Eating Question

I haven't read the other responses yet but felt I could answer this one......I believe she is probably just ready for milk and more juices....she is probably getting enough food and her body knows she doesn't need the extra calories...all my kids were on whole milk by 1yr.
good luck!

There is no need to continue with formula after one year, I think you are close enough to be safe. If you are really worried they sell all kinds of vitamin supplements that you can mix right in to a jar of baby food.

C.,
I have a "puny" 1 year old and a "chunky" 2 year old! It is my experience that children will eat what they need, just offer them healthy foods and try not to be too attached to whether they eat or not. At 11 mo. sometimes they start going away from them bottle. If you are worried, you can ask your ped. Also, try giving her fattening foods like cheese and avocado that are easy for them to eat at that age.
Try not to worry too much- Babies bodies (and kid's bodies) are remarkable- they will eat what they need! You are doing just fine!!
~A.

My daughter is also 11 months old and isn't crazy about her bottle. What she does love is regular food, not baby food. Here are some staples in her diet: toast, string cheese, cottage cheese, hummous, meat (turkey, ham, beef - anything that is tender enough for her to gum up), veggies (green beans, broccoli, zucchini, avocado), waffles, pancakes. She's not crazy about fruit, but we spread baby-food or apple sauce on toast.

Most of this is finger food and she feeds herself - O shaped cereal is a good start for finger food. We have experimented with different combinations and preparations to find what she likes. Bread is often spread with cream cheese, then topped with fruit puree. Zuccini is chopped and sauteed in olive oil with a little basil and garlic powder sprinkled on top. She loves strong flavors and isn't afraid to try new things. Give her whatever you are eating as long as it isn't a cholking hazard or allergy risk. Life is so much easier when you don't have to have separate food for baby and the rest of the family!

Keep introducing the new foods, NEVER force her to eat anything and make meal time fun social time, with the whole family at the table. She'll see how much you enjoy meal time and will follow your good examples. Good luck!

Hello C., My name is R.. I might be of some help to you. I am a mother of four amazing kids, all so vary different. My oldest girl was particularity hard to feed. Typically a child is eating jar food and baby cereals at about 6 months. Well she wasn't having anything to do with them and she started to no longer want her formula. I panicked, what was going on I wondered. Turned out that she had a sensitive pallet. She wouldn't eat anything mushy or slimy or creamy. Their wasn't anything wrong with her apatite she was just picky, Vary picky. I had to buy all kinds of fresh veggies and fruits and experiment with different recipes just to throw it all in a blender. It took me what I thought was forever but eventually I discovered what she liked and at what consistency she would eat it. Then when she got older I just added more ingredient's to allow for a more nutritional and filling diet. I went from apples and cinnamon finely blended, to apple and oatmeal cinnamon with small chunks, to full on cubes of apples with cinnamon and honey oat clusters. Just make sure to peel and core them completely and bake until vary soft. Well I hope I have helped some. So hang in their. Oh and you might want to try a thing called Veggie Puffs, and Fruit Puffs. They are sold at most grocery stores and come in a variety of flavors. but the best part is that they quick dissolve so their easy to eat. Even with just two teeth. Good luck.

Hi, C.. Your daughter sounds like she's ready for food. Been ready for awhile. I started feeding my son solid foods around 6-7 months. Their are lots of foods. Applesauce, cereal, oatmeal. Try looking at the store for foods for her age, they have a vast varieties of everything. By the time my son was 1 he was off formula and starting on regular milk. It's easy to get lost in the mommy's responsibilities. Their is soo much to do. Good luck and enjoy your time with her!
S.

Hi, my name is M.. I have two girls. They are two and three. My first ate the jarred baby food, but the second skipped right to regular food at six months. She refused to eat the jarred food. You could try the jarred food if you haven't already. That stuff is mushy and it doesn't matter if they have teeth. What I did for my youngest is mash up regular food and feed it to her, because you know at six months they only have one tooth, if that. She did fine. Talk to your dr. They usually stop the formula and bottle after 1 year old. Maybe she is weaning herself. I think at that point, it's not necessary anymore and they start on regular milk (introduced slowly of course because of allergies). My nephew weaned himself of breastfeeding right at that age. I hope this helps.

my daughter gave up formula at 10 months. try whole milk watered down a bit, my girl loved it.

I would suggest you try getting her on a cup and maybe she is old enough for cow's milk. If so, get whole fat and maybe make it chocolate to make her more interested. Get her whole fat yogurt and maybe use cheerios to snack if you haven't already. Babies and kids will do these things to you, just as you get in a routine it seems, then they want to change. Don't worry about her rejection per se, as long as she gets enough to eat. Baby food will help ensure she gets her nutritional balance. If you are still worried about her weight, I would suggest you talk to her Pediatrician who could further suggest a plan for her if needed, or reassure you she is just fine. Hang in there, you'll be fine. "This, too, will pass." I hope this helps.

C.

my opinion on the bottle/formula thing would be that she may be teething, and the sucking may be hurting her mouth. If I were you, I would try frozen washrags for the teething, if you want to add a little nutrition, try frozen bananas. They work wonders for a teething babies. Good luck!

C.,

You've gotten great responses already, I just want to add to them if I may. Kids go through their own little "growth spurts" as the one lady mentioned. It's completely normal for her to slow down on things. Maybe it's time for her to switch to whole milk and sippy cups? Some children progress sooner than others. I know my children actually started gaining weight after I took the milk away as much, they wouldn't get as full from all the milk and would eat more. Start with "mushy" foods, sweet peas, although watch the peals, cooked carrots mushed up, potatoes, and other items. I learned my kids would eat what I cooked for us better than the bottled foods since the seasonings were more to our own likings. And don't stress too much about her weight, my son was born with some health issues, didn't eat much, still doesn't eat very much, weighs 24 lbs at age 3, but is as tall as his fellow 3 year olds! They'll play catch up I assure you! And please keep in mind, whole milk has the add fat their little minds need to be healthy and smart. Best of luck and let us know if you need anything further! Mine are ages 11,8 and 3 so we've been there, my mom and mother-in-law were priceless on advice!

Hi C.,

I know that feeding my children was one of the biggest sources of stress for me when they were little. I guess it still is! If I remember correctly, my son wanted to nurse less right around that time, 10-11 months, and I figured that anytime he would want less food, he was probably done with his growth spurt for that moment. Another thing that I noticed is that he was distracted easily, and he would want to play rather than eat, which made mealtimes frustrating. I wouldn't worry about it too terribly much. I know you mentioned that your daughter is slender, but as long as she is following a healthy growth curve, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. My daughter was, and is still very petite. She stayed in newborn clothes and diapers until she was 4 months old, and stayed on the small side. She will be 2 in about three weeks, and she still only weighs just over 20 pounds. But she is healthy, so I don't worry about it. I just marvel at how petite and beautiful she is. So in the meantime, call your pediatrician if you truly have fears, and I'm sure he can reassure you that you're doing a great job. Good luck to you and your baby!

Enfamil makes a liquid vitamin you can stick in there milk
it's great my son doesnt even notice its in there it smells nasty but it helps him get the extra vitamins he needs

Renae asked a similar question a little over a week ago, so you might be able to get some good information from her responses.

You'd be surprised at what a variety your daughter can eat! You just need to make certain her food is soft and cut into tiny pieces. This is what I fed my 1 year old twins yesterday (one of whom doesn't have many teeth, etiher!)

First breakfast: Cheerios
Second breakfast: Banana Bread Instant Quaker Oatmeal and a mandarin orange fruit cup (with the oranges cut into bite size pieces.
Lunch: Plain spiral pasta, peas (frozen, thawed out under hot running water), Gerber meat sticks
Snack: Nilla Wafers and chopped up banana
Dinner: Macaroni and Cheese, carrots (fresh, peeled, chopped into bite size pieces and microwaved (covered) in a little bit of water for two minutes to soften them)
Second Dinner: Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli (just the florets - not the stems)
Before bed snack: some apples out of an apple pie

As long as the food is small and soft (and not hot or spicey, they can pretty much eat anything you do.

Hi C. -

When in doubt, I always found that the Gerber/Gerber Graduates line had good variety for every baby stage.

Also, there is a website/catalog called "One Step Ahead" that has great baby stuff - I remember that they carry this nifty little device that consists of a little mesh "pouch" with a handle on it. You can put just about any food you can think of in there, and your baby can chew on the bag, so the food squishes through the holes, but the holes are too small for pieces to get through so you needn't worry about choking.

Just some ideas! But yes - your daughter is overdue for food. Feed her! lol

-K.

My son wont eat as often when he is teething, especially his bottle. Could it be that?

Hi C.,
My son wasn't too interested in the bottle at that age either so I started feeding him more baby food. They have a pretty good selection these days and I think Stage 2 baby foods don't have big chunks of anything in them. Some experts say that at 1 year you can stop the bottle and I did. My son was and still is skinny for his age, but like I've heard so many times, they will eat when they are hungry, so I wouldn't worry too much. If you still think she needs breat milk or formula just mix it with cereal or maybe even give it to her in a sippy cup.
Hope that helps some.
K.