I have a 10 month old that is starting to reject her baby food all of a sudden. She's been eating veggies since she was 6 months old and then we introduced fruits at 7 months and meats at 9 months. She's done really well with all of them until the past week. For the past week she has been refusing to eat her veggies and meats. Some of the foods she's rejecting are foods that have been easiest to feed her in the past (her fav's per say). She'll eat fruits but she needs to eat her other foods first. It's weird too, when I feed her the veggies and meats it's like she almost gags on them b/c she's fighting so hard to not eat them. The gagging has actually caused her to throw up her food a couple of times. So I guess my question is, is it common for babies to go through periods like this where they reject they're food? Could she be rejecting it due to teething issues (her top two teeth are starting to come in)? Does anyone have any suggestions to get her to eat her food without putting up such a fight? I'm at a loss for what to do to get her to eat. Anyway, any suggestions would help. Thanks in advance.
Are you doing all the actual FEEDING? Maybe she wants to do it herself? Let her hold the spoon or whatever. My daughter (18 months now) goes through phases where she won't eat anything I hold up to her mouth, but smiles happily if she can hold the fork and feed herself.
Have you changed the baby food stages lately? With both of my children the foods after the stage 2 were not acceptable. At that point we just went straight to table foods and they both did fine. If you look at some of those foods the texture is horrible. We started out with just cherrios and those puffs in the graduates section of the baby food. Wal-Mart makes a generic that are cheaper and are exactly the same as the Gerber brand. Those things are good because they basically disolve in their mouths and they don't have to do much work and it gets them used to having a solid in there. My son is two now and he still will touch a food first and if he doesn't like the texture he will not eat it.
It could definitely be the teething. However, my daughter started doing the same thing at about 10 mos, but she'd act like she wanted our food instead. I took her cue and started phasing out her baby food and giving her more of what we eat. Right now she eats pretty much everything we eat (except for the allergenic foods, of course, like milk, eggs, etc...) I just cut it up in bite size pieces for her. Your daughter might be getting bored and wanting to try different food, or it just might be her teeth. The top two teeth were the worst for us, it was horrible.
My son is grown now but when he was a baby I made my own baby food from vegetable that we prepared for the rest of the family. Just take green beans, macaroni and cheese, beets, mashed potatoes, corn or any appropriate food item and blend it up, put them in ice cube trays until frozen then store in bags in the freezer. When you are ready to feed your baby just pop them in the micro and they are ready. You can do the same with fruits. Apples, pears, and banannas. Have you ever really tasted those jars of food from the store. They are nasty and I wouldn't eat them either. Give this a try. Good luck.
That's about the age my son decided he didn't want "baby food"...he wanted what we were eating, and that was that. In the last month, he has started turning his head if I try to feed him - he wants to do it himself. My recommendation would be to try and give her some soft food that she can feed herself...bananas, peaches, peas, etc.
My son did that around nine months. He refused all baby food period. So we started table food and he did just fine! You might try to wean her off the purees and onto more solids. HTH!
Trying table foods is a good suggestion. Also, you said she'd eat fruit? Kids generally, if offered healthy options will choose what they need to eat. Follow your daughter. Maybe if you let her eat the fruit for a few days she'll be ready to go back to other food. I wouldn't fight feeding her. Are you breastfeeding? You can take comfort in knowing they are still supposed to get the MAJORITY of their nutrients from breastmilk or formula through the entire first year. Kids grow and change at their own pace. My first daughter would hardly eat solids until a year and completely turned her nose up at anything that was "baby food." It was table food or breastmilk. My second likes baby food much better, but at around 10 or 11 months went for a couple of weeks eating alot less. I think it was all the developmental changes, and she just wanted to play instead of eat, but she's healthy and normal and back to eating good again. I think if you offer your daughter healthy choices often, she will be healthy and happy.
I think the idea that her rejecting foods might be related to teething is a good one. My son tends to be a much pickier eater for a few days around the time he is cutting or getting ready to cut a new tooth, many times eating very little or even gagging on his favorite foods. I think it is a good idea to try new solids/table foods. My son loves cheese and I think it is soft on his gums but probably feels good because he has to chew it. She might be willing to try a food if she can self feed herself. I hope she gets back to her normal eating patterns soon. =)
My son did the same thing! Then he started walking. Maybe she's about to hit a milestone. I could barely keep up with my son and how much he ate now it feels like it's a fight just to get him to eat a few cherrios or a carrot wheel. Maybe your daughter is getting ready for 'big girl' foods? I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as she is making enough wet and dirty diapers she should be just fine.
Hi J.,
I don't know that I have any helpful advice, except for some questions to ask that might lead to an answer.
How has she behaved in the past when teething?
Have you talked to the pediatrician yet?
Is she still getting other sources of nutrition, like formula?
Will she eat veggies mixed with cereal?
Is she still gaining wait? Does she seem full after eating only fruit?
Do you think she truly doesn't like those things anymore or do you think she's trying to display some power over her choices?
I hope these questions are helpful in either focusing in on the answer, or at least eliminating some things. :)
C.
I went through the same thing with our son. I started mixing the veggies with the friuts and even bought the kind that was already mixed togther. It worked for a while. Then he was ready to start eating regular food that was just smashed up. They also make little snacks that dissolve pretty fast in the baby's mouth. Those things were a life saver! There were times when that is all he would eat. You will both make it through this just fine and pretty soon it will seem as if you can't feed her enough!!!! I hope this helps and the best of luck.
