Conner is about 8 1/2 months with 8 teeth (and 2 molars on the way) and is now refusing to be feed from a spoon since he realized he can feed himself. He won't eat much diced fruit since it's so slimy. Right now he's eating a lot of Cheerios, fruit puffs, cheese, bologna or meat sticks, and diced green beans. Tonight I gave him small pieces of hamburger meat and pasta pieces, but I'm running out of ideas. I've read that he can have egg yolk mashed, but how should I cook it? What type of food is okay to give him? He is also refusing juice and water wanting only formula, but he already hits the 25 ounces mark every day. What should I do. he won't drink from any kind of sippy cup or even regular cup at all. He chokes and spits out the water and juice when I try to give it to him. Please help!
Conner is doing great and eating like a chanp now. Basically he'll eat anything that he can feed himself. I've pretty much been feeding him anything except any known allergens, seafood, or spicy foods. He loves to drink out of the sippy cups with straws. Meal time is great now instead of a giant fight to get him to eat. Thank you to everyone for all the great advice!
I hate to just direct you to a website, but it's been awhile since I had one that young. I always found www.wholesomebabyfood.com to very helpful. I hope it gives you some new ideas!
I would continue to try to give water, but I really would not push juice at such a young age. Juice has way to much suger and way too few benefits.
Try yogurt, oatmeal, mash up some sweet potatoes, rice, corn--really, once they are ready for table food, they can have anything you eat, just in baby sized bites. You can also be more adventurous and try things like hummus or curry. My younger son absolutely loved curry when he was about 10 months old. Also, he started on milk a little early (due to his stealing his big brother's sippy cups) which turned out to not be a big deal. He was also eating PB&J by one year. Every kid is different; my second was--and still is--a chow hound!
My little one has only two teeth right now but, when she was cutting them she wouldn't drink from her bottle or a cup because the sucking hurt her mouth. That may be why he doens't want a sippy cup. Have you tired to make the water really cold? My little one loves it. What about mashed potatoes or even steamed veggies? I did read and hear that babies are still not suppoes to eat any kind of eggs or fish because they can devlope a allergie to them,so I would check woth your Doctor before giving my any. You do want to keep him hydrated so if he wants formula then maybe you should keep giving him some. Have you tried Pedalyite? NOt sure of the spelling but it is sold next to the baby juice in the store? Well good luck and keep us posted
patty
Hi J.,
Boil the egg(hard boiled eggs). Then give him only the egg yolk smashed. If your son has teeth you can also give him small pieces of chicken or even steak. Try cutting up red, yellow and orange bell peppers for a side. These vegetables are sweet. My daughter has always given my granddaughter ranch dressing on the side to dip her vegetables and food in it. My granddaughter is now five and eats salad with all the good stuff in it. Mashed potatoes and steamed carrots are also a great side for your child. Black olives are another good little treat as long as you slice them small. I was told many years ago by my childrens doctor that a child really doesn't start the normal eating habits until they are about 5 years old. On the water, children that age usually don't like water but keep giving him sips of water even though he spits it out. Eventually he will start liking it. It's better to get little water than no water in his system. My daughter also went through this with her child who is 1 on March 23rd. Now Kelsie loves water. Water is something that even we as adults do not like if we drink soda, juice or anything else more than water. When you decide to change the choice of drink to water, it doesn't taste so good in the beginning but as you continue drinking it, all of a sudden you try a soda and yuck!! it's just not the same anymore, you then prefer water. Children are the same way, just keep giving him a little at a time throughout the day and he will start to enjoy it!!
Sincerely,
L. Jacobs
J., My daughter when through pretty much the same thing. She only wanted Cheerios, crackers and other dry stuff she could eat by herself at about 6 months old. I spoke to her ped and he said it was fine, just remember no Honey nut cheerios (because of the honey) until at least 1 yr old. After about a week, that passed. I would say give him what he can and will eat. After he eats a little, try giving him baby food when he's not so hungry, in between him feeding himself in his high chair. He may be more receptive to it. Also, you might try pieces of bananas, or they even sell the baby bananas. I also boiled some apple slices in water so they were soft enough for her to eat, but not mashy. They aren't too slimy. My daughter also likes goldfish (they make whole wheat ones now) and sweet peas from a can, pita bread, pretty much anything. Also, for fruit, you can try the gerber dried fruit, they are good too. I heard right now CVS has them on sale buy one get one free. Feeding him will come with time. Just keep trying all sorts of stuff. My daughter doesn't always like things the first time, but after about the 3rd, she does. Another thing, don't worry about it too much. Just remember to keep it simple. Normal thigns that you would eat, he can probably eat, a little tailored to him.
One more thing, about the sippy cups. My daughter started with the cups with the straws, and did really good with them. Now she uses them all the time. For water, I buy her the flavored water, and she drinks it too, I still can't quite get her to drink her milk from a cup yet. My suggestion would be give him a sippy cup. If he wants it fine, if not, that's fine too. I bet if he's thirsty, he will drink it, it will just take time. Give him his bottle of formula when he needs (mid day), the rest of the day, offer a sippy cup.
Good luck
Let me know if I can help with anything, I have a daughter 13months and just went through this phase.
R.
Here are some suggestions of some food that may work that I have been feeding my daughter since she was around 7-8 months old that she can feed to herself - scrambled egg, mini-bagles, shrimp (only 2-3 times a week), graduates pasta pick-ups (they are mini-ravioli with meat and veggies), grapes (cut-up), apple (cut-up), frozen fruit (peach slices, strawberries - dole sells it in the freezer section - its great since it also helps with the teething), corn on the cob (green giant sells frozen mini ears of corn Mila, my daughter, has only been eating this food since about 11 months), cooked squash (yellow/green my daughter is picky about this has to be freshly made; cheese sticks, pretzel rods(from about 1 year);small pasta that is easy to hold like spiral shapes; chicken nuggets; fish sticks; immitation crab meat). Here are some other foods I've tried but Mila just doesn't like the taste of them - who knows maybe your son will like them - cut up grape tomatoes, cut up bananas, pears, blueberries, kiwi, mellon) Hope those suggestions help a little -- let me know how it goes.
Regarding the bottle thing keep trying different juices until you find one he likes - Mila didn't start drinking juice until after her 1st b-day - she simply didn't like it. But - in the past 1 1/2 months I finally found some juices that she likes - Mango/Strawberry and Mango/peach - I really water these juices down since they are very sweet naturally - 6oz water/2 oz juice. Also, you may want to try and make the cup something fun by letting him play with it in the bath tub while you give him a bath - that way he associates it with fun instead of something that he has to do.
All of this is normal. He gets most of his vitiamins for his formula, so as long as he is drinking he will be fine. My 11mo old was like that too. She is now letting me feed her with a spoon. But not baby food. only things like rice, yougart, applesauce, ect. It sounds like he is still eating good. I give my girl noodle soup, mixed veg. bannana, cooked apples, potatoe's, chicken, meat, diced grapes, but she is a little older. But has the same amount of teeth.
My first born refused to be spoon fed when he was five months old...oy. So, what to give an independent 8 1/2 month old? From my experience, I found two things work. One is to take a can of soup, like Progresso's Chicken Noodle soup, drain it and rinse it off a bit so the babe doesn't get too much salt. Plop that in a bowl and let him feed himself. The meats, veggies & noodles are soft, moist & easy to eat. Second option is to make Rice Surprise. It was my own concoction. I took a piece of boneless, skinless breast of chicken and cooked it in a small pot of boiling water. After it was cooked, I let it cool and shredded it. I added it to sticky cooked long grain rice. Sometimes I added a little shredded cheese for extra stick. I formed little balls of it. I put so many in the frig and the rest in the freezer. The texture and stickiness made it easy for him to feed himself and he got a little variety in his diet. You can substitute anything except the rice & have something different for Conner to enjoy.
It sounds like you have a picky eater on your hands. I really feel for you. This is a though problem and it usually gets worse before it gets better. The best advice is what my first pediatrician told me; Do not for any reason make a big deal out of it! What I mean is children will not starve themselves. If he does want to eat what you offer, do not make him eat. Wait it out. He will get hungry and what you are offering will start to look good. Eventually he WILL eat it! If you get upset, start begging and pleading with the child he will start to enjoy this power he has over you and relish the special attention. If he refuses a meal wrap it up and offer it again at the next mealtime. Limit snacks. Do not feed snakes an hour before mealtime. Your child will learn to eat at meal times without complaint.
I am not going to lie. This is really hard advice to follow. A lot of times when you are tired or feed up you will give in. It happens. Just start again at the next mealtime. The more persistent you are the better your chances will be for getting through this stage as soon as possible.
As far as to what to feed him their is this really great website called www.myfreshbaby.com. They tell you everything you need to know about what to feed your child age by age, and they offer recipes to make food fun. I followed their recommendations for both of my children and recommend it fully. They also have an email newsletter you can sign up for.
I hope this helps. Best of Luck!
