Refusing Baby Food - Highland,NY

My 11 month old daughter, we like to call her little miss independent, has been refusing most baby food since she was nine months old. She really likes to feed herself, so we just give her food that she can feed herself. We started out with lots of fruits and veggies, cut up. Often times we can sneak in some baby cereal if she has something to feed herself. We moved on to canned chicken and now she eats almost everything we do. We still give her cereal mixed wit a fruit or veggie. As long as you cut the stuff up he should be fine, especially with a couple of teeth. My daughter is still waiting on teeth, but has no problem chewing anything and everything we give her. It's kind of amazing :) Good luck!

Hi K.,
My son is 11 months. I think he started refusing baby food at 9 months. He wouldn't let me feed him and he had to do it himself. I buy Delmonte or dole fruit cups and rinse off all the syrup. My son likes waffles and pancakes. Bananna's, fish sticks and chicken nuggets. Meatballs or meatloaf. He also likes sweet potatoes,green beans and carrots. He has never liked peas. I keep trying but always a no. I've been trying to keep thinking of new things. He'll let me feed him applesauce,yo baby yogurt he loves! and Cottage cheese. I also buy the gerber graduates snacks. He just has to do it himself. My son has 7 teeth but all those things are really soft. Hopefully that gave you a couple ideas to try. Also Grilled cheese in tiny pieces he loves. Good luck!

our favorites, from 9 months on:
frozen foods- meatballs, meatloaf (i make them myself, then freeze them...i make the meatloaf in a muffin tin, bake them, then freeze them in a freezer bag--to reheat, 1 minute on high in the microwave and there ya go-healthy dinner or lunch!). you can puree any vegetable and add it to the meatballs and meat loaf to make sure they get their veggies.

i'll write more later.

It's pretty normal for a 10 month to refuse baby food. My son never wanted the stage 3 foods at all- and refused all baby foods after 8 months! Just go slowly, and keep an eye on your guy. Give him pretty much anything you're having, as long as you start small and mushy. And soon it won't even have to be small or mushy anymore!

Fruit is great- berries (try thawing frozen blueberries- he'll love them, and the skins won't be as tough), bananas, melon, very ripe pears, etc.

Canned grean beans and carrots (to start, then you can move to fresh/frozen)- canned is gross, I know, but it's really mushy and easy to eat for babies!

Oatmeal- let him feed himself!

Cheerios with a little milk

-frozen peas- just run them under warm water, no need to cook them. He'll love it!

-cottage cheese

-yogurt and kefir

-shredded cheddar cheese

-baked beans

-toast with jelly

-grilled cheese sandwich, cut into strips (take off the crusts for easy chewing)

-almond butter and jelly sandwiches (in strips)

-saltines dipped in hummos

Don't worry about him only having two teeth. As long as he's chewing, he'll be ok! (Teeth are overrated!) As long as you sit with him, he'll do great. Just try one food at a time, and see what he thinks. Hope some of these ideas help!

My daughter gave up baby food totally at 9 mos. She hated the stage 3's. Honestly, be glad, you don't have to prepare anything special anymore. He can eat the same things you do. We give my daughter canned peaches and fruit, because it's already cut to size and easy to give her when she's starving. Get some frozen veggies and go from there. If you give him pasta, make sure it's super soft, the same with rice. For meats I'd start with ground beef. But teeth has nothing to do with what he can eat. My mom ate apples at 2 without teeth.

my daughter now 9 months is doing the same thing and has been since about 7 months. She was eating all types of baby food when one day she decided to put a ban on it. She would not even let me near her with a spoon. But she will eat everything and anything she can self feed. Dr. told me its fine its really all about the experence, learning to do it herself and trying different textures. I now feed her almost everything we eat. I just cut things small and let her eat what she wants. Sample of foods she eats regularly: Canned pears, peaches, tangerines, smushed black beans, kidney beans, steamed veggies, brocc. carrots, toast, chesses, crackers latley spead with hummas on them, grilled cheese sandwich, pasta all types, loves ravolies and tortalini. There are tons of options to expand your little one diet, he may suprise you on what he can and will want to eat. My 3 1/2 year old followed the same patteren of refusing baby food and is doing great. Good luck hope this helps.

My son just turned ten months yesterday! There are so many options you can try... my little guy fortunately still eats some baby food, but really enjoys to self feed. For fruit options (as long as he mashes food well with his gums) try banana pieces... just plan on a bath when he's done! Bananas still contain quite a few carbs though, you can also try dicing up grapes- I cut them into eigth's! Just be careful with the skin, the fresher the grapes are the less trouble he should have. I have also cut apples into paper thin slices (no skin), yes it's a lot of prep work but your baby will love it! For veggies, your best bet is canned carrots. Maybe not the nutritional value of fresh, but easy to mash. Just about any vegetable cooked to be very soft can be served in small pieces. And, he gets to do it himself!
My son transitioned to adult food quite early, other suggestions for self feeding are little, mini sandwich squares- he eats tunafish and pb & j. I cut thin strips (no crust) and then into little squares, he loves it. Other adult foods he has transitioned into is spaghetti O's & meatballs, it squishes easily with a fork and they now contain a full serving of vegetables. (how cool is that?)
Chicken and stars soup is another good one. If you get creative enough, he can eat just about anything! But, be careful of one thing- iron levels. Try and make sure his food contains a decent amount of iron. It's hard during the transition obviously to give him meat or other iron rich foods, so try fortified ones. Adult oatmeal is a good one as well as those nutri-grain bars (obviously cut up). Keep an eye on labels to see what kind of iron levels it has. I only know this because my son's iron tested a little low at his WIC appointment and I had to find solutions! Also, scrambled eggs (finely chopped) are very iron rich, try a touch of ketchup and I am sure he will love them. Fruits and veggies are important, but iron is crucial. It sounds like he might be ready for more "big boy" food, but don't give up on the baby food just yet. My son eats both pretty well.
As he eats more food, he will probably drink less formula which is why iron is so important.
I hope this was helpful to you, this is my second child and even so, he is much different than my first! Good luck with your son, I am sure you will do fine!

sounds like he's ready to start feeding himself. You could still give him the baby food and hand him the spoon, he'll learn to feed himself. You can still give him fruits and veggies, even with just 2 teeth. I gave our son bananas, peaches, pear, baked apples, sweet peas, corn, green beans, etc. As long as everything is soft/small, he'll be fine. You could give him chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, pasta with or w/o sauce, waffles, french toast, mac-n-cheese, turkey, sweet potatoes. You can experiment and see what he likes as long as everything is small enough to chew/gum, and you avoid nuts and citrus for now I believe.

Good luck!
Lynsey

K.,

I am going through this same thing with my 9 month old. We went through foods relatively quick with her since she is my 2nd and really wanted to eat table food (my older child is 3 1/2 yo and my 9 mom would drool while watching my older one eat). She can self feed (and has been for about 6 weeks now).I give her basically everything we eat, just cut up really small. I do avoid things with any type of seafood, honey and too much sugar, limit her dairy as I just introduced her to it and make sure her meals are balanced. I use those mesh feeders to give her fruits (although they are very messy) and she enjoys that. I do have to help her with the sippy cup. She understands to suck, but does not get the idea of tipping the cup back yet. At times she will still accept baby food, but prefers finger food. I will mix the baby veggies with alot of the table food. For example instead of using tomato sauce on pasta, I will mix the pasta with squash or carrots. She doesn't know the difference and is getting an extra servings of veggies (I was able to do this with my son until he was about 2 1/2 and he final realized what I was doing). Good luck.

Why would he go back to baby food? Big Kid food is more fun to eat, and tastes better!

Some ideas for finger foods - firm tofu, scrambled eggs, strips of omelette, toast with jam. cheese (my baby preferred shredded), boiled chicken...and whatever you're eating, cut into managable chunks. Don't be afraid to feed him new spices, etc. It's SO MUCH FUN having a two year old that loves sushi, asparagus in black bean sauce and steamed fish! (plus, i don't have to cook a separate meal. bonus!)

I wonder if he connects not feeling well with the ear infections to the baby food. My daughters loved pears, peaches, steamed carrots, peas. Bananas & avacadoes are great. Of course cut the fruit into small pieces. I would buy bags of frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots,corn)which are great especially in a rush. My daughter use to love a bowl of the mixed veggies and just eat them with her fingers. Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes. Can he have eggs yet?? Scrambled eggs with cheese was always a hit. Toast cut into strips. Also,maybe if you pureed your own fresh veggies he may prefer the taste. He sounds like a terrific eater!

My son had no teeth at that age and ate almost everything (even steak) so don't worry. Just cut small bites. Try steamed Carrots, Green beans from a can are easy), peas, zuccini, squash, sweet potato cubes, yam, eggplant, really whatever you eat your baby should be trying. It is actually a good thing that he does not want jars anymore. Now, he will be able to develop his palate according to you. For chicken, I buy the portioned breasts that are individually wrapped (Stop n SHop has Natures Promise brand that costs less and is organic) and I just boil it in water for 10 minutes. Then I cut it up and it lasts 3 meals. Bananas, berries, melon, avocado cubes, are some favorites. This is a good thing for your son. Forget the jars. Give him things you make yourself. I have been doing it all along. If you like, e-mail me for more info.

K.,
Add the veggies that are hard to digest to stuff like pasta, and make a sauce out of it (like spinach or green beans to pasta sauce.) He can use a fork to spear the pasta, and he will be eating your (similar to anyway) food.

Things like green beans, spinach, carrots, etc. that are hard to digest can be added to other foods that are finger foods easily. They're a bit more messy, but the end result is better than not pureeing them at all.

Good luck,
M.

He could be limiting himself because he still does not feel well, but I wouldn't worry about him not wanting baby food. At 10 months old with two teeth, your son can eat any fruit or vegetable right off the table or pretty much any table food you have. Raw vegetable sticks are great for him to gnaw on. Apple slices, pear slices (or whole apples and pears--just take them away before he gets to the seeds). Steamed broccoli, steamed carrots, beans, cauliflower, squash, beets, asparagus tops, peas, etc. Wilted greens and lettuce can be difficult for babies to tear, so I would make sure that any uncooked leafy veggies are cut small enough for him to swallow. Meats and fish are ok too as long as they are cooked well and not too tough. Whole grains like rice, oats etc are good too. The only things I would suggest delaying giving your baby are things that family members are allergic to (for example if someone in your family is allergic to eggs, delay those for a while).

My daughter didn't get her first tooth until she was 13 months old, but she was eating all kinds of table food before that. We don't do a lot of carbs or dairy, and my daughter is allergic to soy, so she totally lives off vegetables. I think the only thing she wouldn't eat was lettuce.

Give him a bunch of different choices and let him have fun at dinner time :D

HI K.,
I use to use a food mill, you put fruit, veg, meat..... what ever you choose & turn the top while pushing down. Its sooo easy & allows you to give your son the table foods you want (& he wants!) and not have to worry about him being able to chew & swallow.
I never used baby jar food, the mill was thicker & healthier, also saves lots of money!

I bought it at Baby's R Us, forget what i paid, under $20.
Also the feeding bags are great. looks like a pacifier w/ a net you put food in. My kids loved frozen fruit in it. They could suck & chew the food & never choke. Great for the car!

Hope this helps,
A.