My 10 1/2 Month Old Will Not Let Me Feed Him Solids!

C., I had the same problem with son who is now 13. He never did eat baby food. He went straight from breast milk to solid foods such as mashed potatoes, grits, eggs, and other soft foods. He is a well rounded and healthy teenager. Call me if you like ###-###-####.

C.,

When my 3 kids went through that stage, I put large garbage bags under the chair, vinal tablecloth on the table, took off their clothes, turned up the heat (in winter) and just let them feed themselves. I also learned not to watch because it was hard not to react when they were messy. (I just knew it would be cleaner if I took the spoon away.) I endured it for a couple of months and they got good enough at it that we could go back to normal eating. I will say that if they start throwing food or shampooing their hair with it, they are no longer hungry and need to be removed from the table.

Also, look for foods that stick to the spoon (like oatmeal, mashed potatoes or foods mixed with baby cereal.) My youngest is 18 months and I still drain his chicken noodle soup. He gets the noodles with a spoon in a bowl and the broth in a cup. He also did better with a fork before trying the spoon. (You can find plastic ones with dull points in the baby section of the store.) My kids also prefer a booster seat on a regular chair over a highchair by age 1. (It gets younger with each kid because they don't want to be different from everyone else.)

No where is it written that you HAVE to feed them baby food. At this age, your baby could easily just eat soft table foods.

Best of luck,
S.

Try giving him his own spoon and use another one to feed him. My son was really independent and did so much better when he thought he was feeding himself. Also, don't sweat it, he'll eat when he's hungry. Maybe he needs to eat smaller more frequent meals and a bottle or two less during the day.

C., I think you need to give that boy finger foods and he will feed himself. Apparently he has a mind of his own. I am sure he has teeth by now. Give him green beans, cheese sticks, those little baby food sausages in the jar. Banana's are good. I believe he will eat if you do that.

My son was very independent so feeding him was not an option. I had to learn to let him do it himself. And he never ate baby food. Hated it from the first day. We switched to the toddler foods that are bite sized. I found that leaving a small dish of finger foods on the coffee table helped. He played in the living room most of the day and if the food was there he would take a bite now and then. He never sat down to eat a real meal until he started daycare.

Talk to your doctor and as long as he's healthy, don't stress about it. Let him control what and when he eats. Strip him down to the diaper and let him have at it. Accept the mess and just go with it.

Is it a control issue? My daughter will not let you feed her. She will sit in her high chair and try to feed herself, no matter how hard the paticular food is to get on a spoon or fork. She would rather go hungry than let someone else feed her.

You didn't mention why your son has to be off the bottle and on solids in two months. My son's tummy couldn't handle milk until he was about 16 months old, so we stayed on formula till then. (On the doctor's advice.) Some brands are designed specifically for toddlers. Also, I've come to realize that when they are hungry enough, they'll eat. It's a good way to teach them not to be picky eaters.

Have you tried letting him play with a spoon while he eats? Also, at this age, he should be able to pick up some foods. Have you tried getting him more involved in the process? Maybe what he objects to is not getting to help. I found that giving my daughter a spoon of her own as well as some foods she could pick up kept her occupied and allowed her to participate, and she took bites that I was giving her as well.

good luck
L.

I agree with one of the other moms talk to his doctor at this age they should be getting 2 1/2 serving of vegetables and fruits of baby food. My son didn't have a problem eating baby food, but eating solids. He was cocking alot, and we had to work with him, and work with him. My husband had to show him and put it in his mouth and then our son would slowly learn. He is 10 months old now and he only has 3 bottles a day (15oz). Our son is a very healthy eater but wasn't a strong solid food eater and is still just learning. But I believe by this age they are supossed to be eating 3 meals a day of rice ceral and baby food. Talk to his dr b/c he could be possibly not getting the right nutrients from only eating formula.

I have a daughter that is about the same age as yours. She is also going through the same issues. I am following the same advice as what the other person wrote and it seems to work. I also can't put my daughter in her high chair...she refuses to eat and will only cry if I put her in it. So I feed her sitting up on the floor in front of me. She eats so much more. She may want to play some with things that are around her for a little bit but she comes back for a few more bites.
Hang in there. I think it's an independence thing that they are going through.

try regular foods as this may be what hes craving such as french fries - mash potatoes and peas and such. some babies while in the womb aquire there mothers cravings and tastes. and the solids will not hurt them unless to spicey.

First off, talk to your pediatrician. That is very important. I read somewhere that some children that refuse solids have a texture issue with foods and it could be something more serious like acid reflux or IBS etc etc...
I also had trouble with my now 16 month old son and transitioning him. He started to refuse baby food at around 8 months and all I could give him was formula. He was getting enough nutrients from that but it had me worried. I was able to give him the dry plain (not sugar coated) cheerios. He LOVED them. So if that is all he ate then I was okay with it. I also started introducing soft cheese. He ate that as well. I noticed when we all ate together that he would "eye" mine and my husbands food and reach for it an make noises. So I decided that it was time to move to table food and I just did it slowly. I got a lot of questions from co-workers and daycare teachers as to "wow, he is on table food already?" and I said well he refuses to eat baby food anymore.
What you also have to remember is that their stomachs are very very small so the small amount you are giving him off your plate may fill him up. You also need to think about that if he just had 8 oz of formula and then you are trying to feed him solids, he is already full. Talk to your pediatrician first but it may be that he is filling up on the amount of milk and juice and water ounces you give him in the day and he doesnt want anymore. Cutting back on the ounces and adding more solids might be the answer but please please talk to your pediatrician first because like I said... I read somewhere about if babies have an aversion to textured foods that there could be something more serious going on.
Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Dear Celete,

Hi I was reading your story and I have worked in daycare for many years and I have come across several babies with the same issue with foods, baby foods, etc. The only thing I have seen that works is to not stop offering it to him. Offer it to him just like you would expect him to eat it. Encourge it as much as possible. Always eat with him too. If he sees that eating is good and that you do and everyone else does, they eventully want to do it too. I am not sure if you have any kids his age that he can see them eating as well. Just keep offering it to him. I sounds ugly but wing the bottle away. When he is hungry he will eat. I have had children even gag on the food but they told us to keep offering it to him. NOw he is 3 years old and I very very good eater. Good Luck!!

My middle daughter wounldn't eat solids either. She was stricly breastfed. Let me tell ya... that got annoying. But, I would always offer her foods that we ate and she eventually ate what we ate. She never did like baby foods. She was, and still is, a big meat eater. Try offering him foods before a bottle and let him feed himself. Or wean him from the bottle and try a sippy cup. Maybe he is getting too much formula and is to full to eat.