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Have you tried more of a BLW approach? I do still puree some foods that are harder to eat whole, but now I also let him suck and gnaw on some other foods which is a whole new experience for him! Today he gnawed on a carrot for half an hour, last week it was green pepper strips. He totally loves it!!

He hasn't had a food regression so IDK if that would work for you..

But also, my ped told me that babies don't need extra calories/nutrition from solids until they're a year old so if they don't eat a lot (or at all) don't stress about it. My nephew didn't like food until he just before a year - he would get mad. All he wanted was boob!! It was pretty funny but now, at 13 months, he LOVES food!!

I have a friend who went throught something similar with her daughter at 8 months. She said she was so frustrated she just dropped the bowl and spoon on her daughters tray and walked away. When she turned around her daughter was feeding herself happily. Just a thought- my LO hasn't gone through something like this yet.

@irene: lol- that is exactly what my LO does. We do BLW (I'm on Mat leave right now so I have the time to let her pick at things) and the one time I put some applesauce in a bowl, it was everywhere in about 17 seconds.

At about 8 months my son wanted to feed himself more. We bought the pouches of purée and that was more successful. You may also want to try some soft foods that he can pick up. Like pieces of banana or bread.

Cheerios were too hard for my guy for a long time. We bought the puffs and the fruit and veggie melts and he loved those.

@irene: Gerber makes fruit and veggie melts we just buy them from the store. They are freeze dried purée. They melt in the mouth so there is less choking hazard. We also like the puffs and we would buy freeze dried fruit and have him eat it. All melted away so we worried less about choking,

As for blw and the mess, we embraced the mess. We are a mostly grain free family so we never did the cereals. One of his first meals was meat. He had blood testing done and had no iron deficiency (at 9 months). His tray hoses off, he gets a bath and the dogs get the floor (and chair). It wasn't a major deal for us.

We couldn't make food an issue because he had Weight gain issues and he had to eat. We would give him some melts (or other food) and spoon feed him on top of that. It gave him some control but also got him eating.

@irene: My doctor said to not worry about iron deficiency. If you are really concerned with it, offer LO cooked red meats, or have your pedi do a test earlier than normal. Kids got a long fine without iron fortified cereals for thousands of years. You dont have to worry about it too much. We too are mostly grain free, so we never did any cereals. We also embraced the mess and learned that BLW actually provided us with a lot LESS mess than purees did since it was small chunks of finger food. It sounds like you arent a fan of messes, but truthfully with solids, you kind of have to deal with it. Even when they are spoon fed by hand, messes are going to come. And there will come a point where LO gets sick of you feeding him and he will want to do it himself. You just have to go with it

Teething! And a desire to self feed. And just general baby rudeness - my toddler hadn't been eating much the last few weeks, due to teething. Last night she ate an entire peach and an entire chicken breast for dinner. It'll be up and down for years.