My 6 month old refuses the spoon...

[ktejmommy]

My son is 6 months old now and refuses anything that enters his mouth on a spoon. I have been trying for 2 months now.. cereal of all consistancies, cereal with mashed bananas, bananas only. He gets one bite and just starts screaming. I've tried a couple feedings a day for a few days and then we've taken a break (let him get a little older) and tried again later (we've done this cycle several times) but nothing seems to work. The thing is.. he'll take it all through a bottle, I've cut the tip of a nipple so the thick cereal will get through and was able to rule out allergies or dislikes.
He can't take everything through a bottle forever, any suggestions????

[ra11en]

Have you tried giving him the spoon? What about eating with his hands, does he do that? Our DD did okay with us feeding her at first, but quickly decided she should be allowed to do it herself. Obviously she couldn't wield a spoon well enough, so we gave her a spoon while we fed her with another. That worked for a while. Then when the food was more solid, she refused that compromise and would only eat with her own hands. Then, about 6 months ago (shes 21mo) she decided she would only eat if SHE got to do the spoon. Talk about messy, but she has to learn herself. And, it also frees up my hands so I can get other things done. Especially helpful in the mornings - I let her chow on oatmeal or pancakes while I clean the kitchen.

[MommaC]

What type of spoon are you using? Is there anything funky going on in his mouth? (sore spots, etc?) Maybe try letting him use spoons during play so they become more friendly, multi-purpose objects. When he refuses the spoon and you resort to the bottle, do you hold him to feed him?

[ktejmommy]

I don't always actually physically hold him.. I always hold the bottle for him though, he's not able to do that quite yet. I feed him with the Gerber baby spoons with the rubber coating on them. He's cutting some teeth but I'm staying away from that side of his mouth (they're not coming in the usual order, and there are two on one side of his mouth). I can try giving him the spoons outside of meal times, I'm just concerned that if something doesn't change that he'll fall behind where he should be.

[ra11en]

My DD always gave up eating solids while teething. It was one of the biggest signs to me that she was teething since otherwise teething was very easy on her/us. She stayed on the bottle well during the teething, but pretty much refused to eat any solids.

[MommaC]

I just asked because I thought maybe he was begging for the bottle because he wanted to be held...

Don't stress about milestones too much. It puts too much pressure on you and on your baby. Chances are he'll come around eventually. It's good that you're aware of what to expect so you know what to encourage him to do and so that you can spot a problem if one does arise. Feed him as much as he'll take with a spoon, but don't get worked up when he throws the fit. Ask him if he's finished and happily clean him up. Definitely let him play with spoons and experiment for himself. Give it time. If he doesn't come around, mention it to the doctor. If you're concerned but the doctor isn't, find a speech-pathologist and/or occupational therapist--they both can deal with oral sensory defensiveness. Good luck to you!

[EVsMom]

Sometimes what's help EV is to help her hold the spoon. Granted she can't feed herself but we all know that the minute a baby has hold of something, in the mouth it goes. If I hold it with her to direct it, I can ensure the food goes. Doesn't always work but she gets used to the spoon being in her mouth. Also getting her to smile work well so if you can make her laugh or smile, slip in the crack of her mouth and then she closes it. She naturally swallows and doesn't always notice that I'm doing it. Of course half the time it requires my husband and I to tag-team her: one entertains while the other feeds. Guess which one of us is the dancing clown?

Like dinner theater.