Welcome to our latest installment of “Dear Listening Leader.” In this series,parents send in questions about their human milk feeding and/or parenthood challenges, and a team of volunteer La Leche League USA Leaders will respond with support and possible solutions. If you’d like to submit a concern, please email [email protected].
Dear Listening Leader,
My baby is eight months old, and we have started solids. He was showing all of the readiness signs, but he just squishes the food around and doesn’t put much in his mouth at all. It’s a mess! Is this normal? Are we doing something wrong? He wants to nurse a lot. I am worried he won’t grow since he’s hardly taking in any solids!
– Messy Floor Mom
Dear Messy Floor Mom,
Starting solids can be an exciting time! Your baby is learning all of the tastes, textures, and smells of the foods that are traditional to your family. Some babies do make a big mess and seem to take in very little amounts of food. It can feel worrisome, but rest assured your breastmilk is filling in all the nutritional gaps and serves as his main source of nutrition for a while, still! Below are two Leaders’ thoughts on ways to handle this learning stage of your young baby.
Hey Messy Floor Mom, welcome to the club! It’s important to remember that while starting solids is a huge deal, very exciting and very messy, we have a saying in LLL: “Food under one is for fun!” Of course, learning to navigate senses and tastes is important, but babies still need breastmilk for the first year of life! You can take comfort in the fact that it’s anticipated that the majority of their nutritional needs will be met by your milk as well. Any food you offer may end up in someone’s hair, on your floor, or making your dog’s day! And if you don’t have a dog, I’d highly recommend one just for this reason! Good luck, and keep food introduction fun and messy, but don’t count on it to grow your baby just yet. Your baby still needs you and your milk to sustain them! -Leader Lauren
You are not alone with a messy floor. I can remember one time I wanted to let my nine-month-old daughter self feed some yogurt, and she elected instead to use it as shampoo. I decided that it was a sensory experience, and she did possibly taste the yogurt as well. Straight into the bath she went! Another “hack”: we had an all plastic high chair, and in the summer months, we would let her eat as messy as she pleased and then spray the chair down with the outside hose when she was done! Some meals we went for bibs and less mess, and some days it was sensory exploration to the extreme, even allowing her to eat in just a diaper if she was going to take a bath right after. As far as eating more solids and less breastmilk, you are still going to rely heavily on your milk for the first year. At some point, the interest in solids will increase, and breastfeeding can continue alongside for as long as you both desire. They both continued to nurse for quite a while afterward, and, with time, they both did become good eaters with solids, too. You’ve got this! -Leader Kylie
Here are some resources that may help you in your journey to starting solids:
We hope we have eased your concerns a bit. Hopefully, the messy eating cleanup hacks helped, too! If you need more encouragement, you can find an in-person or online LLL USA Group meeting here.
LLLove,
Listening Leaders from La Leche League USA
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
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Posted: March 3, 2026 by Yael Breimer
Dear Listening Leader: Messy Floor Mom
Welcome to our latest installment of “Dear Listening Leader.” In this series,parents send in questions about their human milk feeding and/or parenthood challenges, and a team of volunteer La Leche League USA Leaders will respond with support and possible solutions. If you’d like to submit a concern, please email [email protected].
My baby is eight months old, and we have started solids. He was showing all of the readiness signs, but he just squishes the food around and doesn’t put much in his mouth at all. It’s a mess! Is this normal? Are we doing something wrong? He wants to nurse a lot. I am worried he won’t grow since he’s hardly taking in any solids!
– Messy Floor Mom
Dear Messy Floor Mom,
Starting solids can be an exciting time! Your baby is learning all of the tastes, textures, and smells of the foods that are traditional to your family. Some babies do make a big mess and seem to take in very little amounts of food. It can feel worrisome, but rest assured your breastmilk is filling in all the nutritional gaps and serves as his main source of nutrition for a while, still! Below are two Leaders’ thoughts on ways to handle this learning stage of your young baby.
Hey Messy Floor Mom, welcome to the club! It’s important to remember that while starting solids is a huge deal, very exciting and very messy, we have a saying in LLL: “Food under one is for fun!” Of course, learning to navigate senses and tastes is important, but babies still need breastmilk for the first year of life! You can take comfort in the fact that it’s anticipated that the majority of their nutritional needs will be met by your milk as well. Any food you offer may end up in someone’s hair, on your floor, or making your dog’s day! And if you don’t have a dog, I’d highly recommend one just for this reason! Good luck, and keep food introduction fun and messy, but don’t count on it to grow your baby just yet. Your baby still needs you and your milk to sustain them! -Leader Lauren
You are not alone with a messy floor. I can remember one time I wanted to let my nine-month-old daughter self feed some yogurt, and she elected instead to use it as shampoo. I decided that it was a sensory experience, and she did possibly taste the yogurt as well. Straight into the bath she went! Another “hack”: we had an all plastic high chair, and in the summer months, we would let her eat as messy as she pleased and then spray the chair down with the outside hose when she was done! Some meals we went for bibs and less mess, and some days it was sensory exploration to the extreme, even allowing her to eat in just a diaper if she was going to take a bath right after. As far as eating more solids and less breastmilk, you are still going to rely heavily on your milk for the first year. At some point, the interest in solids will increase, and breastfeeding can continue alongside for as long as you both desire. They both continued to nurse for quite a while afterward, and, with time, they both did become good eaters with solids, too. You’ve got this! -Leader Kylie
Here are some resources that may help you in your journey to starting solids:
We hope we have eased your concerns a bit. Hopefully, the messy eating cleanup hacks helped, too! If you need more encouragement, you can find an in-person or online LLL USA Group meeting here.
LLLove,
Listening Leaders from La Leche League USA
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
Follow us on:
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Category: Dear Listening Leader, Eating Wisely, Starting Solids
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