want much of anything to do w/ solids!  I offered at most every meal, but she was 99% breastfed until 13 months (which is when I got pregnant again).  My youngest was digging the solids around 8 months.  She still nurses like crazy but is also putting away a lot of solid food. 

So, give her the freedom to decide what goes or doesn't go into her mouth.  Maybe she doesn't want anything.  Maybe she wants all the sweet potato and none of the egg yolk (or whatever).  As long as she's still getting most of her nutrition from breastmilk or formula, she'll be fine.  If you relax, she will, too.  And don't set a time limit. If she wants to go away from the food - let her.  Leave it out while you eat, let her graze throughout the day, if possible.  Put it away when you're tired of looking at it ;) but make sure she has the opportunity to tell you if she's hungry or not.  She'll let you know.

Hang in there, this too shall pass!

[snoopy5386]

try only giving her 1-2 pieces of food at a time?