My almost 11 month old has recently stopped eating his solids. A few months ago when we introduced solids-he happily gabbled up bananas, cheerios and the homemade pureed food I made for him. Now he just throws it on the floor or chews it and spits it back out. He has even cut back on his MILK intake!
While his activity level is high and he seems quite happy we are concerned b/c he is on the slim side. Our Dr. has run some tests and they all seem fine. We also have an apt with a pediatric nutritionist.
Any advise? Thanks
SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE IT COVERED.i WENT OFF MY FEED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS,I JUST DIDN'T FEEL LIKE EATING, GOOD SIDE I LOST 8O POUNDS,STILL HAVE 80 TO GO. tHIS USUSALLY HAPPENS IN THE SUMMER,IT IS JUST TOO HOT.
Your little one is active...he doesn't want to stop his activity to eat...this is a typical phase of development and you should not worry. Little ones have an inate sense of when and what they need to eat. I promise you he won't starve himself. I want to warn you to not make a big deal out of this as it could lead to eating disorders in the future.
Tips:
Make meal times stress free and regular, and eat with him, allowing him to feed himself as much as possible. Talk to him about all the things that are going to happen, or have happened that day and about the food...how it is good for us, how delicious it is, etc. Most little ones his age are ready for finger foods and a variety of foods. Just make sure he can chew/gum it and he can't choke on it. Introduce a sippy cup, if you haven't already. Have handy, low sugar snacks in between meals. Until about age 3, it is healthy for a child to graze on healthy foods throughout the day. Also, unless you doctor disagrees, introduce Whole Milk. He can probably handle it by now (unless he is lactose and/or milk protien intolerant). It will provide lots of healthy calories and he may like the tast compared to formula.
Best Wishes,
P. (Mother of 4 and a nutrition student)
Hey J.,
My son is 14 months and has started doing the same. I found that he has a bit of a sweet tooth and when I introduced juice, even though I watered it down, he stopped drinking milk and water. Therefore, I have completely cut out drinking juice and only offer him milk and water. After a few days, he is drinking it again. Also, with the food, I started mixing his oatmeal and eggs for breakfast with bananas. He loves the sweetness of the bananas so when I combined them, he started eating them. Also, with the veggies, I put about 1/2 spoon of veggies and then dip the spoon in some applesauce so that he doesn't see the veggies and he eats it. If he sees me put the veggies on there, he will push it away, so we hid the veggies behind the napkin holder and only let him see us put the spoon into the applesauce. This works more often than not. I hope it helps you! Also, I don't know if you work outside the home or not, but I help moms who want to work at home. If this is a desire of yours please visit my web site or give me a call, I'd be happy to talk to you!
www.freedomunitedteam.com/tm2620 or call ####-###-####
have a great day! T.
My son didn't really get into solids until he was almost a year old. He was breastfed and definitely got enough nourishment. He was a very chubby and healthy baby. I wouldn't worry so much as long as he's healthy.
Be sure to give him probiotics (acidophilus)daily.
I agree with one of the other posts about this being just a stage of development. Do you make a big deal whenever your son spits out food or throws food on the floor? He may just be looking for a response from you. Try ignoring it or looking away whenever you give him a bite to eat. If he sees that you're not looking and not giving him attention, he may just decide to swallow the food instead of spitting it out. Just a thought. I hope everything works out!
What IS he consuming? Is he drinking a bottle of formula (or nursing) several times a day? If so, he's probably fine, and it could be contributing to his not being hungry at mealtime.. If he is not, and still isn't eating, then that is very curious indeed.
Are you still offering him new things to taste and try? That is what I would suggest (other than what you are already doing- the Dr and nutritionist). My kids really liked some of the (Gerber?) kid foods.. the cereal bars and stuff like that. And the standbys like cut up seedless grapes. Has he tried any foods that are crunchy? If everything is pureed then maybe he is bored by it and would be interested in more "grown up" textures. Some kids are VERY picky about the texture of their food (and their clothes.. lol).. So just keep trying different things while you are waiting to see the nutritionist. Has he ever tried cheese? Like the Kraft American singles? Or green olives? My kids LOVED that stuff at that age.
Just keep trying and think outside the box about "kid" foods... Maybe you'll hit on something.
Good luck to you. And many prayers too.
Have you tried the toddler yogurt?
My son loves yogurt. It's fruit and has calcium and protein. Plus the toddler cups have cartoon characters.
I hope the nutritionist can help you find something that works.
You said bananas, cherios, and puree... Have you moved on to other table foods?? My third child NEVER would eat pureed food-- he only wanted what we were eating. As long as it's not something really hard (like carrots) I just gave him teeny pieces of whatever we were eating.
