He Just Won't Eat

Try making smoothies for a while. He will get the nutrition of food and can drink it through a straw. You can add veggies as well as fruits and whey protein as well.

No meal time should not be a battle at 11 months! As long as he is drinking adequate formula or breastmilk then no worries. Even once the magical age of 12 months hits all you can do is offer a variety and they will eat when they are hungry. My 2 year old never ate baby food. She was exclusively breastfed and went straight to table and finger foods and didn't eat much at all until well after her first b-day. Don't worry he just wants his milk for now, other foods aren't required just yet so take a break and put the spoon down:)

Are you trying to feed him. Maybe he wants to do it himself. My kids loved it when I let them do it themselves. Just put a bowl of mashed potatoes in front of him and see what happens. They especially liked to do that with spagetti. Scrambled eggs is easy for him to pick up without as much mess. It took alot of cleanup aftward but they really enjoyed the meal.
K

Hang in there grandma! I'm the same age with 4 grandkids that I babysit while the moms work & I've taught all of them to eat. Be consistant. I also babysit & teach all these kids to eat whatever I give them. They eat breakfast then get 1 cup of milk until lunch. We eat by 11am because some of these kids eat breakfast at 6:30am. Make sure he's not filling up on liquid. Let him get hungry. He'll eat. Give him what he least likes first. Then what he really likes last.

Guess what it's perfectly normal, just keep offering him food and he will sooner or later start to eat, it's a stage kids go through, and it will happen several more times. you can try limiting his drinking to see if he has a little bit mre appetitie but he should still be on formula or breast milk at this point and food is basically just a supplement and a fun new thing to try. he isn't lacking anything at this point in his diet even if he seems really picky. and keep in mind a serving size for a little baby is a lot smaller than for you or i.

some good finger foods though even with only a few teeth are avecado, banana, bread, we use whole grain cheerios, rice cakes, potatoes, rice, cooked carrots, kiwi, strawberries, pasta and gerber has a whole line. just make sure stuff is cut into small pieces and soft enough that it can be gummed and not have to be chewed.

I would try finding foods he definitely likes and then add one new food to the plate. I wouldn't let the foods touch each other on the plate and no more than 3 items at a time. My kids don't like flavors to mix and they have rather simple pallets.

I also tried mixing certain foods into yogurt or with baby cereal so they would eat it. I mixed fruit into yogurt and veggies into rice and oatmeal cereal.

Cut back on his liquids. He is filling up on them. Also, he can eat anything that you do. Don't assume that he can't eat anything because he only has 4 teeth. If you waited until all of his teeth come in before he tries other things, he will be about 2. Trust me, they use their back gums and eat things just fine.

Idk how well he chews...but my son will be one next week (and he only has 4 teeth as well, but chews great) and i have found that if i let him experiment with finger food he will eat a lot better. It is messy but it is a great learning experince for them to. Also i give him a child spoon and he does try to use it, i have found that he is more eager to try something new if he can do it himself. Well good luck to you and i hop it helps.
P.S. I would maybe try The Graduates pasta pick-up's...i cut them in half and spread them on a plate he loves them and they are easy to chew.

Limit the drinks! Only give him a drink AFTER he has eaten. We really have to watch my daughter with drinks too. She chugs a whole sippy in a matter of seconds! Do you all eat at the same time? He should be able to feed himself most foods, even if he does only have 4 teeth. My dd had no teeth and she was eating most table foods. Just make sure that they are small enough that if swallowed whole, he won't choke. If you all eat at the same time, that may help. Eat your dinner, let him try to feed himself. When you're finished, then you can help him. We finally figured out that my daughter wasn't eating because she was getting lots and lots of attention. When we left her alone, she started to eat like a champ!

T.,
uh-oh! Sounds like some little boy needs "tough love".
I wouldn't give him any thing in that cup until he eats!!He won't starve to death, it's just a battle of wills. Who's is stronger??
Good luck it might be a long struggle for you and grampa,but you can do it!!
R.

At 11 months old, there's no reason to even offer baby foods anymore. My youngest is 9 months old and so far her eating patterns are exactly like my other 2 kiddos. She hasn't had any jarred baby food for well over a month now. She's been almost 100% self-feeding for a few weeks, except for a yogurt I spoon-feed her once a day. The rest of her food is just cutup into pea-size bits and put on her tray. She feeds herself and hates to to have someone feed her. The yogurt is starting to become a struggle, too, so that won't last much longer. My other kids were 100% self-feeding by 9-10 months as well.

As for teeth - that has nothing to do with how/what babies eat. The first teeth babies get, the front ones, are not used for chewing - just for taking bites off. The back teeth used for chewing usually don't appear until the 2nd year anyways. So just cut up things into pea size bits so they don't have to take bites off.

My other 2 children didn't get their first tooth until after their 1st birthday. My 9 month old is still toothless as well and yet last night was a typical dinner for her... she had what the rest of the family had -- homemade cheese pizza with whole wheat crust, carrot 'matchsticks' (I do steam the baby's so they're soft) and ripe pears.

So... just give him whatever the rest of the family is eating. Cut it into pea-size bites and put a few at a time on his tray/plate. He's just being a normal independent toddler and wants to feed himself!

My son went through this lest year around this time. He just wouldn't eat. ANYTHING. Finally he started on his own. It was strange how it came about. He would try anything new on his own plate, but would take bites of his dad's food and try it that way. After a while he bagan to recognize the food and would eat his own.

You have my sympathy. It was frustrating and a little bit scary because he was starting to lose weight and he was already a small guy to start with (5% for weight and 10% for height). Plus I didn't want meals to be a battle because I didn't want him to have negative or resentful feelings about food and eating.

I talked to a nutritionist and she said, "All you can do is offer it to him. If he won't eat it you can't force him. In the meantime buy some pediasure to ensure that he doesn't lose much weight."

I would not only limit drinks but make it water........ no calories, hunger arrives. He will be more likely to actually eat. then reward his eatting with a small amount of milk orjuice int he sippy. Once that is gone go back to water until the next meal time.

It sounds like I am being a horrid person but, cut back on the liquids. Nothing to drink for about 45 minutes prior to meals and nothing to drink during a meal until he has about about 1/2 of the food done. Make sure there is only enough in the cup for just a few swallows at a time.
He will eat.
I had a child who would fill up on milk and not eat. This is what our old time family doctor suggested and it worked.
P. R

When my kids help and see how I prepeare something for them or they help for instance smash the banna then they have fun and will eat it. If that doesn't work Smoothie's will help fill them with baby cereal, tho it sounds gross to us, if they won't take it by spoon liquid up baby cereal to put it in a straw! BUT ALWAYS, if you offer an incentive if you eat this.. you can have your sippy and put keep it in visual that helps too :) Be blessed

I'd make a plate of food for yourself at meal time. When your grandson sees that you are eating he will be interested. Don't offer him any, just make "mmm" sounds and see what he does. If he wants to eat too you can share with him, but make sure he sits up at the table and uses good manners. Reverse psychology is a powerful tool at that age!

Don't force him to eat...let him do it himself. He may think since he can drink from a big boy cup, he can eat like one. I'd say let him try.