Seeking Moms - Chicago,IL

my dr. always said if they are hungry they will eat it. He was right!

Feed him the pureed stuff each meal but then give him stuff on his tray that he can pick up himself. soft stuff like cauliflower, banana peas etc. he will start eating it a little at a time.

Don't force feed him. When he's ready he'll eat it. Offer him lots of super soft foods cut up in small pieces. You can steam different kinds of vegtables and fruits until they're so soft you could mash them with a fork. You have to experiment and try all kinds of different foods. I was told by our ped that you have to offer a food up to 25 times before they'll actually eat it. And he may love something one day and refuse to eat it the next.
Sit and eat with him and offer him food from your plate. Sometimes they don't want something unless you have it first.
Sit him in his high chair with food on his tray and just let him at it. Let him squish it in his hands and rub it all over the place. He'll rub it on his face and hopefully get some in his mouth. It will be messy but so what! Let him have fun with it and he'll eat it eventually. Just relax and have fun with it!

Stop giving him purees and just offer soft foods. Ideally, offer softer versions of whatever you are eating. How about a nice ripe peach or pear, cut up into chunks? Banana, avocado? how about mashed black beans?

Second, do not get into a competition about it. I rarely, if ever, comment on how much my daughter has eaten. I simply provide her with a meal, tell her what she is getting and then assist her in eating it when she wants help. She and I eat almost the same thing at every meal, and have since she was around 9 months, and she gets upset if I eat something and don't also offer it to her --my husband has her asking to taste his wine! One thing we never did, though, was show stress or concern about what she did or didn't eat. We just gave her food, and if she didn't eat it, oh well, and if she did, great. If I was concerned she was going to go to bed too hungry, I would offer her some fruit I knew she would eat, but after we were all done with our own dinner. She eats everything. Last night she even had some beef in a green curry sauce. After a face of shock at the hotness of it, she asked for more.

The more stressful the meal situation is to the child, the more likely they are to refuse food. So, my biggest suggestion is to simply stop offering milk in a bottle and stop offering purees. He will adjust and make the transition. But whatever you do, don't show how concerned or worried or stressed by the situation you may be.

HI J.:
My little guy had very similar issues. He was a complete gagger when it came to chunky or thicker foods. This was definitley an issue for us at around 12-13 months. He is now 15 months and doing just fine. It just took him a little bit to get used to it. All kids are different. We just kept offering (not forcing) and increasing textures little by little. As long as your little one is eating and getting in all of his/her nutrition, then just relax and take your time. Things will work out. Good luck!

You may benefit from advice from a speech pathologist who specializes in feeding. If you live in Chicago call ###-###-#### for the Early Intervention program. You are eligible for a free in-home evaluation and if you child qualifies for on-going therapy they discuss insurance and family fees with you. If you don't live in the city, call that number and they can direct you. This program sees referrals like this all of the time. Good luck.

Kids can be so much fun. Just a thought...you could make your own food and slowly increase the texture. Maybe if the transition is gradual your 13 month old will start eating table food. Also, you could try incorporating softer table food - like hummus or creamed spinach, etc.
Good luck!

J.-
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As long as your child eat the right amount of fruit and veggie he/she will be OK.
Blend all the fruits and veggie he/she loves,add hemp seed, sesame seeds and some water, put it in a disposable cup with a straw and let the child drink. Play with the texture, every time make it different, ticker...
Good luck,
D.

J.,

All babies mature differently. Please don't be in such a hurry to give him solid foods. Your baby might have a more prominent gag reflex than other babies do, for example. For whatever reason, he is telling you he is not ready for solids. (My kids were just eating baby food at 9 mo.) He will let you know when he is ready for them. Please don't force a baby to do anything. Also, I'd be surprised if a pediatrician were concerned about your baby's eating habits at this time.

Everything will happen in due time.

Amy

Hi J.,
I can relate to your problem. My son (now 2) would not transition to solid food until he was 18 mos. He preferred the texture of Stage 3 baby food. However I cooked and chopped the food for that texture. I called Early Intervention and they did an evaluation, he now sees a pathologist who works with him on speech and eating. He's doing well. It is a Sensory and oral motor skills issue, he had speech delay as well. I waited till he was 18 mos. to call. However, many moms I know got help sooner and are happy with the progress.
Good luck.
Bernie

Hi J. Try pureeing his solid food into his puree food and see what happens. Don't force him if he reject it. Maybe he just not ready. But if he seems contend and healthy, don't worry too much about it or talk with his peditrican and see what he/she says.

I had the same problem with my first baby (now 12, and eats like a horse) - so my husband and I would sit at meal time and make all sorts of "THIS IS SOOOO YUMMY" sounds. Eventually, curiosity forced our son to give in and see what all the fuss was about. Be patient - all babies make it to solid food.

I wouldn't force anything but I would just keep making it available to him. He shouldn't really be getting any juice as there is virtually no nutritional value to it - just sugar. I would go cold turkey with the bottle and he will start using the cup in a few days. Good luck.

My son had some oversensitivity to textures and we worked for just a bit with a speech pathologist who had some great tips. We used vibration toys and I used my finger in his little mouth- slowly slowly things got better. I was still nursing him so I wasn't as concerned about nutrition. Can you supplement with substantial liquids?

Good luck!

S. Botana
Host mom and Local Childcare Coordinator with Cultural Care Au Pair

it could be a sensory thing, call and see if you can have an occupational hrapist eval him.

My daughter's almost 12 months and we have had the same problem. She especially hates any fruit or vegetable "chunks," although she'll eat them fine pureed. So I've been giving her veggies still pureed, so I know she's been getting some, and have been giving her other things to pick up, the things I know she'll tolerate. For her, it's mostly carbs: pasta spirals, toast, grilled cheese sandwich pieces, beans. She does like beet chunks, for whatever reason. Probably that they're messy...

I keep offering her other chunky foods, but she always spits them out. As other moms said, I have tried offering her chunks of what I'm eating, since she's so interested in my food. We've given her Thai curries, rice pilaf with chicken, roast veggies, etc. this way. That has helped fool her into thinking she's getting something exciting, esp. if it comes from my plate on a fork. She generally tries/eats these. She still will spit out anything slimy, though, even from our plate - especially peaches, bananas, avocado chunks. We've definitely had to stick with less "mushy" chunky food.

Just keep trying.......every child is different. Mine did not transition to food w/"pieces" until he was almost 3, it was and continues at 8 to be a texture issue....we feel (not diagnosed) that he is slightly autistic........try giving him all the "toddler" foods, cut up banana, cheerios, melon in a mesh starter food bag. He WILL eventually eat these foods. The only other option if YOU don't want to continue to feed him "baby" food is stop those altogether and when he is hungry, he WILL eat.

My son used to gag if I mixed too much cereal with his baby food. He actually threw up once or twice. Don't force it. When he's ready he'll do it. My son was still get baby food at his first birthday, then one day he just decided to eat table food. I always offered him some of what I was eating, but just left it up to him. If he didn't eat it I'd open up a jar of food. I did use the 3rd foods, they are kind of chunky. But even those were an adjustment. If I tried to force him to eat something he just got upset and became even more adament about not eating it. He'll come around.

J. try feeding him some apple sauce along with his solid food on the spoon a little bit at time and then if that work buy some baby desert in the jar it work for me

I have a friend whose now 4 yr old started out that way and now has about 5 foods he'll eat, it's some kind of sensory issue. He has been in therapy for a couple years, it's slow going, I would talk to your pediatrician.

How about dole cut peaches, applesauce. We used to give our daughter fish sticks and spaghetti, yogurt, cheese. If your 13 month old is still having problems just wait and try again in a week or 2.