Okay, We went from breastmilk to bottle and formula. (I dried up early) She did fine and even thrived a bit better on the formula. (soy based) We started cereal and fruits. It took a lil bit but she was eating with gusto. We tried some veggies, I had to mix it with some cereal as she didnt like the soupy texture. She likes turkey, and little finger foods that she can grab. However for the past 3 weeks, meals are like war. She simply refuses cereal and fruit. She wants to handle the spoon, so I give it to her and she tosses it to the floor. I give her some cut up pieces of fruit or finger foods and they wind up on the floor as well. Then the fit ensues until I hand over the bottle. Now breakfast used to consist of fruit and cereal and then an 8 oz bottle. Now she is demanding *2* 8 oz bottles and refusing everything else. Frustration does not even begin to describe how I feel. She winds up upset and so do I. It has even gotten to the point that when she is put in the high chair the fit starts. We were doing SO good with eating but now this reversion back to the bottle only has me baffled and upset. She will go through almost 16 oz in a sitting and I am worried that A: that is too much for her tummy and B: she isnt getting complete nutrition that she needs to at this point from bottle only. We are both tired and cranky... please help!
THANK YOU everyone for your suggestions. After trying lots of them it happened quite accidentally that there we were trying yet again to eat, when I happened to sneak a spoonful of whatever I had in my hand into her mouth. She stopped... looked... rolled it around her mouth for a moment and opened wide to get some more. The accident, it was a jar of turkey... and it was right out of the fridge. COLD. I thought EWWWWWWWWWWWW but now we refrigerate everything and she gobbles it down like she cant get enough.
THANK YOU ALL!
Hi,
I had the same problem with my first daughter, the doc said not to worry about it too much. He said untill they are a year old they should get most of there nutrition from the bottle. Just give her a break and try again after a couple weeks. If she is having too many bottles try adding a little bit of cereal in the bottle if she will take it. Good luck and patients.
Crap! I'm sure that's what you feel daily!
Before I can give out any advice, I want to know what you are feeding your daughter. Does she like it? (I often thought it was silly, but still, my son spits out peas, can only tolerate soy, and picks broccoli over pizza)
I take the approach that there is something out there she will take. Perhaps the "tough love," this is what you get, works for some, I would just keep trying.
Not a lot of help, but here if you need me!
I have an 11 month old and can somewhat relate to the fits you are describing. First, I would reccomend strongly encouraging a sippy cup. When I feed my daughter, I offer her the cup in between bites. I also have the problem where she wants to handle the spoon herself. So, I make sure she has something on her tray she can feed herself so she can hold something while I give her bites. We started with the "puffs" that are made to dissolve easily in baby's mouths or biter biscuits while I fed her baby food or cereal, but have moved onto "people" food. For example, I have goldfish crackers on her tray while I feed her spaghetti-os or I put graham snacks on her tray while I feed her applesauce. She also loves little pieces of cut up fruit or vegtables. I recently have tried tater tots and chicken nuggets and she loved those too, but those are probably too solid for your little one.
For breakfast, I usually give her a bottle (we are doing 1/2 formula 1/2 milk now to try to transition off forumla) and then she and I share a yogurt. Then, after morning nap, I put her in her chair and let her play/eat with a banana before bath time. I don't worry about messes at feeding time and just deal with it after. I also try all kinds of juices and sugar-free koolaid in her sippy so she has grown to get excited about her cup.
But 8 months old is still so small, maybe don't fight her so much on it... I think what is most important is to enjoy this time together. There will be plenty of time for other foods.
I have the opposite problem. My 9 month old only wants food and no bottle. And as I understand she needs the nutrients in the bottle, DHA etc.... I go to give her the bottle and she cries and only wants spoon food. So 1st thing in the morning I give the bottls 1st and before she goes to bed. It's a hard thing to manage. Good luck.
D.
Hi Vanessa,
I would have to agree that she might be reacting off of your reactions! So when she throws things on the floor try not to get upset and see what she does then.
As far as wanting to hold the spoon, what works for me is I give my 10 month old a spoon to hold while I sneak bites in with the spoon I'm holding. It kinda gives her the idea that she's feeding herself.
My daughter also refused fruit for a long time! She wouldn't take anykind of fruit for months, I think it was because some fruits can be very acidic and this didn't settle well in her tummy, so I fed her vegetables and mixed dinner type baby foods. Try giving her the thicker baby foods like sweet potatoes and squash, or even mashed potates, the soupy baby foods don't give her the feeling of being full as much. This might be why she wants the bottle beacause she knows it will fill her tummy.
Also I would try pushing the sippy cup first and if that doesn't seem to help. Then give her a break for a couple of days and then try to start all over again with the foods. Don't worry about her not getting enough nutrition for now, she's getting all she needs from the formula.
I really hope this helps you!
M. F.
V.,
Hi I feel your pain my son went through the same thing. It was so frustrating. But I was persistent it was not a battle I was willing to lose. So what I did was when it was time to eat I would make an 8 oz bottle and get his food ready. He would start with the bottle and then about half way through he would see the food and I could sneak a few bites in. Then he would put the bottle down and eat his food and then finish with the bottle. Also i would give him his own spoon to play with. After a while i could get him to eat first and then have a bottle if he wanted it. Try this and see if it works. Good luck :)
My first thought is maybe a tooth is making it's way in and so chewing anything is just not fun right now. Or maybe she's just feeding off you and your reaction when she throws the food to the floor. Try to show absolutely no emotion. Don't even say anything just give her a little bit more food and see what happens. Keep up the no emotioinal response. If she's just wanting to see your reaction, she might get bored with the no emotional response and start eating again. These are just some random thoughts. I too by no means am an expert. It's all on the job training for each child! Hope the mess clears up soon.
J. R.
Dear V.,
They do make these thing that look like bottles but are made specifally for cereal, baby food, be it fruit, veggies or meat from a jar. Mabey if you try that just for a little while till she gets over what ever is going on in that little head of hers. I also would defnitly talk to your pediatrican or Dr. and see what he thinks. I might even try putting her fruits cereal in the 8 ounce bottle of milk and making the nipple hole bigger that way she will still get her milk and whatever else in there also. It's worth a try just to see what happens but I did actually use the smaller one made for the fruit cereal veggies etc and she would suck it right down. Those are the neatest inventions and they have like 3 different nipple size holes. It's not worth fighting over and it just makes it worse to try to force them to do anything and I'm sure eventually she get over it once she realizes it won't be a fight. Then you both can have some peace. Let me know how things work out. If all else fails try Ensure as that has all the vitamins she would need. ____@____.com.
I just had a thought, you might have the Doc look at her throat as once my son absolutely refused to swallow his food and ended up throwing up becuse I kept putting it in and his cheeks kept getting bigger and then blah it all came out. It turned out he had strep throat and an ear infection. Pretty soon you might start on using a sippy cup also as bottles are known to cause those darn ear infections if they lay down with them. Also try a different variety as when we eat the same thing over and over it gets boring, not saying your doing that but I had one son that just wanted cereal and banana's in his bottle with the milk and nothing else for a while.
HI! First of all we are all a little bit nuts. Insanity is inherited, we get it from our kids! Anyway, I had the same problem with my oldest. She just stopped eating one day when she was about the same age. For breakfast I would have to give her an 8oz bottle first then sit her down to eat her solid food. She was so hungry when she woke up that she couldn't wait for the food to start filling her up. With my second one I finally had to put the cereal and food in her bottle and give it to her that way. Hope this helps and good luck.
Hi V.
She could be just getting bored with baby food. You might try some actual food,(not just cereal), anything she can hold in her hands. Cherios, Graham cackers, rice cakes (they come in many flavors, cheese, apple) anything that she can hold in her hand, and gum and disolve easily. Yogurt(let her use the spoon, she and the high chair will clean up afterwards), mix some cereal in with the yogurt or cottage cheese, cheesce slices,canned or frozed veggies (peas and carrots). She can eat these things with her fingers. Let her taste what everyone else is eating for dinner, just give her very small bite and cut it up well or use food processor. Meatloaf, scambled eggs, some cream pie for desert, there is a lot you can try a little taste at a time. Let her play with the cherios, let her use the spoon, then sooner or later there will be tantrums about potty training, or not taking naps anymore, because that usually how it goes.
