How Can I Get My 11 Month Old to Eat Regularly?

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Best,
C.

Be patient. Healthy kids do not starve themselves, and all taste buds develop according to their own time line. He'll get there.

Unfortunately, you just need to keep trying. It takes about 10-15 tries before they start to accept some tastes. To make it even more difficult, they go through phases where all of the sudden things that they did eat, they start to reject. It is a bit of a trick to get them to eat healthy for the first few years - yes, years!

They will definitely show a preference for some foods. Since you are probably still feeding him with a spoon, a trick I used was to put what you are trying to get him to eat (like avocado) on the top of the spoon with what he likes underneath. The first flavor for him will be the yogurt and you often can get some of the new food in while he is still tasting the one he likes. They still taste with the front of their tongue at that age.

It sounds like he prefers sweet foods. But if you really try to avoid giving him cookies, candy, etc. for the first 2 years, he will think fruit is sweet. Try that idea of mixing a bit of milk or yogurt in with the fruit puree. Try a variety of fruits: pureed apples, pears, nectarines etc. Maybe even make a slush of it if he likes the cold better. Find a way to get the healthy stuff in and then you can experiment with finger food and not stress if it doesn't work so well.

It is going to take a while to get a rhythm going and to understand what he likes. Feeding time can really be a pain! Just keep trying to introduce the new foods over and over again and try not to get discouraged if he doesn't eat a whole serving. It feels like a huge waste to throw the jar food away, my answer to that was to make it myself, freeze it and just try small portions at a time.

At that age, my son really only loved bananas so for one whole year we made "banana glop" (a mixture of mashed up bananas, yogurt, wheat germ & tofu) which he ate every night while I tried new things during the day. A mixture may look disgusting to you but it helps sneak in some of the healthy stuff as long as the predominant flavor, temperature and yes, even consistency is what he likes. We still struggle with our older son sometimes and even revert back to banana glop when he won't have what we're having. Smoothies will be a good way to sneak stuff in a little later too.

I'm glad to hear that he is doing well. This is one of those annoying daily struggles but it will get better! Good luck!

Hi P.,
I have a 2 year old, who from day one was a very picky eater, but just like yours, LOOOOOVED milk... at first it drove me nuts, i'd make him these dinners, and he'd just turn his nose... CUT DOWN ON THE MILK.... not all of it, but try giving him less, so he'll be hungrier... also, if he's still on whole milk, give him 2 percent... it cuts out the calories, leaving room for actual food... mine got better, i gave him whole grain grilled cheese with lots of butter, casadias with cheese, meatballs (cut up), nitrate-free hot dogs from whole foods... i'd hide Turkey slices in his grilled cheese and casadeas... try soups for Veggies, dont blend them, chunk them up.... real people's oatmeal is great, it has texture.... give him fruit in small chunks, watermelon is very easy to chew and disolve... cantelope, peach, cut up grapes... good luck

Oh, the worries we have about feeding our kids! Designed to make us crazy. Check out the book Child of Mine by Ellyn Sattler. You'll get great ideas and be much more relxed and less frustrated.

good luck!
C.

I have an 11 month old, and starting around 9 months, she decided that she had to do it all herself - anything on a spoon was rejected. Maybe you have an independent eater too?! Maybe he'll eat some of those things if he can self feed. Also, she generally won't eat in her high chair at all. So I will sit with her on the floor. Messy, but whatever I can do to get her to eat!

Here are some things that she (generally) likes: egg yolk scrambled w/ a little milk, cubed avocado, french toast, pancakes (I like Trader Joe's multigrain baking mix), Puffs, cheese, low sodium lunch meats, and pasta with broccoli and a little parmesan cheese. Incidentally, if Sam likes Yo Baby, it is much less expensive at TJ's than regular grocery stores.

Good luck! Like another poster said, he certainly won't starve himself. I will also continue the bottle until she's eating more consistently just to make sure she's getting all her nutrients.

Hi P.,
My G/G twins are 1 yrs old and since they hit this mark they don't like baby food very much either. I tried them on turkey meatloaf, mashed yams, mashed potatoes, enchilada, organic minced roasted turkey, turkey meatballs,lasagna to name a few and they love it. You can also try egg yolk mashed from hard boiled eggs, or egg yolk omelet w/ american cheese (full fat), w/out egg white (must be 1 to eat egg white to avoid egg allergy-yolks are okay). Smoothies are a big hit too (using breast milk/formula, yogurt, banana, and fresh fruit or store bought baby food fruit puree)Small minced cooked pasta with cheese (melted american with cottage cheese). My girls also like whole wheat toast strips with full fat cream cheese. One of the best baby foods out there is Yo baby yogurt with fruit , cereal already mixed in which they also added DHA for brain development. DHA is naturally found in breast milk. One container of this yogurt contains 45% of required iron per day. I sometimes add in extra organic oatmeal or rice cereal to the yogurt.

Also checkout the cookbooks "The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapine and "First meals" by Annabel Karmel ( a cordon bleu chef and mom herself). Hope this helps.

Best,
E.

Both of my girls were resistant to solid food when they were first introduced (with the exception of bananas, which they both loved). I found that by mixing breastmilk (or formula, whatever you're giving him) into the solid food, my girls were excited to eat it - a familiar taste with something new. Also, my youngest always hated rice cereal, so I tried barley, which she loved. The first year kids get most of their calories through breastmilk/formula. I found that to be true until they were 18 months to 2 years. They're both healthy eaters now (at 3 1/2 and 6 years) and rest assured, your son will eat, too! Good luck!

Hello, P.,

When my daughter Christina was ready to take in foods, I introduced her to the regenerative foods that I use with my clients. She loved and them, and at six, she still does! I would be happy to bring some by for you to try with Sam if you would like. As a mom, I am so pleased that nutritionally, these foods are superior as well.

My very best,

T.