9 1/2 Month Old Eating Habits Change Drastically

As far as efficiency goes, there's nothing better than pureed food. With both of my kids, I mourned the passing of this (relatively) clean, quick way of eating. Finger foods are a big transition for kids and it will ALWAYS seem like they're eating much less than they really are. I had the same concerns you did and, rest assured, my kids are both very healthy. My daughter isn't as high on the weight charts as she was when she was a baby, but she's still average.

If your son loses an unhealthy amount of weight (or stops gaining weight), your doctor will notice at his next visit. If his weight changes at all (which is doubtful) it is actually very normal as he grows more active.

So rest easy. If your son is still active and normal during the day, he is surely getting adequate nutrition. If he starts acting lethargic, that could be cause for concern and you should call the doctor.

And if he's gagging on certain foods, it might be because he's not ready for that particular size/texture. Keep things small and soft for a looooong time.

Good luck!

My 9 1/2 month old just started to go through the same thing. I also worry whether or not he is getting enough. He just wants to feed himself so I have been doing a lot of fruit, and veggies. Instead of chopping up his food at dinner, i have been cutting it into chunks instead. At least you know you're definitley not alone with this issue:)

It is my experience that children go through different stages of development. WHen they are learning physical things, they eat a lot and move a lot. When they are learning mental things, they eat less. It is natural to eat less when the effort is more mental. As long as he seems to be thriving/ eating food regularly, just enjoy what he is learning.

Funny that you mention this because my daughter has been going through exact the same thing. She took herself off of purees completely and will only feed herself, so what I do is just keep putting food in front of her until she quits eating. And I make sure she has a sippy cup of water at all time so she gets the extra fluid. She is only taking 3-4 bottles a D. now. My daughter didn't start doing this until about 10 1/2 months.

My boys have done this & they are big kids too!! It does worry you, esp. with the first one, I thought he was going to wither away!! It is definitely harder to make sure they are eating as healthy when they don't want the baby food, but I did what one of the other mom's suggested, cutting up small fruits and veggies. I bought a frozen veggie mix (peas, carrots and corn-- you know the small cuts)...they loved those! Slice up grapes into 8 pieces. Cheese is a good one to make sure they are getting enough fat! Eggs and french toast sticks are great for breakfast. Chunks of meat, cheese and noodles are easy for lunch. And they do sell self feeders at the grocery store...one is a little netting w/ a handle you can put food in and they suck the food out themselves, if that makes you feel better and you don't worry so much about chocking & they feel like a big kid self-feeding!! If you go on the gerber website you'd be amazed at how small kids' portions really are...I know I was!!

I should also add that babies slow down on eating and their growth also slows a bit, which is a good thing...you wouldn't want them to continue growing at that rate or you'd have a 10' foot monster on your hands by the age of 2! It's totally normal. But if you're worried talk to your Dr. that's what I did...

It just might be the consistency of the Gerber 3's. Neither of my kids liked it. They used to gag too. Try and incorporate some real food that is soft and that he can gum like baked potato, cooked carrots cut up small that he can pick up, etc. Look on the baby websites as to what real food your son can eat at that age and try that. Good luck.

Hi V.,
Great job, mama! Yea, both my boys go through phases where it doesn't seem like they eat enough, but my husband and I decided to let them tell us what they need when it comes to nutrition. We were surprised at first when our first son began choosing fruits and veggies and proteins on his own at such an early age (we thought it was an early age, but we were pretty new at this, too, lol)

He just didn't eat a "balance" all in one meal, but would pick all the "right" foods throughout the day.

Also, at 9 months, our boys wanted more grown-up flavors. Both my sons got tired of canned baby foods pretty quickly, and preferred finely-chopped or mashed food from our plates.

Keep up the great work :)
T