Spitting while eating....

So the last week and a half or so Adalynn has taken to spitting every time I feed her baby food, it doesn't matter what meal it is, if its something new and different or tried and true, I give her aa spoon full and then she basically give a me the thhpphhttthhhh and spits it all over herself, the high chair, me. Right after she does this she just goes to giggling!!! I've tried sternly telling her no but I have no clue what to do about this behavior and to get her to actually eat! Any ideas????

 

Don't have an answer but one of my kid does that too. However, she will eat some first and then after awhile will start making razzies while her mouth is full. I tell her don't do that but she does it anyways. She also sticks her thumb in her mouth and then rubs her face so food gets everywhere.

 

How old is she? (Can't see tickers on phone) If she's over 6 months, offer her table food instead. Also, it's no big deal if she isn't eating a large quantity of "solids". Before 1 year, pretty much all their nutrition should be from breastmilk/formula with solids providing an opportunity to practice moving food around their mouths, chewing & swallowing along with exposure to new tastes and textures. For now, it should just be fun & exploratory, no pressure.

 

My basic rule for all table misbehavior is to IGNORE. When they throw food or cups to the floor i don't even watch them fall and NEVER pick it up. Until recently the kids were really good and only occasionally tossed food to the ground. MIL has been here for 4 weeks and does not follow my 'ignore' rule. The amount of food hitting the floor has increased dramatically! IMO most table behavior is about attention so i try to encourage the behavior i want.
That may not work with spoon feeding.

We did a variation of 'Baby-Lead-Weaning' and the kids loved it. The basic concept is they eat what you eat served in a way they can handle it themselves. They definitely got more excited about food when i let them do it themselves. They became really good eaters and still today will try everything i put in front of them.

This is a good post about with discussion of food options.
There is also some previous posts about Baby-Lead-Weaning that might interest you.

The good part of starting BLW before a year is that it completely takes the stress off. It doesn't matter if or what she eats. She is getting the nourishment she needs from milk, so food is for practice and fun.
I bet the spitting stops if you let her feeding herself.

 

I agree to ignore the behavior you don't like and try table foods, which they can still make a mess with but normally are easier to clean up...normally. Seriously though, I think it's just a phase/developmental thing and she'll move on before you know it.

 

Okay stupid question but table foods????

 

My son does that with his thumb and it gets all over his hair and face and clothes! Lol. Loads of fun getting the chicken noodle smell off of them before bed .... We do baths in the mornings bc it wakes them up so much but I might have to switch to night time! Lol

 

Just means food that hasn't been puréed.

 

But neither of them have teeth ... I'd think that would be more of a choking hazard than anything.

 

Alex, check out baby led weaning. Babies don't need teeth- their gums are strong (if you've ever been bitten on the nipple by a teething baby- it freaking hurts!).

 

Yup, exactly as Michelle said. Emmett has never had a puréed or mashed food, has been eating solids since 6.5 months and didn't cut his first tooth till 10 months old. Baby food is the great marketing scam of our generation. In all seriousness though, baby food started because they used to recommend starting babies on "solids" very early, even before 4 months old but at that age, babies will spit out anything thicker than a liquid because of the tongue thrust reflex. Now that the recommendation is for exclusive breastmilk or formula till 6 months babies are developmentally ready to switch directly to table foods without any need for purées. HTH!

 

I should also add, we've never had a choking incident. Lots and lots and lots of gagging, but no choking. Gagging is the body's natural defense against choking and babies have a very sensitive gag reflex that's quite far forward in the mouth. As they grow and learn how to eat food, the gagging becomes a non issue. So if you do decide to do some BLW I would encourage you to learn about the differences between gagging and true choking and what needs to be done in either situation. For the most part, a baby who is gagging needs to be left to it - intervening can actually lead to choking. The rule of thumb in our house was that if Emmett was making noise, we didn't touch him, just observed closely.

 

Agreed with the above, especially about gagging vs choking. if you are still worried about choking, consider buying a food processor and chopping the food smaller (but stopping before it is pureed).. We've done this with some raw veggies and foods with skins. It also has helped develop their fine motor skills (particularly Livie's). We have never had a choking incident either and I never intervene if they can make noise or show signs of breathing. Basically, the girls get a pile of normal or coarsely chopped food the vast majority of the time and it is up to them what they eat, how they eat, and how much they eat. The twins have a LOT better attitude towards food than Vivi ever has, which I know is not solely due to this feeding style but I think it has played a part.

 

Around your kids age we stopped with the purees for that reason too and started with a lot more finger foods. Baked chicken, veggies etc. They were still getting nutrients from bf'ing and formula at that point, so the foods were fun for them and more practice eating. I am pretty sure that their dad was still feeding them purees from a spoon though, but I didn't have the patience for being spit on for very long .

 

we have only had gagging as well- it doesn't sound pretty and I certainly keep a close eye, but she learned really quickly how to move food around in her mouth and expel it. Interestingly, she gagged and threw up this week b/c she sipped water from my straw cup.

 

We have never had a choking incident. Gagging yes. I watch closely, appear relaxed and they have always cleared it themselves and never even been upset by it.

I highly recommend trying it! I don't know anyone who has feed this way that would change back to purees.

If you decide to give it a try here are some ideas for starting:

My LOs are eating basically what we eat. I just cut it really small (pea size) and let them go at it. It as really messy at first but they will get neater (relatively speaking.. lol). At first they don't get a lot in their mouths but that gets better pretty quick.. nothing like instant reward!

Peas, broccoli, asparagus tops, Beans of all kinds, plums, mango, oranges, grapes (pealed and quartered), squash, sweet potatoes, kiwi, cantaloupe, corn, and i try to do meat once a day.. chicken, hamburger, pork (everything cut to the size of a pea in the beginning)

You can also try big pieces of things and let them gum them. My LOs have teeth now but i started this when they had 0. Good things to gum.. Bread well toasted and buttered (no salt butter), large slice of pear or apple. You just have to keep an eye on them that they don't get bite off a really big chunk. You will be surprised how they can manage!

This way they decide when to stop, so i never have to worry if they got enough or too much. It is cheaper, easier, and i think they love eating what we eat! There is no fuss at meal time, I put it down and they eat.

 

We are loving BLW! They are doing really well and starting to chew and swallow now. They love cheese, pizza, toasts, bananas. It is messy and they do gag, but its so neat to watch them "get it!"