8 Month Old Not Eating Veggies or Sleeping Well

Hi there- as far as the veggies and the yogurt...
Have you tried steaming veggies and mixing them with other foods? It sounds gross, but my son will eat anything as long as it's mixed with either bananas or applesauce so I throw yogurt (he's never had a problem with it, he also has ricotta and cottage cheese) and veggies, etc... in the blender and he eats the whole thing. I know that won't necessarily work for you, but it might be worth a try. If steaming them is too much of a pain, then you can also buy a bag of frozen peas/corn/whatever and throw that in. Good luck!

Let me just tell you teething and ear infections have the same symtoms. I have an 8 month old also. we have been dealing with reoccurring ear infections since february. we have been dealing with sleepless nights once a week, no appetite, pulling the ears, won't sleep on her back, only in her swing. she will take a bottle only if you give her motrin to relieve the pain so she can eat. the poor girl has not had her 6 month check up because they don't give the shots when they are not feeling well. it has interuppted starting her on solids. we have spent so much money on doctor's visits and prescriptions that have not worked. she will be going in to get tubes put in her ears on wednesday. i really hope this isn't the case for you. good luck to you and maybe you can wish us luck also. her 1st surgery, sob!

Why not try the sweeter veggies for a time? Kids are drawn to sweet at this age - just think how sweet breast milk is :)

Hi there,

we have a nine month old little boy who is extremely good at eating everything and anything! Basically if we are eating it he wants to have a go. He even wanted some brussel sprout yesterday which I thought he would pull a big face at but no that didn't phase him at all and he had a little taste. I would recommend giving her tasty bits of what you are having (within reason of course somethings won't be appropriate for her age) just to get her open to eating different things. I also agree that cutting back on the yoghurt would be a good idea. Our boy did go through a phase of only wanting sweet things but we just kept on being persistant about the savoury foods - I think the main turning point was starting out with mashed veggies that were naturally sweet being the predominate ingredient e.g carrots, sweet potato then we slowly shifted the balance towards all veggies and meat. Goodluck - I think you'll find that if she is getting lots of food down her the sleeping will come back in line also

Cheers L.

I second the suggestion of removing the yogurt from her diet. All three of my kiddos had/have dairy sensitivities. Dairy is actually one of the hardest things for humans to digest...because it's made for baby cows, not humans. My kids couldn't have diary until they hit 20 months or so, and our middle boy seems to still have minor issues with it (he gets horrible gas). Good Luck!

Waking up that many times a night makes me think she is hungry. Are you giving her cereal before bed..if not you might want to think about doing it. Good luck!!

I am wondering if the problem is actually the yogurt. She might still be too young to digest dairy properly, or she may have a dairy intolerance or allergy. Either scenario might be upsetting her stomach and making certain foods seem unappealing. The nighttime fussiness sort of reinforces my guess.

Dairy intolerances and allergies are not black and white--some babies tolerate breastmilk (w/mom eating lots of dairy) and milk-based formula just fine, but then encounter problems with cow's milk products. Other people can have cheese and butter, but give them milk or yogurt and they are in trouble. It can vary greatly.

If this were my baby, I would drop the yogurt for a couple of weeks and see if things improve. You could also try goat's milk yogurt. My son can not have cow's milk, but he does just fine on goat. Goat milk, cheese, yogurt--even goat butter & ice cream, is all readily available at Whole Foods and co-ops. Good luck.

you can mix the veggies into anything. or give her boiled soft veggies in one of those little netting feeder things for babies... they are awesome!

as far as sleeping, this is normal for an infant. do your best to be accomodating and sensitive to his needs, trust me, in about a year, you will be glad for the close connection - its easier to know what your toddler needs and why shes having a tantrum when you know your child so closly! :D the way to get close is to stay close now and do your best to follow your heart and your instincts with your child. i found that sleeping with my son until he was around 15-17 months old, for at least part of the night, was helpful and important if i wanted to sleep. NO, your child will not want to sleep with you forever. only you will know your child. there are no rules for parenting.. they are all different because each child is different!

anyway, again, this is normal and common, and try not to make your sweetie cry it out - theres various reasons that this does NOT work, even if it seems to work on the outside. what you teach her is that you dont respond to her when she needs it. :D again, this grows that connection that you will want to have in a year or so... knowing why your toddler is having the tantrum... WOW. its incredible. :D