Why won't my baby eat his meals.?

Question

He is 9 months old. He used to be fine, no problems at all then he started to refuse his tea. I thought that this was because he was tired, so I started to make his tea earlier, which did work for a while. He then started to refuse his lunch and now even refuses his breakfast. He will drink his bottle no problems, and will eat small snacks. I have tried giving him a spoon which worked for a while now he throws it away, then I tried letting him have small chunks to feed himself as well as me feeding him this again worked for a while, but now he won't eat. He will eat yoghurts and fruit purrees but I dont want him to have these all the time and get used to just having these. I really dont know what else to do with him.

I did use jars, but now mostly cook my own meals for him and he has a wide variety so its not like he is bored.

And no 'welcome to motherhood' answers please, I am really not in the mood for them at the moment. I am getting worried now that he is not eating enough

I dont give him tea as a drink - tea means dinner/evening meal.

Answer 1

Firstly please dont worry so much, my little lad did the same thing i think it was just a phase because he is now 13 months and back eating propperly. I used to put rusks & liga in his bottle to make sure he was getting something at least, give yourself some credit you are donig all the right things, all i can say really is keep trying thats what i did and eventually he did start eating propperly again

Answer 2

If you're worried that he's not eating enough, then the first thing you should do is take this concern and call the pediatrician.

On a second note, you must remember that babies tend to go through phases. Phases where they will eat anything in front of them including a piece of lint off the floor and other phases where they will nit-pick at the food or just seem uninterested in eating all together. These phases come and go.

A few other things to consider...how soon you started him on solids. If it's been a recent introduction, then he might be rebelling in his own little way by favoring his bottle. Perhaps he's coming down with a little cold. They don't like to eat if they're not feeling good.

Is he pooping and peeing ok? If he is, then I'm sure there's really nothing to be worried about and more than likely it's just a phase. But by all means, if you're that concerned call the Pedi. None of us are doctors nor do we know your child as well as you do so if you feel his lack of eating is more than what I suggested, then you need to call the doc.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

I found that this is a phase children go through. When their hungry they will eat, it seemed to go with the growing phases with my son and it worried the hell out of me (Im a single dad so i do know what im on about, not just full of wind). Unless it continues and your child starts to lose weight , in which case i would see a doctor or health visitor, then try not to worry because the more you do the more it will show and the baby will pick this up and feeding will get harder not easier.

Answer 4

Just a thought - in some cultures the mothers chew the food for their babies. I tried this with mine, and it worked a treat.

From this distance (they're at secondary school now) I can't remember exactly at what age this was. I do remember, though, worrying that they weren't getting enough to eat, until someone told me to write down all the snacks - a bit of carrot, a yogurt etc. - you'll probably find he's getting enough.

I always found it helpful to think that my stone age ancestors must have gone through this, and asking myself what would they have done - admittedly not much use with this problem but useful with sleeping, for example.

Answer 5

Babies are peculiar little creatures. If they were to come with instructions, you can be sure that they wouldn't follow the rules like they're suppose to.

At 9 months of age, he should be eating some solid foods, but don't worry that he's not as long as he's still taking formula. Babies go through stages and they're never predictable so don't stress too much.

When he gets hungry he'll eat...just keep offering him a variety of foods and he'll come around. If you're still worried, contact your pediatrician and discuss your concerns with him. He may have some answers that I don't have. :-)

Answer 6

This is normal behaviour for a baby of this age. When he is hungry, he will eat. Making an issue out of it will cause more problems. Just leave food, finger food preferably of the fruit/veg/bread kind on his plate or tray and let him get on with it in his own time.

Don't worry - it will all be fine in the end. He won't starve. Babies at this age are still getting most of their nutrition from their milk - this remains the case at least until the age of 1.

Please don't reduce his milk intake as suggested below - this is dangerous!

Answer 7

oh i know how you feel my girl is 8 months and wouldn't eat hardly anything or drink her milk i was beside myself with worry.but she never woke at night never woke up really hungry the health visitor said they go through stages and some times just eat enough. she now eats OK not a big fan of tea and is still hit and miss with bottles. i was told to give vitamin drops to make sure that she was getting everything she needed don't worry (i know you will i still do sometimes) god bless xx

Answer 8

Is he loosing weight? are his nappies normal, is he pooing ok? if yes to these then maybe he is simply not hungry. Try cutting out a couple of daytime bottles - they could be filling him up. ie, give him solid breakfast and a bottle when you put him down for his nap, then solid lunch, maybe skip pm bottle and go straight to dinner (give him juice or water to drink) and then a bottle to bed. And dont give any food treats until after a meal.
And as per the answer above, no one is suggesting you cut out milk altogether but formula is a meal and could be filling your baby up so as he is not hungry enough to eat solids.

Answer 9

dont panic, as long as your baby is a healthy weight then just keep doing what you are doing. try to phase out the bottle slowly and introduce him to different foods each day. if he eats the same foods he will get bored of them of addicted to certain types and not want to try new foods.

try to cut back on snacks in between meals as this will meen when it comes to meal times he will be hungry. give it time, if you make a big deal out of it then so will he.

Answer 10

try giving him less bottles.he is only 9months old.and he may be filling up on the bottles.i have to admit im a parent and i have never heard of anyone giving their child tea.there is alot of caffeine in tea.when he wakes up in the morning don't give him a bottle, sit him down with a banana and some dried cereal like cheerios, if he does not eat then wait for about a half an hour and try again.if still nothing then give him a bottle.do the same thing for lunch and dinner.also if you are giving him a bottle late at night he may not be hungry when he wakes up.i hope this helps.