Baby Is Having Trouble Eating.

I understand. I started trying to feed my daughter at 6 months. She did not eat until 9 months. The trick to eat at all was she went from 32 ounces of milk a day to 18 ounces (suggestion from pediatrician).

If she likes sweet potatoes, you could try hiding the other foods with that. Meaning, put a small helping of green beans on the spoon and then cover it with sweet potatoes. Also, this is how I feed her cereal.

Another thing my daughter just loves is spiced breads i.e. pumpkin bread, ginger bread, banana bread (no nuts).

I found some quick bread mixes in the grocery store. She loves this.

She is 11 months and has no teeth.

I never bought baby food for any of my 3 children. I nursed them and then chopped up whatever we were eating and put it in front of them. They fed themselves. Mine ate alot of bananas also. Good for them and mushy.

My little girl (16 mos.) still has issues with food sometimes too. While she has a full set of teeth, she recently decided to go back to eating baby food. She doesn't care for the meats much, so what I do is get half a spoonful of meat and then dip that into one of the fruits. It's easier once they start getting teeth so you can introduce them into more solids.

Also I found this book call Healthy Meals for Babies & Toddlers at 1/2 price foods. It has different ideas for all stages of eating including some recipes for purees. It also has recipes for the older one that you and your husband can enjoy.

Just keep at introducing new foods to her and try baby oatmeal instead of rice. My daughter's pediatrician told me the rice can cause them bad gas in the beginning. And you can mix in some of the baby foods with so she gets more variety.

Does each child have a high chair? that could help with the chasing around-- cheerios are great for fine motor skills & self-feeding. I used to just pour a few on the high chair tray, replenishing as needed. small, canned baby green peas, served the same way, could work for her if that's a veggie on the family menu. tiny bites of finger food--banana slices, even rice without gravy and tiny pieces of meat. my kids ate spaghetti & cut-up meatballs from th ehigh chair tray! vanilla wafers are easily gummed to a swallowable texture, as are the cookies or crackers found in the baby food aisle. finger food is messy, but they can't get the leverage on it to throw across the room that's possible with a spoon! good luck & take lots of pictures!

If she likes sweet potatoes try some different types of squash like acorn, butternut, spaghetti squash, etc. Just bake it in the oven till soft (in a little bit of water), scoop out the insides, and ready to go! It's healthy, orange and a little sweet like the sweet potatoes. Also, let her try feeding herself...she may experiement w/ different foods if you just leave her on her own (may involve some serious clean up though ha ha). good luck!!

My 7 month old daughter tends to snub any of the store bought baby foods that contain citric acid. So any of the fruits I have to make myself. Her favorite is pears made by momma. Cut up a pear and stick it on the stove for about 5 minutes with some water in the pan. Boil till kinda squishy and then toss it in a blender or food processor. After its mush you can put it in ice cube trays and freeze it. I do this with a lot of foods including sweet potato which is her second favorite food. You can do this with lots of different veggies and fruits. Saves a TON of money instead of buying all those little jars. I'm not super mom by making some of my own food. About once a week, or couple of weeks if I plan right, I'll take 30 minutes durning a nap and make some food for her. Either that or I'll have it going while I'm cooking dinner if hubby is around to navigate the kiddo. It really doesn't take much time and I will always do a bunch of whatever at one time so there's plenty in the freezer. I still buy the mixtures like turkey and veggies, but to get my daughter to eat anything I had to start with the pears. Even now when I introduce something new that she's grimacing about I'll dip it in pears for the first little while. She can't resist the pears. But if I try to sneak in store bought pears with citric acid (all brands contain it, even expensive organics) then she will lock her jaw shut and reuse to eat.

I would try something like this. Try to make something she likes and then do it in bulk so it will save you time and money. Also, since baby's main source of food is her milk don't fret about solids. Just keep trying and offering a couple times a day. If all she'll eat is sweet potato then let her.

Good luck!
Jen
http://www.mommysjoy.com

Any time I wanted to get my children to try something new and I hit a road block with them hating everything, I would let them feed themselves. YES, it's messy! YES, it will mean extra cleanup! But YES, they will try something new! Use the little plastic food containers (like Gerber: You can save them and wash them and use them as serving cups for the kids to try something new) and give them a baby spoon (a short one that is all plastic is best) and about half a serving of the new food. Maybe put two different kinds of food in front of her and just walk away. She will dip her fingers in it or use her spoon to taste it all. She will rub it, smear it and stick her hands in her mouth while doing so. She will be tasting it all on her own and get used to tasting different things. Try avocado chunks (cut really small), mashed bananas,even your table food cut up really small. She just might be more open to try new things if she can try yours too. You might also try mixing a new fruit or veggie with the sweet potatoes (like half a spoon of each). I had to do this with my daughter too. I would put peas on the spoon first, then top off the spoon with sweet potatoes.
BTW, there was a time when I thought I would have to feed my son strained spinach into his teens because he would only eat spinach. He's now 5 and eats anything and everything!! Good luck.

My 9-month-old has only her two bottom teeth, so she still gums up most things. She likes those little mandarin oranges that come in the little cups. I usually cut them up into small chunks and put them on the high chair. I think she likes the way it squishes in her mouth. Ripe, cut up pears and cut up pasta work well too. Just keep trying little finger foods. She'll do great. Good luck!

Well at least your baby is eating Sweet Potato (full of goodies) instead of Mac & Cheese (not much good in it). Babies actually have a great sense of smell and taste...try buying organic products (yum, no GMO's, pesticides or chemicals), and use sm processor, also Whole Foods sells some frozen baby products in cube trays. It is a myth that organic is very expensive, I resently saw a bag of pinto beans 2lbs for $3 and the bulk organic were $1.29 a lb. I just stock up when on sale and buy in season. It is worth it to me, even if it is .50-1.00 more. Organics have more vitamins and minerals , because the soil is richer and not depleted & spoiled by all the junk they put in. Your children will have less issues, which means less Dr. visits. Other things to ponder: Peanuts have the most pesticids & chemicals of anything we eat, may be the real reason so many kids are allergic to them, I would rather have an apple that a jester worm took a bite of and lived than the apple the a jester worm took a bite off and died. Pesticides may not know when to stop killing. There are some great books out there Deceptionately Delicsious and Skinny B, in the Kitch. I hope this helps. www.mybiopro.com/claudia13

My son likes beech nut baby food over gerber baby food. its great that you are making your own baby food but i would try some that are jared to see if its too much salt or the water they are cooked in she isnt liking. they also have organic baby foods now. best of luck.

She can eat table food we eat. Puree' it in a blender, see if that will work. My kids were always given samples during their infancy.

Also try an infant-feeder bottle with the jar or pureed food.

Since she likes sweet potato so much, try putting syrup or a little sugar in her other food to start. That will perk her interests!!! Then cut back as she eats better.

Feed her what you are eating! Get a mini food processor (I got a great one at Big Lots for less than $20) and puree a portion for her--use milk, water, or stock to thin. If you feel like it is a little too rich cut it with steamed rice, oatmeal or potato.

At her age she is responding to smells and she may want something with flavor but may not care so much for baby foods.

Avocado is a great food for babies her age. Give her sweet potato with everything if it helps you balance out her diet.

I've always made my daughter's food...mostly because I can't stand the smell of baby food and should never would eat baby oatmeal or rice cereal.

My favorite thing is to grind still frozen loose leaf spinach in the processor until it is small frozen bits. I keep it frozen and scrape out a bit into scrambled eggs, mac and cheese...pretty much anything that she eats can get a little dose of spinach.

I know it is tough...but remember that you may have to introduce a new flavor 10-12 times before she will accept it. Try it for several days give her a little break and then repeat over a couple of days again.

Your babies main source of nutrition should still be milk - either breastfeeding or formula - for a few more months. So, I wouldn't worry too much now about her eating a variety. Just keep offering.