Mealtimes = high drama

Ladies please help, am having an absolute nightmare

Isla is 11 months and up until the last week or so mealtimes were all good. She was eating just about every kind of veg, chicken, beef, fish etc. She's also been quite adventurous with finger food (veg sticks, fruit, organix baby snack thingies, rice cakes, toast etc).

Anyway - suddenly, the goalposts have moved and I'm getting to the end of my tether.

She now throws ALL finger food on the floor and won't eat it at all. She also won't eat anything vaguely textured, (I put baby pasta in a lot of her puree's to bulk them up as she's got older, or mashed stuff instead of blending) and literally throws her head right back and screams and cries til I take it away.

I just don't know what to do. How do I deal with her throwing it on the floor? I'm trying not to react at the moment or give her a response incase she likes that. I have said "no" but it doesn't seem to work (she finds that funny). If I pick it up and give it back she just throws it again (like a game I guess).

A friend of mine was all "I'd just get her down, thats it, thats dinner and if she doesn't want it she can go hungry" but I struggle with this for an 11 month old. I don't want to turn it all into a drama and create a fussy eater but also don't want her going hungry.

Could this be a phase, anyone else encountered this and what did you do? do I need to toughen up with just getting her down?

Shes had some grief with teething last week but seems better this week, she also eats her porridge or weetabix in the morning with no drama so I'm not sure it's pain, but lunch and tea I dread frankly, and to be honest I don't think shes had a good meal since the weekend now

Shes drinking plenty of milk so must be hungry (am giving her that later on after food refusal just to get something in her).

Any help welcomed, am feeling really down. Sorry its a lenghty post.
Thanks
Love N & Isla xxx

Poor you....

...oh hun that sounds so stressfull... i had a phase like this with cadene and i was so upset and frustrated... not sure what to say... it does sound like teething.... cadene used to just literally throw everything on the floor and clamp her mouth shut to the spoon... all in all it lasted about ten days and then she was fine... a few suggestions off the top of my head
1) what time is she eating....? is she not hungry enough or too tired to eat...?
2) make sure you eat in front of her and eat the same thing so she can see what she should be doing....
3)teething - cadene is always off her food when she's teething like this week she's been right off her food but i just offer her her favourites and let her guide me
4) a phase of frustration where she wants to be more independant or doesn't know what to do with the food
5) make mealtime fun with some new foods, spoons, puppets etc so she doesn't pick up on any stress or frustration that you are feeling
to be honest i always leave cadene to it and just help her a little bit if she lets me... even when she has an off day i just make sure i offer her food and i probably shouldn't but i do offer her a snack about an hour after her meal if she hasn't eaten enough normally something she can walk around with so she doesnt even notice she's eating it
I know how bad you feel hun and you worry about her going hungry but she wont starve and so long as she has her milk and you keep offering her food then i think you're doing all you can.... i would make sure you have all her favourites on hand for when she is hungry... give yourself a time limit like 5 days and just offer her the food and after that if she's still not eating call your HV or doctor... I'd be pretty sure it's teething or a phase though but that probably doesn't make you feel any better... chin up hun she'll be tucking into fish and chips before you know it