What to feed my 9 month old?

Question

My 9 month old son is not a big fan of "people food" unless it's shredded beef, chicken or turkey. He's only 17 lbs 13 oz at 9 months old and I want him to gain some weight. He's active and almost never gets sick, but he only wants formula, 2nd foods, and those little gerber puffs. I've tried the diced fruits and veggies and he spits them out. He's tried things like mac n cheese and grilled cheese and liked them the first time, but won't eat them a second time. What can I do to get him to eat more table foods? He wil be 10 months old soon and I don't want him to end up a year old and still wanting baby food.

Answer 1

I wouldn't worry too much, especially about his weight. My 2 year old is only 25lbs and he has always been small, but he eats like a horse. I laugh that he's a human garbage disposal lol. But in all honesty I'm sure he's fine. Kids go through spells where they love things and then the next week they hate them. Just keep trying to introduce foods to him, and try and re-introduce those that he has turned down before. I would try giving him a vegetable soup, or chicken noodle soup, because they are still mushy enough that he shouldn't have problems eating them and yet they have a lot of vitamins. I would also give him his own plate/bowl and spoon and eat at the same time as him, but let him do it himself...encourage him but let him do it himself. Sometimes kids turn down foods because they just want to do it themselves and be indpenedent, it's okay for him to get messy and it just teaches him eye hand coordination, and fine motor control. Of course since he's only 9mths most of the food will end up on his forehead or up his nose,but eventually some will get in his mouth. Good luck with everything, and try not to be concerned.

Answer 2

Shredded beef, chicken & turkey are good choices. If I were you, I would start with some fruits that are sweet and Fresh. Buy organic fruits & veggies and cook them to the right consisteny for him to be able to handle well. Babies that age are fussy, the best thing you can do is to keep offering a variety of foods. He will start eating more, but if you push him too much it could cause him to protest even more. If I were you I would contact the pediatrician. They will often answere questions like these over the phone, and are certainly the most up to date on nutrition for young children. They are there to answer your questions!

Answer 3

Well I have never offered baby food to mine always "people food" but up until 10 months he would only eat a meal once a day every other day or so. This is perfectly normal.

In fact formula has more calories than any other food you can offer, so any food that takes away from the amount of formula *may* decrease the rate of weight gain.

I understand that because most formula feeding parents are actively trying to wean their kids at one year (an impossiblity by the way) you will be trying to get him to eat three meals a day. But that isn't really necesary for proper nutrition. And many doctors are recommending formula until at least 18 months and only to start taking it away if they are eating a balanced diet AND they have high iron levels in a blood test.

Also my son prefers large pieces of food because he can control how big a piece he gets.

My best advice: Eat well yourself and just let your son eat off your plate. That way you can't measure as much how much your son eats and it will take the stress off you. Also if he is eating off your plate he will want to copy you more than if you feed him food seperately. However don't make food a battle both you and your son will loose if you do that.

Answer 4

My daughter has eaten gerber graduates along with other homemade food (basically whatever we have for dinner) since she was 6 months. Anything that is soft (pasta rice veggies ect) can be finger foods. Eggos has mini waffles and my daughter eats 2 very lightly toasted mini's for breakfast. I just tear em into little pieces. Kids can eat any food basically (not seafoods ect.) but normal foods as long as it is soft and small. When we have another baby I am going to skip purees and all that crap and wait until 6 months and just give them real food. It is so much easier and tastier. Dont heat up the gerber stuff in the containers they come in though. They are packaged in #7 plastic, and that is the one that is the most harmful with BPA and PVC. I still use them, I just heat the food in a regular bowl, not the one the come in.

Answer 5

Maybe your little one is an "over taster" which means that a lot of foods will taste bitter to him.
try him with foods which are more bland. Veggies and fruits can both taste bitter to over tasters. If he likes the gerber shredded beef, chicken, and turkey(all very bland tasting...no salt...) he may also like plain mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs (a good source of protien), and other "bland" foods....oatmeal maybe, and maybe a plain ritz cracker or some dry cheerios for a snack he can hold by himself? Good luck.

Answer 6

first of all, his weight is not an issue.. he's fine.. stop listening to the doctors and n urses telling you your child is too thin. Some kids are just fast metabolizers. Second.... wait till he's really hungry.. set down some mashed up mac n cheese or raviolli... let him eat it himself.. .he'll like that.. but at his age, you need to be careful with milk products that you may be giving him, as his body won't be able to tolerate it till just after his first b irthday. he'll come around to eating table foods soon enough.. have some patience and use the weaning technique.

Answer 7

I took care of my nephew since he was 3 months old.He was very much like your son,quite a fussy eater.He's 3 years old now and doing much better.
What I did was to prepare and serve the food with him.I sat down at the table,have the same food he was having and just ate along with him,'pretended' like we are out for a nice lunch or dinner together.It works for me.

Menu (I tried) :-

Baked fish nuggets (or lightly fried with olive oil) with
steamed peas,corn and diced carrots.
(I tried with tomato ketchup.He loves it!)

Mash potatoes with shredded chicken.

Home made pizza (tomato based & cheese topping)

Fish ball soup & rice

Chicken soup(with potatoes & carrots) & rice

Nutella on bread (cut into little squares)

Baked potato with cheese,shredded chicken and Marmite

Baked potato wedges with cheese or tomato ketchup,
and soya jelly.

Good luck!

Answer 8

my mom and grandma both do daycare and from what ive seen from them, give them the 2nd foods and try different fruits and veggies. chances are there has to be a few that the child will like =]

Answer 9

The rule of thimb is a baby should not be over double their birth weight in the first year.Sounds like he is probably on track.Sounds like you are doing a good job.If you want him to eat more regular food dont buy the other stuff.He will refuse to eat it as long as he knows you are going to give him the other stuff.

Answer 10

Try one of those chicken noodle soups they seem to love them and they have little pieces of chicken. You can also try steaming the vegetables especially cooked yams my son loves them because they are sweet!