Solid Foods - Portland,OR

I would suggest that you do away with the baby food all together. He's 1 and should be eating table food. There's nothing wrong with mashing the table food up until he gets used to the texture of things. Before you serve it to him, mash it with a fork. You can even thin it down with a little bit of water. How long have you been trying to get him to eat the chunkier foods? It can take little ones quite a few times to get used to and accept something new.
I would also bring it up at his 1 year well check.

My son... has been picky with food since he was 6 months old starting solids.
He is now almost 4 years old. And for me, I never battle about foods, nor stress about it. He is healthy and grows like a weed and is in the 97-98th percentiles for growth and weight, anyway. Despite his picky eating. He is picky in terms of the texture AND the kinds of foods...

At his age now... he eats more things. I don't 'cater' to his food likes/dislikes. But I KNOW him... and what he will eat. I also rather have a kid that knows their body cues and feelings of 'fullness' versus just eating to 'please' me.
I don't battle about it.
My son, naturally eats more variety now. Most kids will as they get older. But even in the easiest kids who eat anything, they TOO have eating likes/dislikes. My daughter eats anything... but has spurts of food dislikes.
They have their own taste buds...
Its fine.

I never bribe/force/punish for eating.... I go by their cues.
I don't make eating a battle.

My son, only this week, started eating peaches and asparagus. Great!
All on his own and his own curiosity.

Also yes, texture is something babies/kids go by as well. Each kid being different. Their whole sense of foods/textures are STILL developing. That is why.

Of course at this age, they may need to eat pureed foods,or for safety. It does not matter how many teeth they have. Foods can still be a choking hazard no matter how many teeth you have. So go by his cues....
or instead of 'chunks', feed him mashed pieces, instead of strictly 'pureed.' Maybe that will be a transition texture thing, for him....

Or ask your Pediatrician... if you want to rule out anything...

all the best,
Susan

When our babies aren't eating what their peer babies (those born near the same time), we often get a bit worried. But never fear--your son actually knows what he is needing. My little fella wasn't interested in solids until nearly 8 months, and we did pureed smooth baby food for a LONG time, up until nearly 13 months or so. I'm still unsure what it was about the chunkier food he tried--likely, the texture, but it really took a while for him. Happy ending, however--he's three now and a great eater. We let him show us what he needed, tried more sophisticated (less pureed) foods every so often, and didn't force it, because mealtimes really should be pleasant. Good eating habits are often developed slowly and our experience was a lovely confirmation that my son knew what he needed. He likes all sorts of foods now, and I think he's more willing to try things because we don't force it.

All that to say, don't worry, this is a very small part of your son's development. Likely, in a year, you'll wonder why you were so concerned in the first place--and there will likely be a new question-mark dangling in the air about your son's development. Most of the developmental milestones and recommended ages come from people who don't know your child. You do. So, unless something seems *really* wrong, relax and let your son take things at his own pace. There's actually a pretty broad spectrum of "right" times for sitting, standing, crawling and talking--same for eating. I hope this helps!

Hello J.,

It has been a few years since I was feeding a one year old, but here is what I remember. It takes between 20 to 30 tries for a child to "like" a food that they dislike from the beginning. AND like you said, it is a texture thing.

I highly recommend the book "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron It was my book of choice when it came to baby foods. I'm not a great cook, so this book was a must have for me.

It taught me how to make my own food and freeze it. When you grind your own food, you not only avoid all the added water that processed food has, but it is rich in vitamins and minerals that can be lost just from time. This is another way to change the texture as well, fork mashed potatoes is a lot more chunky then mill mashed potatoes and you can do both, place them on a plate together and hand feed your little boy. Starting with the mill mashed and then adding a small amount of fork mashed. Same thing with sweet potato, pears, peaches.

You nailed it on the head when you said it is a texture thing, he'll be okay. 17 year old boys don't go to high school with pureed carrots in the backpacks. :)

Positively,
M.

I think it's fairly normal. My son is 10.5 months and he just started eating, like this week, finger food. My daughter was totally different and she would anything you put in front of her, had no teeth and would go to town at 8 months! I have a whole freezer full of homemade purees...too bad I can't send them to you! ;) Anyway, I talked to his pediatrician about it (the lack of feeding himself) at the last visit and he said it's in the normal range for kids to take up to 12-18 months to eat finger food. It is on the long end, but still within normal range. I think it seems more common for boys (this is totally just my observations/opinions) to have these puree issues as I know a few others that took past 12 months to warm to the idea of feeding oneself. My son would not have anything to do with it until one day he just decided that he wanted to and it's history from there. So, don't be surprised if one day he just does it. Keep offering him foods that you think he likes and maybe it will happen. Also, keep a stock of puffs, cheerios, goldfish on hand and give him those while you're preparing his meals to get him used to it. My son always ate those even if he ate no other finger foods.

My son is turning one in two weeks. He also hates texture. I give him level 3 baby food but I have to grind it up even more or he will gag. I tried to make it more chunky once and he gagged so bad he literally threw up. I am trying to make his food less pureed that last couple of days and he's doing okay but I can still tell he is not liking it. Today I tried feeding him some zucchini bread, they are not super chunky but at least it's food that's not pureed and he ate it with no problem.

Maybe you can start with softer food like you did with bananas but instead of making cubes out of them , try mashing them coarsely and see if he will take it. Just gradually make his food chunkier and chunkier and see if he will get used to it. I think peas would be a good thing to try on him too as well as mashed potatoes. Avocado would also be another good heathy food to let him try since it is pretty soft already when ripen.

My son on the other hand only has two teeth that didn't even look like they have fully grown out yet. We have been hesitant in feeding him what we eat because he has so little teeth.

Good luck !

He's not quite one, so he is fine. Have you thought about feeding him off your plate? Just mash up what you can the things you are eating. Also, tear up chicken or other things that have texture into super tiny pieces that can be chewed or simply swallowed without chewing. They want real food and they want to have what everyone else is wanting at this age. By making everything super tiny, he won't activate his gag reflex and he will get to participate in the meal. As he become more accustom to eating with you, you can add more food and slowly make the tiny pieces into tiny chunks and eventually you will be serving up bite size pieces that he will chew up on his own. He just needs to develop the skills with practice and by watching and eating with you. You are doing just fine, but I see no need to continue with baby food. If you are still struggling, I can do a video for you and show you how I am introducing the food to my babies.

Some kids are just funny about textures. Out of 3 kids, my last one would suck the puree off of any junior food given and out pops the chunks from his mouth. It took time and persistence on my part. I eventually only served small chunk foods for lunch and dinner and hunger took over. He loved mashed potatoes, but no gravy, had to be butter. Oatmeal or rice cereal for breakfast. One is still pretty young, you've got time and he will adapt. It's just something new in his mouth and it takes time.