Picky Eaters - Elkhart,TX

Hi M.! Oh don't worry her milk is still giving her plenty of vitamins. And if you are really worried about it get her those vitamin drops at the drug store for infants. They have a ton of vitamins and nutrients. My daughter is almost 16 months and she was and still is very picky about what she eats. She used to only eat sweet potatoes and squash. I would sneak a bite of fruit or a different veggie in there and mix it. But do it gradually so he can't tell the difference. Then just add more each time. He will get used to the different flavors. And don't worry this happens to a lot of mothers and babies. Good luck and just keep trying, thats the key :)

M., one thing that I found helpful with both of my little ones when we first introduced baby foods was to continue trying again and again. Typically it takes over ten tries before babies will even realize that they like the new food in their mouths. If after some time of trying, then wait to introduce that food again in several weeks. My kids were picky, would spit out mostly everything, and now are the best eaters ever! They love just about all fruits and veggies (even some that I don't like!)

Often picky eaters have allergies to certain foods. Their body is choosing safe foods. Don't make an issue of food. Be relaxed and reintroduce one new food possibly mixed with a little sweet potato...easy does it.

M.,

Is your 6 month old still breast feeding? Or is he on formula? I know that if he's still breast feeding, you really shouldn't have to worry about how picky he is being as long as you're eating right. I really don't know much about formula, so it may be a different ballgame in that sense. The best thing to do is just to keep introducing the good foods to him over and over again (they say that it takes up to 10 times before they'll accept some things). I truly wouldn't be too worried at 6 months if he's still getting his daily intake of breast milk or formula though. Both of my boys barely ate anything until they were 18 months (but nursed like the dickens). My 5 year old is a great eater now (loves broccoli, soups, veges, meat, you name it) and my 2 year old is quickly following in his brother's food/foot steps!

Also, neither of my boys would eat actual baby food. If you've tried it, you can tell it's pretty nasty. My guys liked textured things, so you can see why they wanted until about 18 months to start eating!

Good luck!!
A.

At 6 months I wouldn't worry about it either. I think the baby food at that point is basically to introduce her to eating and spoon...not for nutrition. Pick one food...green beans, peas, something like that.. Stick with it for at least a week. I bet he will take to it after a few days. If not, he still has the nutrition from his milk.

I wouldn't worry about it. His formula/breast milk is still most important. Will he eat any finger foods like cheerios or green beans? (cut up in tiny pieces) Have you tried the #2 level baby foods? My granddaughter didn't care for the #1 level & went straight to #2. This is my advice and I have raised my own and many other babies. But my best advice would be to verify any advice with your pediatrician.

Don't worry your baby is still getting most of his nutrients from the formula or breast milk. Their bodies will crave it if needed. Kids are funny though my first baby she loved the squash and sweet potatoes best even the carrots her skin even reflected that color, though she would still eat the other baby foods too she especially like the fruits and fruit desserts I forget tropical delight and hawaiin something anyway she grew into the juniors and whatever stage. Well with her I had a hard time getting her on table food she was two years old and wanted her baby food she'd cry if I tryed to give her mashed potatoes. Well my daughter has her stuff and she has control over that part she thought. She didn't like change then my youngest he was like your son is being. Picky I had to make his own food and buy vitamin drops. I had to mash potatoes or baked and hide carrots in it. We survived now he's very diversed eater. He likes trying new things and he likes vegetables and fruits better than his sisters. He's like 11 now. I remember that same picky eater as a baby would eat sliced tomatoes. So don't worry just introduce. They'll eat more baby food as their milk need decreases.

To at least get the food down him I would stay with veggies at first. One at a time in case he is allegic to any thing. Take a spoon full of something else maybe he does not like then add a little of the one he does like on top of that in the same spoon fool. I get my day care baby to eat tons of stuff he does not like. He refuses it alone then I play this one spoon he likes then the one he does not like. As long as he knows he is getting the one he likes he is ok with it. He is a preemie and he is 19 mos and still will not eat table food. He will make himself throw up. So I get after him when he tries and it deverts his attention and he keeps it down. Also water after what he does not like. He has tons of teeth and will not use them. So weird but a good natured and sweet child. Been through so much. Miracle Baby and just started walking about a month ago. Good Luck. If they will not eat hide it. I puree veggies and put it in speghetti or mix things in fruit. Just get it down them. Likes and taste buds change our whole lives. G. W

Will he eat the cereals? My daughter would eat all the vegetables there were in baby food but not fruits and I wanted her to have an even mix. So when we mixed cereal and fruit she would then eat them. We only put a portion of the fruit in so there was plenty of cereal. We also used table food some at the same time and she prefered the table food as long as it was cut up or soft she did great! I think it has a lot to do with texture. Today my daughter (who is 2) will seriously eat everything.

First of all, do not get stressed out about his eating. Your son is not going to starve to death! He's a bit young to be eating a variety of foods anyway, and would do fine with just milk or formula, perhaps mixed with rice cereal. His refusal to eat all the foods you are trying to introduce does not mean he is picky, it just means (at this age) that he is not ready for them. Don't be in such a hurry to give him solid foods...He'll grow up fast enough! Besides, feeding certain foods to a baby that is not ready for them can cause digestive problems and food allergies.

Hi - There are some great books out there on starting babies on solids. I can't recall the name of the book I used SUPER BABY FOODS, I think...I followed it to a 'T' and my twins pretty much ate everything I put in front of them. It was very helpful. If you are in the Flower Mound area I can loan you my book so you can determine whether you want to buy it.

A huge BUT, here, once they turned 2 it's been a challenge trying to get them to eat anything they used to eat. Not sure how it happened or when but they have narrowed down their foods to: grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, baked or fried potatoes (fries/hash browns), yogurt, pancakes, waffles, raisin bread / toast, breaded chicken (nuggets/strips), jelly sandwiches, and most any crackers, chips, and fruits. They will only eat sweet potatoes and regular potates as their veggie. They used to eat it all, like I said not sure what happened. I saw a nutritionist not too long ago...at Sprouts...and she said not to worry about it that they had some good food items they are eating. I do give them a multi and a veggie/fruit supplement, too.

Good luck and try not to worry too much, looks like you're off to a good start with the sweet potato a lone.

Mama to 3 year old twin sons

He might just not be ready for solid foods yet.

Six months is the MINIMUM age - before that they are really too young to handle solid foods and giving them too much too soon can actually increase their risk of allergies later in life.

You don't mention whether you are breastfeeding or not but nursing infants often don't NEED any supplementation for awhile - often going beyond six months before solids are needed.

The old adage of feeding solids at four months was given to parents becuase the quality of the formula in years past was so bad. Not that it's the premo option now but at least it will sustain a baby for half his first year of life with no problem. :-)

By the way - if your pediatrician told you to feed solids at four months old I would consider finding a new one since that would be a sign to me he is WAY out of touch with the most recent recommendations by American Pediatrics and WHO.

Short answer - continue providing your baby plenty of milk and realize that his stomach is only JUST NOW able to handle solid foods at all. He'll be fine.

A. <><

If he's breast fed and happy, he may just not need the food yet.
Try letting him sit in your lap while you eat and see if he
reaches for the food. One of our 6 was about 9 months before
they ate much. You might also try mixing breast milk with some organic baby cereal (Earth's Best makes one). That was the only cereal one of ours would eat (she wasn't a big eater).

C.

Hi, I'm a mom of 2 and a labor and nursery nurse. Quite frankly it sounds like you might have started solids too early. A baby's digestive tract usually is not even prepared to break down foods other than milk until they are 6-7 months old. With my daughter she did not take solids the first time I tried when she was 6 months old. So I just continued breastfeeding her and then tried again at 8 months old. The second time around she did very well with her food. Another thing to consider is that most babies do better starting with baby rice or oatmeal cereals for their first foods. It might be better to go back to milk for a month or so, and then start up again with cereals first.

Hi M., I have 6 kids and I am surprised you have started feeding your baby food so early. The DRs don't recommend starting until after 6 months and starting with rice cereal. I think you should back off the baby food unless your baby is growing very fast and all the formula/breast feeding in the world is not keeping him satisfied. And if that's the case, just give him cereal. That happened with one of my boys, he was drinking 32oz of breast milk while I was at work, plus nursing before and after I went to work at 2 months so the Dr recommended I give him cereal. All the others did fine with just milk until after the 6 months, and honestly I didn't stress about it. I gave them baby food after 8-9 months in little bits. Until age 1 all they need is formula/breastmilk. My daughter never liked any baby food, she just wanted to eat like the rest of us so we just gave her white rice (she was 1 by then), french fries, etc. Good luck and don't worry about him being picky, he's just not quite ready yet.

M. :-)

I have to somewhat disagree with some other responses. Stop pushing the food. If he is a good weight, and healthy. WAIT!!! My daughter is now 11 months. She never ate baby food and still only eats 1 or 2 amounts of solid a day. This just recently started. According to my pedi, I was doing nothing but stressing her(at 6 mo) Now, we've started off slowly and she enjoys it. And like "they" say, until they are a year or so, solids are really just for tasting and learning.
Margaret
P.S. And remember, he'll be eating soon enough, so dont worry!!!:)

First of all, you must be the one to let go of the fear that he is not going to be ok since he only eats sweet potatoes, then he will adjust his eating habits, accordingly. Further, I had several ladies I respected greatly assure me that children know what they need and their bodies will take in and meet their requirements; it is our OVER orchestrating things that then puts pressure on them and causes them to be confused. My daughter's favorite food item at the grocery store, until she was 9-10 years old was green peppers; she refused to eat hotdogs and peanut butter/honey sandwiches at birthday parties. My point is: it will be OK. Don't push your child, just keep introducing new items - YOU BE ENTHUSED about the newness of the items. L. E.

If you're breastfeeding, that is really all the nutrition that is needed. Baby food is just for experiencing taste and texture. Breastmilk or formula really is the main nutrition. Sounds to me like he is not really ready for all that food. The American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends waiting until 6 months, despite what a lot of doctors say (they are really antiquated, in my opinion!). Just back off for a little while, because he obviously isn't ready for a lot. Keep on breastfeeding or formula feeding, and slowly add those other things. just make sure he is eating all of the breastmilk or formula that he ate before if he is not eating many solids! You're ok, Mama. He's just trying to tell you he's not ready for much!

I didn't start my son until over 7 months, and he HATED baby food. I gave him roughly mashed bananas and avocado (more like breast milk) and yes, sweet potatoes. I also gave him small diced green beans and peas (and other veggies). He liked the texture of "real food" and liked feeding himself. He didn't really eat much solids until a year or so. He nursed all the time. He reached 20 lbs before he was 6 months (just nursing) so I knew he was doing fine. Now he is a wonderful eater, eager to try things and always chooses his veggies (usually sticks to green beans and broccoli, but I'm not complaining!). Don't make a huge issue of food, or you could be teaching him to make issues of food. I would back off and slowly intro foods!

Have you tried mixing it up during the feeding. Feed him his sweet potatoes (couple of bites) and then spoon in some vegetables. Then go back to the sweet potatoes. It may or may not work but you could try it.

Hi M.,
I have a 7 month old son and until last week, all he ate was sweet potatoes too. I started mixing small amounts of other food into the sweet potatoes and I decreased the amount of sweet potatoes with each meal. It worked for us. On another note, I have 2 kids and my first baby only wanted to eat sweet potatoes too. It took her a while before she would eat anything else. But she was a very healthy little girl. As long as you continue to nurse your baby or give him formula along with the solid food, even if he decides that he wants nothing more than sweet potatoes, he will be fine.
Hope this helps!
-S.

My 15-yr-old daughter has been picky since the baby food stage as well. You're doing well trying him on different foods but frankly if he's as stubborn as my kid he'll only eat what he wants. You might try to add yogurt to his diet for the nutritional value. Megan lived on mostly Yoplait custard style yogurt (3 flavors), french toast, apple sauce, bananas, milk, juice and water until age 3. She's currently 5'6" so it didn't stunt her growth any! Continue to offer other food choices, one at a time, eventually he'll find some other foods he likes. Megan actually got pretty adventurous about new foods at about age 13. Good luck!

M., dreadfully I have had and still am having the same problem...My 19 mo old refused to eat almost anything. Finally she ate peas and never ANYTHING else. My best advice to you...#1 continue to give him sweet potatoes until he no longer wants sweet potatoes. Some kids just really enjoy one particular food and can eat it everyday. #2. You could always puree some other fruits or vegies into the sweet potatoes. My daughter is 1 1/2 yrs and I have to puree and put it into her mac n chz cause the kid does not eat.
Good luck!

"Food is fun until age 1."

Take a relaxed approach so food doesn't become a battle later on.

Check out:
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/16starting_solid_foods.html

My 6 month old will eat baby fruits - you know, the ones that come in the jars/little plastic containers and carrots and sweet potatoes, but the green things she WON'T eat. She clamps her jaws shut and refuses to open up at all. I tried some actual green beans on her the other day and she devoured them. Sometimes babies just want the real thing. It gives them something they can try and feed to themselves. She loves the little fruit and veggi puffs, and eating little banana chunks, green bean pieces (I give her the beans from the can AFTER I break them into smaller pieces) and things like that. She's starting to refuse more and more of the babyfoods.

I agree and disagree with some of the responses. My son would only eat sweet potatoes and sqaush. I tried mixing it up and tried tricking him, it may work for you it didnt for me. My son deciced he liked real food. He would eat off our plates rather than baby food. Once that happened he refused the bottle, he was only eight mo. He is now 7 and hell on wheels, energetic and healthy. As long as your son is healthy and not losing weight, dont worry, try letting him play with his food, my daughter who is 20 mo refused to eat unless she did it herself yes its messy but the foods she refused i found out, she is allergic. Take your cues from him, every child is different, and every mom is to.

M.,

I have two kiddos a 6 year old boy and a 14 month old daughter..my son was like that and my doc told me that sometimes it takes up to 20 times of trying the food before they decide they like it..He said to try and if the baby rejects it to wait a couple of days and offer it again..As we found out with our son later on it wasnt that he didnt like the flavor..We found out when he was around 2 that he has problems with the way things feel in his mouth..just keep trying and if you are really worried take your little one in and ask the doc what he thinks..Good luck I hope all works out well

Foods are for play. Until he is one his main source of nutrition is breastmilk or formula.

I wouldn't worry about it for now. Just have fun with them and keep offering different things.

I have a list of foods that I compiled from several moms groups. I would be happy to send it to you.
I think being "picky" is in stages for some foods. Then, some foods they will NEVER like.
My son wouldn't eat pureed peas and he still doesn't eat peas or anything with peas in it at 4 years old. LOL
Let me know if you want the list.
Good luck.
E.

Hi M.,

I can tell you an easy way to give him (and you) all the nutrition of 17 fruits and veggies every day. Email me or check out my coupon here on Mamasource! This product has given me so much peace of mind that I decided to market it so I could make it available to other moms.

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At 6 months, your child should really be exposed to the widest variety of tastes and still be getting the majority of his nutrition from his milk (breast or formula). To extend his range, you can always add small amounts of new tastes one at a time to a favorite like the sweet potato. I did that with my twins when i wanted to introduce anew flavour and they are now very good eaters, trying pretty much everything. Sweet potato was a strong favourite for them too, but helpful for getting them to try new things as well. Good luck,
D.

I would recommend a book called super Baby food--it tells you how to make your own baby food and talks about at what age to introduce each food. It is awesome!! Children who eat homemade baby food have better appetites, too. I would also mix some veggies with pears or apples, but generally my kids liked anything. And with making your own you can make more than what is avaliable in the store--like avacados, zuchini, etc. Have you tasted some of the food he eats? Usually jar food tast horrible-taste bananas--they don't even taste like bananas--I would just mash a fresh banana--Good luck hope this helps--remember too like many moms have said he is six months old--

My son only ate a little when he first started eating- the doctor didn't even recommend baby food until he was 6 months old (he could eat cereal at 4, but no jars). We found that he didnt' like baby food at first (he still won't eat it), but it was the texture- not the taste he didn't like. HE would spit out his food. He was use to the texture of the cereal- so we started mixing his food with the cereal to get the texture he liked. Then he ate just fine- up to the 3rd foods- we mixed with cereal. Now he is on most table foods. Keep up with the vegetables and fruits, if your baby gets a solid basis with these, when he gets older he will be more likely to eat good, nutritious foods- not junk.