9 Month Old Wants to Feed Himself but Cant

I think he's doing pretty good! If he doesn't want the baby food anymore, it's perfectly fine to give him table foods as long as they are cut into very small bites. It's okay if he doesn't eat a whole lot, just keep letting him try new things and eat what he can on his own. He won't starve, trust me :) Besides, at 9 months he should still be getting all of his nutritional needs met by the formula in his bottles, so you don't need to worry about the quantity of actual foods that he eats. Hope this helps!

He's ONLY 9 months old. What he's already doing is pretty decent. It takes a lot of practice, but he won't be any good at it until he's well over a year old. For now you should be doing the majority of his feeding AND the majority of his food should be his formula/breastmilk/bottle/whatever.

For the snacky stuff, just give him a couple of chances a day to practice. If you give him jarred pureed stage one foods, put out some Cheerios or the Gerber Puffs that dissolve really easily while you feed him.

He's not supposed to be really good at it right now. :-)

I think it's fine. He's a little rusty at it right now but remember that all of his nutrients are coming from formula so table food is really a bonus. My daughter insisted feeding herself at 9 months also, so just give him a little time and he will surprise you! As far as the Cheerio/Rice Krispie thing...do they still make giant Rice Krispies? I know they did a few months ago, maybe look for those. Also you could do baby Goldfish or other cereals. Rice Chex may still be a little big for him but have a similar flavor to the Krispies so at least keep it in mind. Ritz crackers or saltines are also probably okay b/c they'll get mushy in his mouth.

Otherwise just give him everything else off your plate (except of course raw carrots and such) and cut it up super small. Fruits like pears and peaches are good b/c they are mushy. You can coat cup up bananas in crushed Rice Krispies or wheat germ so it's easier to hold.

I don't know how much you have introduced to him, but independence is a good thing!

He wants to feed himself... good.. think of soft things he can eat..... small pasta without sauce is a good item... he can't make TOO much of a mess with that.... soft cooked carrot chunks.... soft cooked chunks of sweet potato, acorn squash, things like that... I'm talking about 1/4" dice size.... chunks of avocado... banana.... cereals are good, too. As his coordination will get better, his aim will get better, too. He doesn't like cheerios? What about other cereals, like rice chex (same flavor as rice krispies, but larger, and easier for him to handle).

Any soft but solid foods would be good at this age.

ETA: In response to the person saying the poster is a troll, if you look at her history, she was having problems with her 9 month old refusing a bottle... here, I think she is saying he is taking it again. Her English is difficult to understand, but she is not a native English speaker.... English is her second language.... lighten up! She is asking for some valid support.

Desire to feed himself is half the battle, practice will help him perfect his skill. Until he's a year old he still gets the majority of his nutrition from the bottle, so he has a few months to get eating solids down. Don't worry, right now is supposed to be just practice and learning, he'll get it.

Give him food that is not so tiny but soft and not a choking hazard. chunks of tofu, chunks of melon, cantaloupe, watermelon, peeled cut grapes, Barilla Plus Elbow pasta (Plus means it has protein)

Have you tried baby puffs or mum mums. Both are available in the baby section of most walmarts and targets? The mum mums are a large rice disk that he can munch on and gum. It basically dissolves in babies mouth. The puffs are similar to cheerios, but are flavored. My kids loved the sweet potato puffs. They are made by gerber, but target and walmart both have a cheaper store brand with different flavors.
It sounds like he is getting the hang of feeding himself. He is going to get messy and make a mess all around him, but i bet he loves doing it by himself. I know my kids both did.

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Have you tried baby puffs or mum mums. Both are available in the baby section of most walmarts and targets? The mum mums are a large rice disk that he can munch on and gum. It basically dissolves in babies mouth. The puffs are similar to cheerios, but are flavored. My kids loved the sweet potato puffs. They are made by gerber, but target and walmart both have a cheaper store brand with different flavors.
It sounds like he is getting the hang of feeding himself. He is going to get messy and make a mess all around him, but i bet he loves doing it by himself. I know my kids both did. Oh and he can have just about anything to eat as long as you cut it up small enough.

Your baby is still very young and while you can let him pick up small things he can eat safely you need to distract him and feed him yourself so he gets enough to eat. He also needs help with the bottle at times but by this age he can hold it if he's drinking it all. You can talk to him and distract him while you put a spoon in his mouth if you work at it. He's not able to to feed himself. That is your job. It takes work but you can do it. He can't. If he is getting enough in his own mouth then that is great but you don't want him not eating enough until he is able to do it by himself. You say he is eating nothing though so I think you need to feed him a bit while he's learning on his own too.

My 9 month old loves to chow down in some banana. She's pretty good at getting food in her mouth. But she has also been practicing for a while. Give it some time.

try both letting him do it and alternating popping a few into his mouth