Self Feeding: 7 Months

My baby is 7 months old, and she absolutely does not like to be spoon-fed. She tolerated it at five months, but around 6 months, whenever I tried to coax a spoon towards her mouth, she either tried to grab it out of my hand or turn her head away.

Before I became a parent, I used to think this was a negative thing. I'm not sure exactly why, but I thought it was a sign of neglect on the parent's part when a child refuses to be spoon fed. Well, after a little bit of research and newfound enlightenment (actually being a mom), I've discovered that it's actually perfectly normal for a baby to want to experiment and handle their own food. Which makes sense, right?

Babies are so amazing. They're born with life-saving reflexes and natural instincts. Feeding themselves is no exception. Self feeding is more commonly known as "baby-led weaning." It's not to be confused with giving up breast milk or formula, though. It's basically just giving your baby a piece the food you're eating and letting them try it. If they don't like it, they'll throw it down. If they do like it, though, they love it!

So far, I've let Raegan try apples, steamed asparagus, baby carrots, celery, teething biscuits, mango, chicken, yogurt, and banana. She only took to the apples, carrots, and yogurt so far. She loves when I make smoothies, and she won't let me or her dad drink them without giving her a taste or two.

She also loves when I freeze portions of my smoothies in her little popsicle molds. She devours them quickly, and most of it actually makes it to her mouth! (By the way, the smoothies I make only contain juice, no milk. Babies aren't supposed to have cow's milk until 12 months.)

It's so much fun seeing how my baby has preferences as to what food she likes and what she doesn't like. So far, fruit is a big hit. She's definitely her mother's daughter!

Read more about baby-led weaning here.