My 12 month old wont eat solids anymore?!?!?!?!?!?

Question

My 12 month old son is driving me mad!!!!! He has been on solid table foods for about 2-3 months now, I also give him bottles of milk throughout the day but hes to the point now where when I try to sit down and feed him he smacks me, smacks the spoon or whatever it is that I am trying to give him, the only thing he will take is a bottle of milk and I'm trying to wean him off the bottles of milk but there is no compromising with this kid he throws the bigeest temper tantrums and refusing everything then follows me around the house screaming at the top of his lungs and pinching my legs the second I stand still........ Please help me to get him back on table food and stop drinking so much milk all day and all night long.


P.S. No he is not teething!!! So this is NOT the issue!

Answer 1

He is smacking you because he WANTS TO DO IT HIMSELF.

Just let him eat whatever you are eating with his own little hands and he should be fine. If my baby could manage all table food at 7 months yours should be fine. Just don't expect him to be a master of spoon feeding yet. Also BIGGER pieces give them more control over how big a bite they take.

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.htmlUnderstanding the baby’s motivation
This approach to introducing solids offers a baby the opportunity to discover what other foods have to offer as part of finding out about the world around him. It utilises his desire to explore and experiment, and to mimic the activities of others. Allowing the baby to set the pace of each meal, and maintaining an emphasis on play and exploration rather than on eating, enables the transition to solid foods to take place as naturally as possible. This is because it would appear that what motivates babies to make this transition is curiosity, not hunger.

There is no reason for mealtimes to coincide with the baby’s milk feeds. Indeed, thinking of (milk) feeding and the introduction to solid foods as two separate activities will allow a more relaxed approach and make the experience more enjoyable for both parents and child.

Won’t he choke?
Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have learnt to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get the food into his mouth in the first place. On the other hand, the action used to suck food off a spoon tends to take the food straight to the back of the mouth, causing gagging. This means that spoon feeding has its own potential to lead to choking – and makes the giving of lumpy foods with a spoon especially dangerous.

It appears that a baby’s general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it. It is important to resist the temptation to ‘help’ the baby in these circumstances since his own developmental abilities are what ensure that the transition to solid feeding takes place at the right pace for him. This process is also what keeps him safe from choking on small pieces of food, since, if he is not yet able to pick up small objects using his finger and thumb, he will not be able to get, for example, a pea or a raisin into his mouth. Once he is able to do this, he will have developed the necessary oral skills to deal with it. Putting foods into a baby’s mouth for him overrides this natural protection and increases the risk of choking.

Tipping a baby backwards or lying him down to feed him solid foods is dangerous. A baby who is handling food should always be supported in an upright position. In this way, food which he is not yet able to swallow, or does not wish to swallow, will fall forward out of his mouth, not backwards into his throat.

Adopting a baby-led approach doesn’t mean abandoning all the common sense rules of safety. While it is very unlikely that a young baby would succeed in picking up a peanut, for example, accidents can and will happen on rare occasions – however the baby is fed. Rules of safety which apply in other play situations should therefore be adhered to when eating is in progress.

Answer 2

My best advice to you is limit the amount of milk you give him. Trust me your child will NOT starve to death. Sit him at the table at meal times with nothing to drink. When he says he needs a drink offer a cup of water, which will probably be refused. If he doesn't want to eat do NOT force the issue just let him get down. Do NOT give him a bottle at all during the day. He will eat by day 2 or 3. Make sure he gets plenty of water and he should be fine. At night change the bottle to a tippy cup of milk and he will be weaned before you know it. You are the adult do NOT let him manipulate you!!

Answer 3

If he's not teething (I don't see how this could be possible- this is THE prime teething time, hello, first year molars! Check again), then he probably has some issues with his bottle. Stop giving him so much milk, it's replacing food, but it lacks the full range of nutrients he's going to get from solid food. He's throwing temper tantrums cause he hit 2 a little early- stand firm on this because how you handle yourself now is going to govern who's boss in your household, him or you. If you give in to him now, god help you you'll be giving in to him when he's 45.
Refuse to give him milk except AFTER he eats (but don't tell him that) and offer only water instead. He'll have no choice but to cave, you just have to go through 24 hours of non-stop screaming to get there.

Answer 4

Take the bottle away and try putting his milk in a sippy cup and only allow him to have at the table or in high chair. The try putting solids on his traay that he can feed himself. Be prepared for a messy war! But keep trying. Good luck!

Answer 5

dont worry you are not alone a lot of parents go thru this to include myself. my daughter did the same thing when she was 12 months old. the problem was that i was feeding her and she wanted to feed herself. do you let him feed himself? also, do you feed him whatever it is that you are eating? my daughter wouldnt eat something if it was different from what i was having. about getting him off the bottle, what we did is slowly and gradually take them out. substitute a cup for one of his bottles a day. be stern with it for that feeding. when he starts taking that cup, up it to two cups a day and so on. also start putting water in the bottle, it will make it less attractive. this all worked very well with my daughter.

Answer 6

dont worry, all parents pass this way, what you need to do just relax, and take more time with your son