9 month old grabbing spoon to feed himself - won't eat when I hold it?

[captainj1]

My LO who is TW used to be a fab eater, he would just eat quickly until he was done and then stop when he was full. The last couple of days he has just taken 3 spoons from me and then puts his hands out to try to grab the spoon. He won't take any more from me but if I give him the spoon he puts it in his mouth and sucks the food off. If I then take his hand and put the spoon in the bowl to get a bit more on it, he eats it again. Problem is, this is very messy and he only gets a little bit in his mouth so feeding take forever!

Is this a phase or is this the start of him learning to feed himself and do I just need to be patient/constantly changing his clothes? I'm worried he isn't eating enough as he has had tummy bug and lost his appetite for several days and lost quite a bit of weight.

 

[thedog]

Its all good hun! Probably means he is gaining independence and wants to feed himself
Try and leave him in a vest/bare so he doesn't mess his clothes, food can be a pain to get off lol. How much milk is he havin?xx

 

[captainj1]

He has been off his milk as he has been ill, but usually has 4 bottles a day of around 5-6oz each.

Thanks for the reply! I guess I'll get myself some of those huge bibs!

 

[Thurinius]

I found if I give my LO a spoon of his own to hold he practices sticking it in his mouth etc but I can feed him from my spoon.

 

[whoops]

Lily has started doing this in earnest over the past couple of days - this morning I had two spoons and I'd load one up, help her put it in her mouth and then get the other one ready while she sucked at the first one. Messy as hell and I'm not sure how much she actually ate, but if she wants to feed herself, then I don't want to stop her.