My child is a food thrower

As I started to write Liam's 12 month update I realized that much of it focused on his changes in eating habits- the good and the not so good.  Instead of drowning his one year update with these details, I decided to write about them separately so that I can focus on exactly what we've been dealing with.

Liam's eating habits have changed drastically. We went from having a baby that ate just about anything and everything: fruits, vegetables, eggs, EVERYTHING.  I mention eggs because he loved them before, especially for breakfast.  But, somewhere in between here and eleven months he's become a little picky eater.  These foods in particularly he spits out almost as soon as they go into his mouth.  I don't know if it's a texture problem, or what?

Of course, we don't want to hold these foods back and make him think that we will cater his meals individually.  Even though he seems to not like them, we still put them on his plate.   When we can't mix the fruits or veggies in with something else we make sure he gets them some other way.  Liam will still eat the squeezable forms of fruits and veggies, so we give those to him.  They are especially good on the go or for a quick snack.

Aside from all this, Liam still eats pretty much everything that we eat now except for the real hard or crunchy foods.  He only has four teeth, the fourth one showing up this past month.  I feel like he is sprouting teeth a lot slower than many other babies his age, but I figure he won't be toothless much longer!

Liam can now have honey since he is over twelve months old (there is a risk of botulism in babies who have honey before 12 months old) though I haven't given him any yet.  We are still on the fence about peanut butter and shellfish, which our pediatrician advised we not give to him until 3 YEARS OLD.  These are highly allergic foods and peanut butter is also a choking hazard.  But, I've read many different articles that say children can start eating these foods anywhere from six months to a year old.  I don't think we will wait for two more years to give Liam peanut butter or shellfish, but we will probably wait a few more months.  Mainly just because I'm nervous : )

How about we talk about my least favorite thing that Liam does during meals nowadays:  THROWING FOOD!  YAY!  We have noticed that he does this more often when he doesn't enjoy something.  He may just pick the food up right from the tray and throw it OR after chewing on it for a minute, he grabs it out of his mouth and chucks it.  We experienced this a lot while on vacation and it was much more embarrassing and difficult to handle while in public.  It makes my husband and I so angry when he does this, especially after we say "No, you do not throw food" and then he throws it onto the floor as he looks right into our eyes.  I'm not sure if he's doing it just to get a rise out of us or what?  I'm sure that he probably feels proud that he can throw something so far.  Far enough so that he almost hit a woman sitting at a table next to us!

Don't let this face fool you!

We have also noticed that we may not have a breakfast person on our hands.  Many of these habits are displayed at breakfast more than any other meal of the day.  We've also have had many a melt down at breakfast, especially while dining out.  During one meal, my husband and I had to take turns walking outside with Liam as the other chowed down food.  He wouldn't eat, he screamed, he spit out his food, and threw it across the room.  Throwing especially occurs during this first meal of the day.  

Though many things have been frustrating during mealtimes, Liam has also shown positive growth as well.  Since he is becoming more and more vocal and expressive, it is easier to tell when he wants something.  He will point at his drink or to a food item that he wants to try.  And we all know what he does if he doesn't want something!

Liam  is also becoming the master of the spoon.  He has got down the whole motion of putting the spoon to his mouth, but sometimes he has difficulty scooping the food onto it.  Here's a cute little video of his progress so far...

We are still dealing with quite a mess on our hands afterwards, but hey, that's part of learning right?

Next stop, stabbing food with forks!

Is your child a food thrower?  What have you done or what would you do to stop this?

When did you introduce highly allergic foods into your child's diet, such as shellfish and/or peanut butter?