7 Month Old Will Not Spoon Feed

I have an 8 month old. Her name is Hannah and she has Down Syndrome. I had trouble spoon feeding her. Children with Down's have larger tongues, which made the tongue thrust reflex a little more challenging. It's something new, they are going to reject it at first. The texture, taste, and spoon are all something different. I kept trying though and soon enough it didn't take long. Be repetitive!! They will only learn if you keep trying. Now I can't get the spoon in Hannah's mouth fast enough! Good Luck!!!!!

C.,

I wouldnt worry to much about it. As long as she is still taking regular amounts of breastmilk / formula, Im sure she is fine. Let her do it at her own pace. Another suggestion is sitting her in highchair at dinner time with the rest of the family, and letting her use her fingers. It may be a mess to clean up, but she'll be eating. Good luck!

Hi C., If you really want her to eat from a spoon, try one of the little dippers. They are easy to grasp, and she'll get the hang of dipping it in food and eating it off the dipper. They come in a package of 2. Otherwise, let her use her fingers! She's still young - don't stress yourself - and besides, if she sees you and your husband and even big sister eating w/ utensils, she'll get the hang of it! Just don't let her grow up too fast! :)

Hi C., my son would not use a spoon and at times still doesn't and he is 4 now, we struggled with this when he was a little guy but learned that he liked to use his hand and he being a picky eater we made sure he was really hungry before we placed food in front of him.

It might be what's on the spoon that she doesn't like? Is it just cereal or are you giving her veggies and fruit too? If you've tried everything, I'd say maybe it's the actual type of spoon? Try a different spoon.

If that still doesn't work, give her a rest for a few days and try all over again? I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. What does the Pediatrician say?

She might not be ready for solids. The WHO (World Health Organization) and the AAP (American Association of Pediactrics) recommend waiting til at least 6 months of age until introducing solids. When they lose the tongue thrust reflex, when they have the pincer grasp (when they can pick small things up with their pointer and thumb finger) and when they can sit up on their own. I have a 5 1/2 month old who is still exclusivly breastfed, she hasn't shown any of the signs of being ready yet, she's still thriving though, she's 28 inches long and weighs 19 pounds.
This is just my suggestion. If she's formula fed or whatever you could just go back to feeding her that until she's ready, or what the other poster said, those dippers seem like a good idea too. But I think she might not be ready.
Good luck!