Hello mommies...I am so frustrated and I am hoping for some advice or someone who is dealing with the same issue. My 11mo old loves her formula but she refuses her solids 80% of the time. This is such a constant thing it gets me so frustrated I want to scream. She screams and pushes the spoon away almost every time. I've resorted to putting the food in her mouth when it's wide open while she's screaming and sometimes once she gets a taste she'll continue to eat. My husband is just as frustrated and she does the same thing with him. By the time he's done trying the food is everywhere but in her belly! The funny thing is that our sitter manages to get her to eat most of the time. I asked her what her trick is and she just said sometimes they refuse the parents because they know they can...she's got no secrets, she basically feeds her the way we do. Today I got so frustrated I kind of slammed the bowl down and walked away. My baby started crying and I felt horrible!! I worry she's not getting all her nutrients although she still drinks her formula like crazy. Any ideas? Thanks so much!
She's playin' ya! Act like you don't care whether she eats or not, and I'll bet she starts eating. If she's drinking her formula, she's getting her nutrients. Also, is she feeding herself finger foods? Maybe she doesn't like to "be fed" and letting her do it herself might be better.
My son was completely uninterested in any food besides breastfeeding and then milk until he was two. He was healthy, growing well and happy, so I decided not to sweat it. We did try and always had food to offer, but I trusted that if he needed more nutrients his body would crave it.
At two he started eating and he is just fine.
I would say relax if she is happy and healthy. She is eating with the babysitter, she is getting some solids already.
Breathe mamma. We've all been there. Maybe she is ready to move to finger foods? If she is refusing foods after about 10m, put her down. Wait about an hour and try again. When she is hungry she will eat. It just may not be on your schedule.
Also, cut back on the daytime bottles that are around table time. If her belly is full of formula, then she won't want to eat. When it was meal time, we always did food first, then drink.
M.
I was about to say that maybe it is a texture thing, but you said she will eat for the sitter, so I would say that yeah, she is figuring out what she can get away with with you.
By 11 months old, she should be starting on some foods that require some chewing - try offering her some Cheerios or blueberries or cooked noodles. Also try having her feed herself with the spoon, as messy as it may become. My daughter was feeding those things to herself at that age and also starting to try to feed herself jarred baby foods with a spoon.
Keep all emotion out of it and keep offering her the food without it turning into a battle or letting her see you get frustrated.
Maybe she doesn't want to be fed anymore? Have you tried putting some finger foods down for her and see what she does? Things like banana pieces , strawberries , crackers etc. I know it is frustrating but the last thing you should do is get stressed and anxious and show her how much you want her to eat , they pick up on that and this makes it more a battle of wills , the sitter is just the sitter , she has no emotional ties to your daughter so it doesn't bother her either way if she eats or not , your daughter picks up on that and majority of the time eats.
Relax and hang in there , it's a normal phase at this age and it will get better , also DO NOT offer her alternatives if she won't eat something , you really do not want to head down that path , if she won't eat what you have made , then take it away and let her go without , offer it again in 15 mins or so and then take it away if she still won't eat , she has her formula anyway so she won't starve , but she will learn that you are the boss and she eats what she is given.
Kim,
Were it breastmilk, I would say she's getting everything she needs. However, just because it is formula and she's not, doesn't mean you HAVE to start forcing foods. Try Dr. Sear's books; she may have moved part of her attitude into toddlerhood already ; )
When she is interested, play it up. When she is not, give her her bottle.
Leave the tricks, games, etc. out of food altogether - you can do more 'damage' that way than by simply just feeding her at her own speed.
She will not starve herself.
You can, however, disguise things. : D Had I needed to, all I would need to do would be to put veggies mixed with pasta and my son would have inhaled them.
Good luck,
M.
What kind of food you giving her. Try carrots, squash, and mix w cereal if she likes it she will get full.w the cereal. Somthing that not nasty
she's clearly being stubborn-they do that!
My daughter refused to let me feed her at that age-she only ate finger foods.
My son didn't want to use a spoon so I gave him some ice cream and a spoon and walked away. He figured out a spoon and then transfered that knowledge to other foods.
Easy solution. Finger foods on her high chair tray and let her feed herself.
Just do not make meal time a battle.
How much formula is she getting? I'd cut down and see if that makes a difference. She should be truly hungry when offering solids. Like other posters said, try finger foods.
we went through this when our little one was 10months old so we basically took the food away every time she refused. When she'd look for food, we'd offer the same food. Some day it was 7pm before she would eat, but after a week, she ate it when it was offered. Cruel maybe, but she ate it when she was hungry enough
Feed her BEFORE she gets a bottle or breast. And dont fight with her. She is realizing she can control you, the same way she drops stuff off her high chair and you pick it up..over and over. As other have said give her finger foods and also a spoon when you are trying to feed her. Let her help. It will be messy but she will learn.
