10 Month Old Boycotting Baby Food

My 8 month old is doing something very similar...she will only eat veggies, not her fruit. I know that I should be thankful that she's eating her veggies, but she needs her fruit. I found something at Target that you can put food in and she cant choke on it. Now I give her fruit in that and she's more willing to eat it. Or I will give her a piece of fruit and just be very careful...I think that its the independence thing...

A.

My daughter wanted table food at 9 months. I give her Japanese Somen Noodles (Asian stores carry them) in chicken broth. cook it longer to make it soft. She loved it. I just use scissors to cut them up and let her at 'em. I also give her teething biscuits at that time - her teeth were coming in so that was another reason why she didnt like the mushiness of baby food. Rice was another thing I tried that she liked it. I can understand how it may seem early to give her table food but I found that that was EXACTLY what my daughter wanted as she saw us eating it. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

http://www.babysafefeeder.com/press10.htm

I just posted this elsewhere, but you could try feeding him safe versions of what you eat in this baby feeder. It was a lifesaver for me when my little guy was 5 to 10 months. I totally think it helped him feed himself. He is 1 now and he prefers to feed himself versus me spoon feeding him. A dad invented these feeders because his son was chocking. They work really great when they are teething. I would put frozen food in there (like a frozen banana, blueberries or a piece of a sugar free pop cycle) and he would be really happy.

I don't know if this is the same thing, but my 10-month old son is starting to resist anything I feed him with a spoon. He has always been a fantastic eater, and he still is, but only with finger foods he can chomp on with what few teeth he has and his gums. He lets me feed him a little bit of cereal or babyfood only if he can also stick his spoon or hands in the bowl and make a great mess, so that's usually how we do it now. I kind of figured he's transitioning to finger foods now, so it's progress. And, still I'm still nursing, too, I know he's getting all the nutrients he needs until he masters feeding himself. Maybe your daughter is independent-minded, too!

first of all, what is jarred baby food? mushed up table food, minus the seasoning. gross! your try it! you would boycott it too! because she has had the finger foods, which have much more flavor, she is not going to just settle for the jarred mush. give her whatever you guys are eating. you know what to avoid as far as allergens are concerned, so just be cautious, and give her what everyone else is eating! my daughter was the same way. she HATED jarred crud. even as young as 5 months, she wouldn't eat it. so, for awile i was making her fruits and veggies. i pureed whatever fruit of veggie, and froze it in ice cube trays, once frozen, i transfered them into a ziploc bag, and at mealtime, i would take out one or two cubes of whatever food i was gunna feed her. this was the only way i could get her to eat in the begining. once she approached 8 or 9 months, i just started giving her small portions of whatever i was eating. if you are going to insist that she only eat the pre-packaged gerber type stuff, try her on the graduate meals. they are like t.v. diners for toddlers. they have much more flavor, with all of the nutrition of the jarred stuff. my daughter would eat these once in awile, but because i spoiled her on regular table foods, she was finiky about the gerber stuff. the doc never told me that she couldn't have table foods, and because she was flourishing on them (my daughter was born at 5 lbs, 12 oz. and was 17 lbs. by 4 months! 20 lbs by 8 months, and a whopping 24 lbs. by 1 year!) they never objected to the foods i was giving her. she will be fine if you just give her a little flavor in her foods! table foods, or the graduate meals, whichever you chose, is going to appeal to her much more than plain, bland, mushy jar crud!

P.S. My daughter is now 4 1/2 years old, 43 inches tall, and 42 pounds.... so needless to say, she survived the table food! she is a wonderful eater now, and her favorite food is (be prepared, this may shock you!) Broccoli of all things!

Have you tasted jarred baby food??? It's foul! lol, i don't blame her for refusing. give her what you guys are eating. at ten months she can eat home cooked versions of anything you have given her in jarred form, and spices are FINE! in fact treat the poor kiddo to some flavor!! yum! she can safely eat meat, fish, eggs, beans, seeds, fruit, veggies, and dairy at this age. the only things you still want to avoid if you're feeling cautious are a few veggies that cause a lot of digestive distress in young ones (cabbage, cucumbers and corn are the biggies) and from an allergic standpoint, tree nuts, berries, citrus, tomatoes, cow's milk (in straight form -- yogurt and cheese are great for babies this age!) and things you or hubby are allergic to, if any, to be safe. really, everything else is fair game and you can try anything she can handle without choking. treat her to some grownup food, pureed in a blender if needed. my baby is a little younger than yours but my older one by 10 months had eaten everything from smoked salmon to spicy szechuan eel to curried lentils and pumpkin ravioli in sage butter. Now, not all babies will go for all those strong flavors, but you might try branching out to see if she's just bored and grossed out by gerber mush. it would not be surprising; that stuff tastes pretty gross.

i think my daughter's power meal at 10 months was a scrambled egg with some sauteed spinach and a little parmesan in it (sometimes also ground turkey). she ate that almost every day for a long time and i think it started around 10 months or close to it. try it, you might be shocked at the enthusiastic response!

May I suggest you consider baby led solids? Your daughter is telling you what she wants and she is old enough to handle chunky foods. I don't think pureed foods are the best choice after learning about this. Place chunks of mango, avocado, peaches, chicken on her tray and allow her to explore and feed herself. You are avoiding the right foods because allergies are allergies. Delay introducing strawberries, peanuts and milk products until after 2yrs, these are the most allergenic foods. Here are some great links:

http://www.borstvoedi...

http://babyledweaning...

http://www.kellymom.c...

http://www.kellymom.c...

http://www.llli.org/F...

It could be that your ten month old is bored with the food that you are feeding her- sometimes babies just get bored. There is a great book that you should get it's called Superbaby food- it has all kinds of recipes for babies and toddlers and it also is a great reference for when/how to introduce new foods. A lot has changed with nutrition and babies over the years and there is a lot of mis-advice out there but this book is very up to date and informative.
The other thing that might be happening is that your baby might be getting new teeth and they want to chew- so the babyfood doesn't give any satisfaction. There are these great baby feeders that look like little mesh pacifiers- you can get them at Target. You can put a frozen banana inside or peeled grapes they love to teeth on these when they are getting new teeth. I would stay away from the Gerber Graduate stuff- it's all sugar. Even if the label doesn't say "sugar" dried, puffed fruit is just sugar once it hits the blood stream and a lot of the Gerber graduate stuff is made from corn syrup- which is even worse than regular sugar. Empty calories are not good for babies- they need healthy fats for brain development and fiber.

Exact same thing happened to me, only it happened earlier, around 7 or 8 months. She just wanted to feed herself and couldn't with the purees. I'm a very go with the flow mom, so I was like "okay, so you're gonna live on cheerios and bananas." Actually, I came up with a lot she could eat, and don't worry about allergies or (the harder one) choking. And babies can (and should) have small amounts of seasoning in their foods when appropriate to develop their pallate, if they like it. But my sister is a nurse and she told me that the biggest choking hazard is an underdeveloped choking reflex and has little to do with the size or composition of the food. That said, never give her anything round or too hard for her to chew. But there is a lot that they can eat. I used to give her brown rice that I ran through the food mill, but even whole would be fine, and if it's sticky they can pick it up. Also, overcooked pasta and any well done vegetable is fine. At around that time I started to steam large batches of frozen vegetables, portion them into little bags, and refreeze them. Then you just grab a bag out of the freezer, put it in a glass dish, and nuke for about 30 seconds. She loved it, and to this day still loves her veggies. She also loved avacado. My main concern at the time was grains and protein, but honestly until they are a year old and are either weaned or really limited on breast milk eatting is just practice, so as long as she is getting her vegetables and some cheerios (a good source of iron) she should be good.

I agree with the previous post about the juice. Why, oh why, do parents insist on giving their kids juice. It has no redeming factors, unless your kid is constipated. It is better and healthier for them in the long run to drink water, so they develop a preference for it.

Oh, and I just remembered tofu. She loved tofu. Just firm tofu cut into little cubes. Perfect consistancy for babies, good protein, and easy to pick up. Eventually she did get bored with it and now I actually have to cook it:)

hi T.

I understand what you are going through I went through the same thing with my 2 youngest kids, they didn't like the baby food that comes in the bottles but they wanted what the rest of the family was eating, so what I did was put some of what we ate into a blender mixed it up so it looked like baby food and then fed them and they loved it, I know with some foods you can't do that but with some you can, I did it with foods like shepards pie, apples, some casseroles, maybe that would help you, it also helped me ween them off of breast milk. hopes this helps good luck

I went through the same thing with both my girls, they wanted nothing to do with baby food, my 2 yr old was 10 months when she didnt want it and my 11 month old was 8 months when she didnt want anything to do with it, so i gave them what was off our plates, you may think that is crazy but, it works for me and my kids, with spices and all, they need variety, if you give plain food, they eaither hate food, or when they get older prefer food w/o spices all together. My girls are both very healthy and giving them both what is on our plates hasnt hurt eaither one of them. my only problem is my 11 month old want to eat ALL day long, yet she is only 15lbs (and about 2-3lbs underweight)

My 2nd is also 10 mo right now and I've found she goes through phases. I just go with it. She really wants stuff the rest of us are eating so I'm sure to make us all cooked veggies at every meal so she can eat them too (no butter on hers). She chews them just fine and I'm right there in case she chokes on something or puts too much in her mouth. For a couple of weeks she'll only eat veggies and then she'll shift and won't so I'll try baby food again and she loves it for a while before going back to rejecting it and back to what we're eating ... I also let her have small tastes of whole wheat stuff ... bread, pasta, etc. and that's been ok too. I never give juice but sometimes cook apples for her until they're mushy.

Not struggling with her does more good than anything.

My daughter didn't do this. But i have taken care of infants for few years and i had a little boy do this. once he got finger foods he was done with the baby jar food. There is a wonderful book the i love. It has really good recipes in it. I know you might think it is weird but it called baby and toddler meals for Dummies. I love this book because it simple. you should give it a try also if your not the kind of person that hates mess. Try putting a bowl of her food in front of her and see if she will try to feed her self and at the same time you might be able to sneek a few bites in her while she is busy with her food.

My son was the same way when he got his first teeth. He refused to eat baby food anymore and we couldn't even get him to eat those 3rd step nibble things. He pretty much when strait to our grown up food. As it is the spicier it is the better he likes it. He is 2 years old now.

By now your baby should be eating table foods and feeding herself with her fingers. Give her healthy alternatives to the jars and processed "baby snacks." She can eat whole grain cheerios, pieces of cheese, soft fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish, tofu, whole wheat bread, crackers, pasta, etc. My baby even ate steak at 11mo. Try the book Super Baby Food or websites for making your own food or even the cuisinart website has recipes and suggestions. Jarred food is for true babies (under 9mo) and for times when you cannot bring other food due to refrigeration issues, etc. Also, some spices are fine. How do you think babies from Mexico, India and Thailand are fed? With spicey foods their parents eat and mom ate while breast feeding and they are fine.

Maybe there is something else going on. Is she teething? Has there been any big changes around the house lately? All of those kinds of things can upset babies. Or maybe she just doesn't want to be fed by a spoon anymore. Have you ever given her her own spoon to hold during feeding times? Does she try to pick up small things with her fingers? Maybe she would be more content to eat small fruits and veggies that she feeds herself. I keep bags of different kinds of frozen veggies in the freezer.

My advice to you is to feed her what she wants to eat. She obviously isn't wanting the blander taste of baby food anymore, so go ahead and give her some of the food that your family eats at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You seem to already know all of the common allergens, eg., nuts, honey, hot dogs (kids can choke on these). Don't be afraid to give her something with a little flavor on it. My daughter has been eating solid (and when I say solid, I mean table food), since she was about 6 months old. It's amazing, because I hear about these parents who have kids who are so picky, but my little girl knows that if it's on the table, that's what she's getting. And she love, love, loves spicy food. She can handle stuff that is hotter than I eat! If you're worried about developing food allergies, only try one or two foods per week, just like when you first introduced the baby foods to her. That way if she did have an allergic reaction you'll be able to narrow down what it is she's allergic to. Don't stress! :) This is a great time in her life. Enjoy it! Oh, and on a fun note, try giving her spaghetti. Let her do it herself...it's hilarious. :)

A baby food puree/grinder is a good thing to use. That way you can grind up anything and it will of suitable consistency to feed a baby until they can eat regular food and regular bites. We love ours and use it a lot. Every baby is different with their own personality and temperament. Don't worry, your baby won't "starve"... as long as she is growing/developing fine, and Doc says she's healthy, I wouldn't worry. But yes, some babies are pickier. My first girl ate anything. My second, a boy, is pickier. And, yes, it means trying all different kinds of foods... as long as it is age appropriate and "safe" foods. Remember, their portions and the amount they eat aren't like ours.. .just prep just enough food, so you don't waste as much. I don't recommend giving juice yet.. even if it's diluted. They don't need that... and at this age, you need to stay away from citrus juices/fruit, until after 1 year old. Breastmilk is best. Is your daughter on any infant vitamin drops? Like the others recommended, try home-made baby food. And experiment with foods to see what she gravitates toward. My son, he only like the macaroni & cheese gerber foods. He refused the other flavors. I then pureed/ground up my own home cooked baby foods for him, and he liked that more. It takes trial and error, as long as the foods are appropriate for their age. You are not alone. But I know it's not easy when the baby is pickier. Good luck!
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

my son suddenly started rejecting his food when he was about 15 months old. It wasn't too long after he received a bunch of vaccines all at once. I started noticing other odd behavior too, though not alarming at the time, I was missing those first signs of autism. Within a few months of the food boycott, he was toe walking and spinning around slow to the right while moving his eyes off to the left. We thought it was cute. So was lining up his toy cars and videos in straight rows. The food boycotting went on until he was 4 years old! By then he had been diagnosed with autism. As far as foods, I learned that other autistic children were shunning foods unless they were white. white bread, mashed potatoes, chips, milk. He would occasionally eat olives. Colorful foods made my son cry, and he was terrified of jello. So please watch for other odd behavior besides the foods. Other children with eating disorder like this are later diagnosed with sensory integration disorder. Certain food textures become repulsive to them. There are oral sensory therapies to address this issue. Contact Easter Seals. If you notice other suspicious behaviors, call Alta California Regional center for an assessment, and they can line your child up with appropriate therapies.

This is normal. Just keep offering foods. You may even give her what you are eating. Spices are generally fine the allergens you need to worry about are milk, wheat, nuts, honey, strawberries, and choking things. Everything else is fine. There is no reason to give her specific "baby food". Especially canned/jarred stuff. If she'll eat your food, why not give it to her? As my pediatrician told me, "Your child will not starve, just offer healthy food every hour or two and he'll eat eventually." Plus, if you keep a food log (to ease your conscience, you'll see that she is eating more than you think! Good luck and just keep offering.

Hi, as a mom -- I used to give my children food from the table as often as I could. I would even take our vegetables and put them in the blender, but by 10 months, finger foods were perfect or ground beef, so my children have always ate from the table.

As a daycare provider, I do feed babyfood till 12 months. However, maybe the 2s aren't enough for your child. Try the Gerber graduates, where the food is more whole.

She is only 10 months old! If you are still breastfeeding, all other food right now is really just for her to start to get used to it, not to be her main source of nutrition. If she just wants breastmilk, that is fine! Also, if she wants table food at this point, that is fine too. As long as she can chew it and you are not giving her honey, nuts, milk, etc(eggs and meat are also not a great idea just yet) there is no reason to be nervous about giving it to her. Hope this helps you. She will let you know what she needs. :)

Believe it or not, my daughter did the same thing starting at 9 1/2 months. My Doc told us to start feeding her table foods, whatever we ate (with some exceptions of course). It worked wonders, she became a little piggy. Would not touch the baby food though!!!!! Talk to your doc, good luck. S.

Hi-

Our younger son (who is now almost 2.5 yrs) wasn't much for baby food so by about your daughter's age or a bit earlier, he pretty much ate what we ate. Obvioulsy I cut it up into very small pieces. Knowing we had no food allergies on either side of our families, I did start giving him bits of cheese & Yo Baby yogurt. I also had this great book left over from when our older son was born. It's called 'The Super Baby Food Book' or something similar. It's a fat purple, paperback full of recipes to make baby food, suggestions for finger food for each age, when various fruits & foods are in season. It has craft ideas & solutions for cleaning products that are non-toxic. It was a great resource for me. Especially when I knew my boys were getting bored w/the food I was offering & needed a change. Try going to Barnes and Noble's web site or Amazon.com & I'm sure you'll find it. I also wouldn't be too worried about any spice in the food. The lack of spice in the baby food may be why she doesn't want it. Our younger son loves these spicey cashews that I find at Trader Joe's. After a few of them, my mouth is burning but not this! I'm not saying load everything up w/cayenne pepper but a little bit of spices probably won't be an issue. I know I was very glad to ditch baby food. I was tired of carrying around those heavy jars! Hope this helps & good luck!

Dear T.,

It sounds to me like you are doing the right thing, and so is the baby. She has enough weight on her and she is putting herself on a 'diet'. Actually, her body is healthy and has probably just finished a growth spurt and she is 'resting'.

Save youself for the really bad stuff. O.K.?

Sounds like you have a wonderfully fulfilling life, with more to come.

C. N.

Maybe she's having separation anxiety and just wants to be close to you by nursing. I do know that most times a kid will chose your food over her own. Maybe don't eat in front of her until she starts back on her own food. if she doesn't see your food, then she might be more willing to eat her own.

Let's hope it's a phase. :)

my son boycotted nursing when I went back to work (which I no longer do) and then food latter, I asked my dr and he told me when the babies go through different development stages thats their main focus and food might not fall into that.
also if your breast feeding still she is getting the spices your eating in your milk so Im sure the occasional tast of what your eating will only be a suprise of what is to come!
good luck!

My daughter did the same thing and I didn't know what to do so I turned to mamasource for help and so many moms help here is what happened: http://www.mamasource.com/request/7524258244387143681.
I gave my dauhter boiled chicken and whole pinto beans, rice, she loves mac and cheese, also girled cheese sandwich cut up in little pieces. I hope this helpes.

T., you are not alone! My daughter was born on 11/26/06, is breastfed, and has the same problem! Right now she eats cheerios, apple sauce, and baby oatmeal! Agh! What;s especially frustrating is the fact that she used to eat sweet potatos, avocado, banana, even zucchini! She got her first cold 2 weeks ago and at that point she regressed to where we are now ant it has been really hard to get her back to her old diet. I am sorry I have no advice for you since I am a first timer, but know you are not alone!

My daughter did this too - it drove me crazy not knowing why she would only take a bottle and not her food. Im a first time mother, so after I had exhausted looking for the common possibilities like gas, allergy, etc my mother stepped in and knew exactly what was going on.
She was cutting her molars!
Dont ask me why children refuse their food when they are teething- youd think they'd want to chew MORE, but that was not the case with my little one. The warmth and comfort of the milk paired with the soft chewyness of the bottle nipple soothed her - and soon, her molars came up and she was back to normal.
Check to see if she is cutting teeth - put some baby orajel on her gums, and see if that helps.

Hi,

Have you tried getting one of those mesh spoons for babies, & putting the food you are eating for your own meals in it? They prevent any large particles from choking your baby...and are great fun, too.

When my son was about 8 months old, we started trying lots of different foods, & a lot of what we ate, & it seems he did fine. He is now 2 1/2. Some things he really liked, that your daughter might, too: scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs, cooked butternut squash, sliced soy hotdogs (the "good dog" was his favorite, not too high in sodium), garden burger patties (good consistency, they don't have to chew much, but if she doesn't have many teeth yet, try the mesh spoon), cooked noodles with a little butter &/or salt, cooked vegetables (carrots, peas, zucchini, even broccoli), applesauce, cubed cheese, crackers, soup (homemade, or grandma's favorite, chicken & stars, still slightly condensed so it's mostly noodles), sliced-up grapes or other fruits put into the mesh spoon. To make sure he was getting enough protein, sometimes if I cooked chicken, I'd put some of it, with some broth, into the blender & puree it up (taste it, to make sure it tastes good) & put it in ice cube trays (for single serving portions) & make sure I can get a couple cubes' worth down in a meal. The chicken is usually so bland that you can mix it in with other food (like mashed potatoes, or squash for example)& she might not even notice that it's "baby food". I even tried rice or barley cereal, mixed with vegetable, chicken or beef broth, a couple chicken cubes, and some cooked veggies like peas or carrots. Kind of like a "baby stew".

Hope this helps give you some ideas!

Try making hr food from scratch and see if the flavor difference helps. I know my daughter boycotted baby food for a little bit but once I went back to the homemade baby food she went right back to eating normally. The jarred food really doesnt taste good and as she learns what good flavors are like the stars and graduates foods, she will be less likelt to want to go back to the non-flavored foods. Try steaming some veggies and fruits in the microwave and mash them up and see if she goes for it. If you need help with the how-to's of it just do a google search on homemade bay food. Hope that helps.

I'm going through the same with my almost 11 month old baby,
but I'm not fighting him, I just feed him whatever we eat (mostly vegetables, soups, pasta and fruits) and he loves it.
Just like you I didn't have that problem with my previous kids (he is my fourth)and there is no history of food allergies.
You can consult with your doctor, but my son is also drinking small amounts of milk and yougurt.

good luck!

Get Jessica Seinfeld's cook book. She cooks the veggies, then mashes them. She adds them to whatever she's preparing. She was on Oprah recently and even Dr. Oz was impressed. Call the book stores - I've had bad luck trying for them and will use Amazon. Good luck. Also, my daughter did not use the usual Gerber products. She got the organic ones in the rectangular tubs. Also, someone on TV said that you have to offer a new taste ten times - don't give up too soon.

Your baby is ready for more and spices are OK! Try checking out some cookbooks geared towards babies and toddlers like a book by Anabel Karmel. She has a website also. My son was exclusively breastfed until six months and took very well to homemade "baby" food from foods I bought from the produce section. The only thing I ever bought from Gerber were those puffs things. she is probably just ready for something more exciting than the stuff in a jar. Have you tried those mesh feeders? I love those. You can put a fresh piece of fruit or veggie and let them suck on it with no worry of choking on seeds, etc. Also you can do yogurt by ten months so you might want to look into that. But I really say to make your own food for her. She's probably trying to tell you she's done with Gerber! : ) Good luck!

T.,
Hi, boy can I relate to your story. My son and daughter both stopped eating certain things. I have never bought baby food in the stores. But, I did always make our childrens food with a babyfood grinder. If I remember correctley we started with some fruit & veggies, rice (brown or white), then worked our way into other age appropriate foods. The babyfood grinder is sooo cool. You can take it with you where ever you go and your baby is eating the healthy foods.Their favorite was bannana. No perservatives or chemicals, just real food that taste great. You also have better control over salt & sugar. You can even save some of those babyfood jars, run them through the dishwasher and refill them with your own good food, plastic containers work well also. It really took no extra time out of my schedule and was pretty hassel free! They are sold in most baby stores and run around $10. to $15. Easy to clean. It also comes with a cookbook and suggestions. I hope this helps :). As for loving to scrapbook I too have been doing some scrapbooking and really love it. I would love to share ideas with you. Happy eating for you and baby!
G. K

they go through phases ... don't force it especially if her gain is fine ... offer her some of your food - stuff that's not processed, soft enough, etc. - don't worry too much about seasoning ... she may be bored of lack of flavor from the jarred stuff! ... a little seasoning is fine - yk, babies in other parts of the world start off with spices early on too ... she may just be wanting to try bigger people food! don't stress too much ... =)

Hey T.,
My daughter is 16 months and only weighs 17lbs. So you're not in such a bad spot. But I am in the similar boat. I also breastfed her, and when we switched over to more solid, less breast milk, her weight gain slowed (she was already small to begin with). She is really hard to feed. I happen to be taking her to an occupational therapist (our doctor was worried about her weight, as was I). They are having me play with her food more. They even asked that I finger paint with her foods. They also recommended me giving her new foods with old foods you know she likes (for me, I give her halved raisins mixed with oatmeal... I have her try to find the raisins). Also, be excited about her food.
I hope that helps a little. I know how frustrating it can get, especially if you see other mom's babies gladly taking anything put in front of them.