Seeking Advise for My 9 Mo. Old Son Won't Eat His Solids Very Well

My son started refusing to eat anything that I fed him with a spoon around 9 months. He suddenly got an independent streak and wanted to feed himself everything. If you haven't tried it yet, try feeding him things he can feed himself, like cheerios, wagon wheels, little pieces of american cheese, soft diced fruits & veggies, etc. Maybe he is just exerting some independence. But if that's not it, don't worry, all babies go through times when they just don't want to eat solids. My son is going to be a year next week and he still goes on strike for days here and there.

Give him time. Keep offering him the regular foods after the baby food. Just don't give him as much baby food. This way he will still be hungry enough to try the food but not too cranky. I did this with my son and he didn't come around until 13 months. Don't be discouraged! Have patience. He may not be crazy about the textures yet. My son has only 4 teeth and had a bad gag reflex. 18 months now and he has 4 teeth and eats well! Does he gag? Does he try to chew or go straight to the swallowing. My daughter was over the baby food at 11 months and this was never an issue but every kid is different. I thought it was something I was doing with my son but he just wasn't ready. Sometimes you just have to follow his lead. Good luck!!

Are you feeding him alone. My daughter is going through the same thing. She eats great at school but we have struggles at home. I thought that maybe it was the eating alone aspect. At school all the kids eat together. So we have started to eat sooner ourselves and have her wait to eat with us. I have seen a little improvement but she still does not eat as well as at school.

to get him to go in the highchair - put some toys he can only play with while sitting there......put him in before its time to eat - maybe while you fix his food - That should help.

My son is 24 months old and has the same problem. He also has a speech therapist to help him with this. I just wanted to say that what Brandy said is right on. What she said are the same things we look at for John.

At least I know now that John is doing normal toddler stuff as it relates to eating. Some days John is all about the bottle and other days he eats so well. He always eats well for the therapist and nurses, for me he tends to tease... :-) As long as he is growing I think hes fine.

K.,

Being that your son is still less than 1 year old, I wouldn't worry about his consumption of solids. Keep in mind his main nutrients are still coming from milk/formula.

That said, my son is 14 months, and has good days & bad days on food. Somedays he'll eat everything, other days only a few things. I wouldn't worry about pushing him to regular foods. Somedays he may eat it, other days he may prefer babyfood.

For the highchair, put some toys on it. Or do you put the food directly on his tray to see if he'll play with the food? He may want to try and feed himself. It's fun to watch them make a mess too :)

Try not to worry. I think it's all a matter of trial & error. Just when you think you have it down, they change on ya!

Hi K.,
My daughter did the same thing at 9 months. By her first birthday she grew out of it and was eating just fine. I also find that my daughter did not like any of the kids solids. I slowly introduced her to adult solids and that seemed to work. She began to eat more and seemed happier in her high chair too.

Hi K.,

I have a son who is 9 months as well and he does the same thing every once in awhile. I talked to his ped. about this and he told me just to try giving him solids 3 times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner but if he doesn't seem interested to just let it be. For the 1st year breastmilk & formula are what they need most. Also, teething does cause some babies to eat less too. Good luck to you!

Dear K.,

It wanted to give you some ideas on things to try. but with out more information it is a little hard. I am a child care provider and the first thing that I would ask one of my parents is...

What have you been feeding him? Are you letting his body get used to that food before introducing him to another kind. The recommend time to keep a baby eating a new food is about a week with out introducing another new food.
The second thing I would advise is to get a booster seat that straps to the chair so he can be by you. I would also advise you to give him a spoon so that he can try to hold it while you feed him. Do you give him any of the gerber foods life the fruit or veggie puffs or the bitter biscuits? Those are hand held foods that he can eat and some of them melt in the mouth. I would also ask if you to keep a little record of what and when you are feeding him and the days that he eats better for you. You may see a pattern on why he isn't eating those days. It may be the teeth but I doubt it if he is eating for the babysitter. I would also ask her what she is feeding him. IF you have any other question that you would like to ask me, please feel free to ask.
B.