My son is almost 10 months old and won't eat anything except graham crackers, or other crackers and pretzels. I still breastfeed him because he doesn't eat anything but i really want to stop (especially since his teeth are coming in). I have tried everything, he hates baby food, and he turns his head away whenever i attempt to feed him. We have also tried forcing him to try it but he still crys. My husband got about 4 spoonfuls in once but it took about 30 mins and he spit most of it back out. I guess he just likes feeding himself and sucking on things. But i don't know what to do. He sits at the table with us for every meal, and give him some veggies that we are eating but he just throws them on the floor. Does anyone know any tricks or anything to get him to eat?
Call Early Intervention and have him evaluated for swallowing and sensory issues. Do it now so you won't be stressed about
it and will have some answers about what is going on with him.
D.,
I have a 9 months old and I am quite surprise to hear that your 10 months old is already eating crackers!
I would start over the whole food-introduction process by mixing some cereal with your breast milk in a bowl (so he can recognize the taste of it and accept to eat maybe) and, in a couple of days or so i would start to give him some new food (ex> pear or peach) mixed with the same cereal and your milk.
I would introduce all the other foods in the same way, just keeping in the bowl at least a flavor that he can recognize and taking away slowly the breast milk and the cereal from his meal (I am sure you know this already but he should drink milk anyway until is at least 1 year old, so keep giving him your breast or the bottle with every meal).
My doctor adviced me that at this age the child should eat at the same time we adults eat but with a snack mid-morning and mid afternoon (which can be the milk, to keep them hydrated).
it took a while to get my son's eating figured out but now I feel good about his nutrition. Try again, it'll go better this time and if you need more details on how I do it,let me know. Good luck!!
Hi, My son was the same way when he was about that same age. I think, for the most part, he just wanted to feed himself. I knew he wasn't ready for utencils, so I bought canned fruit and vegetables and just rinsed them really good to get rid of the extra salts and sugars. Then I would set them out with some noodles or crackers and let him feed himself. I've also noticed that he doesn't like more than a few pieces of food on his tray at a time. He gets frustrated and starts to shove it all around even though he's still hungry. I usually put a few pieces on his tray and then offer a drink in-between bites. That worked wonders for me. Also, if your child is teething, they usually lose their appetite anyway, don't worry, just relax and let them enjoy what little they will eat!
Hope that works for you!
Y.
OH MY GOSH!!!! I have the same problem with my little guy who started at the same age! (he is now 11 mos) You just told our story!! The only thing that I found that works is letting him have the spoon and doing it himself..WHAT A MESS though!! Other than that, I have quit buying baby food...it just ends up on the floor or down the drain..but he is good at eating fruit. I just keep trying new and different things. One thing that he loves is smoothies. He will gobble them down. Maybe try blending some veggies in with some fruit or something creative. Good luck!!
We went through the EXACT same thing! I know how frustrating it can be! The one thing I learned is that it is a phase, he will get past it (my son is 22 months now and LOVES to eat) and that trying to force the food issue will only make it worse! I would just cry because I was so frustrated and worried that he would end up malnurished! Trust me, he won't starve. He will eat when he's hungry and when he sees that it won't get a rise out of you. We let him feel like he was in control. If he told us "no", we stopped and offered something else. When he ate, we made a BIG deal out of it. We would praise him for every bite and make funny faces every time he took a bite so eventually, he related eating to fun and not stress. When we forced it or got frustrated, he started relating those bad feelings to the eating and wouldn't eat. When we turned it around and made it fun, he started chowing down! He learned that eating can be fun and makes us happy. After a month or so, we didn't have to make silly faces anymore, he learned that eating was great and did it on his own! I hope this helps, hang in there!
I wouldn't force him to try anything. I think that would make him hate the experience that much more. Have you tried putting breastmilk in whatever you are feeding him. Breastmilk is sweet so maybe he is just used to the sweetness.
try mash potatoes on your finger this worked when my son would.t eat
Have you tried rice cereal mixed with your breast milk? This is usually the first thing given to babies starting out on solids. It's light in texture and mixed with your milk should help him try it. Start with that and then try moving on slowly to other cereals first and then one at a time to fruits and veggies.... Good luck....
I have 2 toddlers. Both of them are not huge eaters. My 11 month old still only takes about 5 bites of stage 2 or 3 food and is done. Today she ate spaghetti noodles that had a touch of oil on them which made them easier for her to suck into her mouth. As far as the rice cereal and baby food go... HA! My older one NEVER ate it. He went straight to finger food, so I am not overly concerned about my daughter. If you are trying to stop nursing will your son take a bottle or sippy cup? Several different doctors have told me that children under the age of 1 get their nutrition from milk (breast or formula) and that feeding whole foods is just to get them used to the texture anyway. So, hopefully you are having some success now and if not...don't stress. I am sure he will eat you out of house and home soon enough!
I can't speak from experiance my daughter always loved to eat. But maybe you could try one of those mesh feeding things. It has a ring on one end for the baby to hold onto it and the other end is a mesh bag. (sorry I can't explain this better) They have these at Target with the spoons, and such. You could try different types of fruit in it such a bananas or peas. Anything soft. My daughter loved hers at that age. It's worth a shot and not as messy as just handing over a spoon. Other than that just give it time! :)
Hope this helps,
T.
We just went through the same thing with my 9 month old. I think a big part of hers was the teeth coming in and she didn't want the spoon in her mouth.
I gave her chunks of ripe banana, canned peaches (in 100% peach juice), pinapple (in juice), well cooked frozen veggies, whole wheat mini-bagels, wheat crackers, and anything else that was self-feedable. I even froze some of the fruit chunks and she loved the cold in her mouth. I would also give her mashed potatoes on my fingertips.
The daycare discovered that she would eat her food if it was cold out of the fridge, instead of warmed up. I still serve her food that way and she loves it. And it's easier when we're out of the house.
We also switched to Stage 3 foods. She loves the chunks. Some babies don't like it, but since mine is a chewer, she really gets into it.
Now if your son won't open his mouth at all for the food, you need to play tricks. I would make faces and when she'd laugh, I stuck something yummy in her mouth. She'd like it and maybe agree to another bite. I also would offer a cheerio or piece of fruit and when she'd open up, I stuck the spoon in. She figured that one out, but still lets me do it on the bad days.
It's a pain, feeding takes forever, but it will get better. They will all eat someday. I eat dinner at the same time, so when she won't open up, I eat and let her munch finger food. Then I go back to her.
Also, see the responses I got to my same question a few weeks ago. I don't know how to send you the link, but look under Requests and Responses, under All Recent Requests, look for one on 3/8 from P.. Or search under Other Food & Eating.
Good luck.
