Stage 3 Foods

Can you try making your own food? I found that 3 was kind of watery with big chunks. My son did better when I did a more gradual change - I didn't puree it as much, thickened up what he did like. If she does like the flavor, this may just be her reaction, but if it is the texture, I would try making your own, as you can get her comfortable with it before gradually pureeing less and less, and getting it thicker and thicker.

Both my boys never liked stage 3. I kept them on stage two most of the time. My youngest hated baby food and just about went straight to table food. You can keep trying but I would not worry about it. They will eat it when ready.

It sounds to me like you're doing the right things, and keeping the lines of communication open between you and her Ped. is a good start as well. Keep encouraging the stage 2 foods she'll eat and gradually progress to the ones she has a hard time with. Once she masters those, stir in a little bit of the stage 3 until she starts to get a hang of it. She'll get better at it. Practice makes perfect!

It sounds to me like she has a consistency problem. Why don't you make your own food for her. Steam the fruits and veggies and put in a blender and giver her, they won't be so think and they aren't processed so they are better for her anyway.

My boys never took to the stage 3 foods, the texture was not right and they always gagged, so I just skipped it and went straight to table foods.

First off, stop worrying. If you show stress, you are going to create a picky eater. Second, start making your own foods. At 10 months, she should be on mostly finger foods --cooked up apple, for instance. My 9 month old has a piece of fresh fruit (plumb, nectarine, peach, melon, pear, mango) with every meal, and then cooked up peas or carrots, and then I give him a stew type thing or meat balls. He ate off our plates the other night (chuck roast, mashed potatoes and carrots). The goal is for them to be completely eating what you eat by 12 months, so start feeding her off your plate but in a consistency she can manage. We had egg salad for lunch today, so my son had avocado with egg yolk on bread. If she refuses it, she refuses it, end the meal with some fruit you know she will eat. It takes 12-15 tastes before they will eat many things, so just keep giving it to her and she will eventually eat everything. My son gagged on lentils and squash, I kept giving it to him, and yesterday, he acted like he was in heaven.

Two other tricks: sometimes adding some cereal to things gives it a consistency they will eat, and sometimes adding something they love to something they hate gets them eating the disliked food.

My son used to do that. Actually he's 2 and he still does it now if it's a food he doesn't feel like eating. There's nothing wrong with the food, nothing wrong with him, it's just how he reacts when he doesn't like or want something. I think your pedi is right - just keep trying and offering her different things, she'll eventually get used to it. When my son was starting stage 3 and table foods, I gave him very tiny amounts so there really wouldn't be much for him to throw up if he started gagging. The other thing is it's not really possible for a child of her age to starve herself so she'll eat more when she needs to.