1yr old takes AGES to feed

[MyMiniatureMan]

My 1yr old boy has always been difficult to feed. Right from when he was born he would take ages drinking his milk - pushing my breast (and eventually the bottle away). It was like he wasn't interested. I've only just managed to get him start eating solids since last month. I have him in the high chair in front of the tv and feed him whilst he's watching. Sometimes he'll open his mouth (always just a tiny bit open) but mostly he'll keep it clamped shut. I play airplane games to 'zoom' the spoon into his mouth and I touch the tip of the spoon to his lips to get him to open (doesn't work very well). It takes at least 1 - 1 1/2 hr for each feed so I'm way running out of patience. Also, it's difficult to take him out because of this. I've tried not having the tv on, or not having something that he finds interesting on but he gets bored and wriggley in the chair (maybe something to do with the length of time he's just sitting there while I'm trying to feed him as well?). He also starts screaming and crying and he always slouches right down on the chair. Should I try just setting a time limit, say 15mins, and stop feeding him then regardless of how much he's eaten? But was just wondering if he's too young to understand the connection. Hope someone can help.

 

[lylee]

my baby is like your's exactly! i've taken her to several pediatricians & the most recent one's comment/ recommendation is: babies are very smart at reading our expressions, the more anxious/worried we look, the less they'll cooperate. sure enough, her lack of eating (both milk & solid) has really stressed me out over the past 10 months... it's showing on my face & she senses it. it's hard, but try to relax when you feed your baby. if he eats, great, if he doesn't, don't make a big fuss about it. i use to put her in front of the tv, give her teethers & squeeze in a spoon here/there but she was not happy & was eating maybe 1/5 of a bowl taking close to an hour & gags throughout the feeding. now that i've relaxed, she does seem happier & eating maybe 1/2 bowl in 20 mins (still not a whole lot given her age, but an improvement already). his advice is also never force a baby to eat, or else they may develop an aversion to food/poor eating habits. he also recommended a book i think it's called "how to get your baby to eat, but not too much" by ellen sather. you can try & check it out. see if this works for your baby. good luck!