9 Month Old Refuses Blended Foods, Thinks He Can Live off Cheerios!

M.
Hey my son did the same thing. Just be patient. We also went to the health food store and got him Veggie Booty. It's made with Kale and Spinach and he LOVES them. They have other options too all made with corn and rice. I also cut up Sweet Potato into small chunks and steam them. He likes them too because he can feed them to himself. His other favorite is Ravioli and Tortelini. We get them with Proscuitto and Spinach. Toss with a little Veggie sauce and "Presto"....yummy healthy dinner.
Good luck and be thankful. At least he is eating, happy and healthy!

Hi there! Alexis gave you some terrific advice and reassurance. Here a couple of things I've done to encourage my girls to eat whatever seemed to be low on their priority list at the time:

-vary the bowl or plate you use. Try a cafeteria style tray (they have them at Target and Fred Meyer), using several little tiny serving bowls, a platter, ect.

-when/if you're comfortable trying, poke everything with a toothpick (I took this advice reluctantly from another mom- didn't sound safe- but my girls have never hurt themselves)

-offer food just prior to "meal time" in a novel location: the counter, the coffee table, use a chair as a table, etc. Consider it an appetizer- but maybe he'll eat his whole meal that way. Downside is he may become resistant to sitting at the table (that happened with one of my girls).

-This worked REALLY well: focus on one food group per meal/snack. I would serve only a variety of veggies at one meal, just dairy at another, etc. This worked so incredibly well, I don't know why. Plus, I would serve whatever my child seemed to be least interested in at the meal I could always count on her eating well (usually breakfast or afternoon snack).

-Get a friend to serve up those veggies at their house to get them hooked. New surrounding, new food, equal new interest (maybe!).

The key to all of these things is novelty. Good luck to you, and whatever you do, don't get stressed out!

J.

well, i'm no expert. i'm a first time mom myself,but my little boy is almost 2. he goes through phases like that- on and off- where he'll only want to eat cheese and graham crackers. for awhile, he did'nt eat his veggies either. he starte doff on organic baby food and loved it. he even used his spoon once he got the hang of it.
if he's eating cheerios and fruit, i wouldn't worry too muc. look at it this way- he's getting his grains, vitimins and minerals, plus his breas milk and formula. as long as he's not living on fast/junk food, i think your ok. the fact that you offer him veggies is good! he'll eat 'em eventually. our son LOVES bananas, he can eat an entire bunch in one day! while i know that's probably too much, he's not eating french fries, cheeseburgers or drinking soda, you know?
don't worry. it'll be ok. and if you're still concerned, ask his doctor for advice.
K. L.

My first son loved to feed himself. The trick is sauce. I made rice or noodles and then would put applesauce on it. It is a mess but he will feed himself, it is the big boy complex. My dr was all over me that we needed to spoon him some food too. My mother said she had never seen a baby shovel it in like my son. I also added rice cereal to the rice to make it sticky and you can roll them into balls and dip them.

My second son had touching issues and refused to touch things. He didn't eat noodles until he was three without a fight. We decided it was a sensory thing, get your son playing with finger paints - jello and pudding work great. Go outside and play in the mud expose him to all sorts of things with his fingers so he will touch them.

Steaming zucchini, cauliflower and carrots so they are soft but can still be picked up - Make them nice and big so they are more like big people food than baby food.

Good luck!

My daughter (now 6) lived on Cheerios and lemons(!?!?!) there for a while (formula too, she had self weaned, so she was still getting nutrients) once she figured out the finger food thing. She NEVER would do the whole baby food on a spoon thing. Anyway, she grew out of it, and now is the HEALTHIEST eater I have ever seen. We just didn't press the issue. We'd put both out for her (except at breakfast) some fruit and some cheerios, or some veggies and some cheerios. She totally ignored anything but the cheerios (unless she was sucking on a lemon - so wierd). But now she ASKS for veggies as a side dish and will eat fruit like crazy.
So I guess this isn't really a suggestion, but more of an assurance that this will pass and it doesn't mean he will refuse healthy foods later.
Oh, and have you tried the Gerber "puffs" - they come is corn, sweet potatoes, carrots (i think) and a few other fruit flavors. Maybe it's a texture thing. (My son refuses - and always has - any kind of baby cereal, even if we mix things he likes in there like peaches...I think he just doesn't like the texture)
Oh, something somebody told me once then, which didn't work for us, but might work for you, is to try to season the veggies. Babies tastebuds are immature and it takes a strong flavor to get their attention (prob why my girly loved lemons), so you might season the steamed and chunked veggies (i'm thinking a sprinkling of mrs dash so you don't increase the sodium content too much) and see what little man thinks of THAT! :) Let me know if you try it and how it goes!