11 Month Old Not Eating

Hi H.!

And the fun begins! My son is turning 2 this week and we have been through so many eating phases it is not even funny! Things that come to mind for you are small pieces of fruit cut up (soft ones of course)... My friend has actually given her son a whole piece of toast (he's 9-10 mo) because he didn't want "baby food" anymore... Just find things that you know he can "suck down" and watch him real close as he does it. Yogurt is good, though it's probably too much like baby food for him. Maybe you eat a yogurt infront of him and see if he'll share with you... thinking he's getting a treat of momma's food! Thicker oatmeal cereal might work... I do Quaker oats wtih my son in the morning and he loves it. Hmmm, what else... Just cut anything soft enough up into little pieces and let him try... sometimes, then refusing to eat is their way of saying, "I'm big now mom." ha ha ha... Like THEY know, right?

If you're not a member of www.BabyCenter.com I would suggest you go there too... it's free to join and there are a lot of great ideas/helps on there too!

Good Luck

N.

H.,

I don't have a lot of advice, but boy do I know what you're going through! My 18-month old went through the same thing staring around 10 months old, he refused to be spoon-fed. He still mostly eats carb-foods, but my ped. tells me he's perfectly healthy.

Soft foods of any kind can be finger foods. Soft (canned) peaches and pears, cut to bite-size; spaghetti noodles; mashed potatoes are very "fun" for them to eat and gives a chance to learn to use a spoon for themselves, toast with p.b. is a good protien source; bananas are always a favorite; well-cooked carots; just keep the variety coming and he'll learn to use a spoon and fork on his own terms. It may be slow and messy, but kids basically have to "experience" their food before they'll accept it. Be patient and hang in there. And as long as his dr. says he's healthy, don't worry about him getting into a "food rut". He'll break out of that when he's ready. Best of luck to you! And don't worry, this is a fairly normal phase that both my boys (now 4 yrs and 18 months) have gone through. Keep smiling!

B.

Hello!
My daughter went through the same thing, and it lasted almost a year. I used to make her protein drinks (smoothies) and load up the protein (regular protein powder). Try giving him Protein Bars (like Tigers Milk). They are safe for kids and are super healthy. We call them Breakfast Candy Bars. My daughter absolutely loves them. Most importantly, he'll get through it. He is a child, and has isn't trying to starve himself for looks, and won't over eat because of emotions. He simply isn't hungry, and that's okay. It is hard as a mom not to worry and be concerned. Try the protein shakes, that way you'll know he's getting something substantial!
Good luck!

Keep feeding him formula, That has all the nutrients they need for well past a year. People way back when and some today nurse a child solely until they ar 2 or older. So you don't need to push it! You can keep trying food but your child may not be ready for it yet. I would NOT feed a baby that young stove top!!! That has way to much sodium!!!! Give him bananas that are soft if he doesnt want a spoon. There are mesh feeders out there you can put fruit right into and the baby can go to town on their own. When he starts teething I put frozen peaches in my daughters and she loved it! Gerber puffs that melt in their mouth would be better for a baby with no teeth than cheerios and crackers. Good luck

mac and cheese, cooked veggies if he will eat them, pretty much anything that is soft enough that he can gum it and not choke. It kind of sounds like he is wanting to be independent and feed himself. My daughter was like that, and by the time she was 11 months old, she pretty much ate what me and my husband ate, no more baby food. She even ate some meat, we just cut it up really small for her.

You might try Gerber Graduate foods like pasta pickups. My nephew has the same problem at 10mo.old. The mesh thing is another great idea.

Hi H.. It's funny but my son is just barley getting out of this stage. He never wanted me to feed him!! And this is natural. Your child is just trying to be independent. I found that giving my son things like bitter biquits, zweibek toast, and those gerber garden mashes (good advice btw) are great. There are also these dried fruit things from gerber that melt in the kids' mouth. They are great. You can also cut up small pieces of banana and see how he does with that. I wouldn't be too worried about this stage. He just wants to show mommy that he can do it himself!! lol...I hope this helps somewhat. Good luck!!

Hi H.,

Do you have a magic bullett? They are great for mashing up all kinds of food. It makes it fairly easy to make homemade baby food too. If you don't have one, you could use a blender. They do the same thing really. I give Sarah who is 13 months pasta. Does he like macaroni and things like that? It works well for us. Also, have you spoken to the pediatrition to see if everything is going smoothly with digestion? If not, it may cause a child not to want as much food. Hope this helps a bit.

Blessings,

K

My son is 15 months and is really slow getting his teeth is he only has 2 on the bottom and a 4 on the top. He has been eating table food since he was about 9 months. The key is soft, anything that he can mash with his gums. Canned carrots and peas work awesome, canned pears, I started giving Jack Tofu so he could get some protein(although it is flavorless he loves it). Canned soups often have a variety of veggies in them that are soft. Minestrone works well. You can also give him some soft beans mashed up. Since their palettes are used to bland foods he won't mind eating these things plain. Mashed potatoes and over cooked pastas are ok as well. Just make sure that he is used to GUMMING food to MASH it well. And if you are ever unsure about what he can handle try taking the food and trying to smash it on the roof of your mouth with your tounge. If it squishes well it should be fine. And you can also cut everything up really small, that way if he does swallow without chewing he won't choke.
Hope this helps, good luck!

cheese, bananas, other mushy fruit, cottage cheese, bread cut up in small pieces, they can gum a lot of the gerber and other brand foods. My daughter didn't get her first tooth till she was 13 months, and she use to eat all that stuff.

You may try just leting him feed himself. It will be messy, but my son always preferred that. Mine loved green beans and carrots (the solid ones that come in the jar together) and those were easy for him to pick up and eat by himself. They would also be good for yours since they are very soft. My neice is going through this too and my sister just lets her feed herself and it seems to be working. It is probably just a phase and should go away soon.

Hi H.. They have those wonderful snacks by Gerber. They are veg flavors and fruit flavors. They are shaped like stars and they disolve in there mounth. My kids loved them. Hope that helps a little bit.-A. Dallas OR.

cooked peas, diced up peices of soft fruit like pears and peaches. diced up cooked potatoes and carrots. over cooked whole wheat macaroni cut in half. halved grapes. put it in your mouth and if you can mash it up with your tongue on the roof of your mouth he will be fine, just make the peices small. :) My son didn't get most of his teeth until he was almost 2 and he did really well. His favorite food was frozen organic blueberries. For some reason the organic ones are smaller then the regualer ones. I would just let them defrost a little bit, but they were still firm. It's really messy, but they are so good for you and he liked them so much I put up with it. Oh and small cubes of tofu, and cooked edamamme beans with the skins removed. :) ~V

mac'n'cheese, mashed potatoes, cut up spaghetti noodles, pasta of any kind, really...ummmm, buttered toast, the middles of bread, as a treat maybe some sugarless popsicles...things that are soft. Imagine you have a sore throat and feed him things that you could eat on a sore throat :)

Target has the greatest little gadget. Look in the baby section and you'll see something with Mesh and a circle handle. I'm unsure of the name of it but I used it with both my boys. You can put all kinds of fruit and veggies in it (soft and hard) and they bite and suck on it and the food goes though the mesh. I used bananas, apples (cut up),grapes melons, squash etc.... the list can go on. They are unable to choke because of the mesh barrier. It is great for teething too, especially when used with fresh apples, my sons loved to chew on it. You can also put Ice cube(s) in it for teething.

Garden Mashers...they are soft but have more to them. You can freeze the fruit sides like the mixed berries. They make a good treat but melt in your mouth. Chicken Stars soup. No teeth needed for that.

My daughter is the same way and she is only 8 months old =) She eats a lot of cherrios, bannanas, wheat toast w/ a little butter on it, shredded cheese, and the gerber snack puffs and wagon wheels. Also I let her have a small bowl and spoon, she has a good time attempting to feed herself oatmeal, rice cereal etc. Just make it a little thicker than usual and plan on bath time right after meal time. I did that with my son also and by the time he was a year he was quite good at using a spoon and fork.

Hi there, My daughter is almost to this phase and she's only 6 months. what we feed her are the Gerber Graduates freez dried fruits and veggies.They desolve fast and don't have any preservitives.We also give her Gerber finger foods Veggi and fruit puffes.My son loved them and now my little one does too.Hope I could Help.God Bless.

H.,

Give him what you eat. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains just mash it up and let him eat it. Proteins you may want to go to a supplementation if you are not breast feeding. Anything soft that will not poke his gums is just fine. You want him to chew a little because it will help with his teething.

Give me a call and I can recommend a few things as well as give your son a free evaluation.

Do not force him to eat things he does not like. He will get better as he grows.

Hope this helps.

L. C
Nutritionist
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Hi H.,
Even with no teeth your son can eat quite a bit. My son was eating food long before he had teeth. Just be sure to cut it up into little cubes. Cooked chicken, other meats, any cooked or steamed veggies, potatoes, most fruits (bananas, peaches, pears, and mandarin oranges were always my sons favs), crackers, cereal, etc. Basically once he gets the chewing motion down, he can eat a lot more than you would think. Our son is a year, and he can just about eat everything we do, which is great because it save lots of money on baby food. Hope this helps you a little.

Good luck,
~A.

My 13 month old son is absolutely in love with yogurt. He can't get enough of it. I would just advise you to stick with the flavors that don't have any chunks in it. Prior to his having teeth, we had the "Yo-Baby" brand which didn't have any fruit pieces at all. Now that he is older, I've been mixing it with cottage cheese so he can get more protein. Good luck!

My now 13 month old just in the last few days got his first tooth in. However starting at about 10 months or so he did not want to be hand fed at all anymore. I discovered that even though he didn't have any teeth he could easily handle the gerber graduates foods, such as the lil' entrees, and the soups and their bottled fruits and veggies. What I would do is warm up the food that is best warm, drain the juices for the most part and dump the food out on his tray. I have to strip him down to his diaper to avoid constantly changing clothes but it allowed him to feed himself and left me without the frustration of a meal that went bad. As well, as he was able to feed himself more he decided that it was ok for me to spoon feed him the things that he can't feed himself, like applesauce. I will warn you though that the reason I was able to do this with my son is because he was very good at chewing. But if your son can eat crackers and cherrios he can probably chew well enough to try. Keep a good eye on him the first couple of feedings just to make sure he's not struggling.

Hope this helps.
C. F.