11 month old off her food?

Question

she is eating food but not as much as before is it this age when there appetite decreases what is the rough amout she should be having at this age. She is on the small side xx

she is getting a tooth and she will have yogurt and rice pudding and bread sticks and toast

Answer 1

My son did the same thing, ate and drank fine almost the same MO as your daughter between 6-81/2 months, then slowly he began eating less and less and then just cheerios. Then he absolutely refused all baby food in a jar. He also did not want to hold his own bottle and I had to hold it for him especially since I was so concerned he was eating less and less.

Here's what worked for me:
Variety variety variety!
I know it wastes food but it is important that she isn't stuck on just baby food which is uninteresting and flavorless and boring in texture.

For breakfast:
Try making your oatmeal different consistencies, lumpier, thicker, thinner, etc
Try baby yogurt (don't worry if you think it has too much sugar - if she like it she will eat it, then you can gradually dilute it with more nutritious and less sweet stuff like oatmeal, rice, barley or fruit)
Soak your puffs in formula for more nutrition, better yet, dip it in stuff before giving it to her - like thickened oatmeal, rice, barley or fruit or yogurt
My son's disinterest was caused by his desire to pick stuff up to put in his mouth - mostly hard stuff (thus his love of cheerios and maybe your daughter's love of puffs) - cut up bite-sized pieces of banana, or try Gerber Graduates soft diced peaches or pears.
He also wanted to try what I was eating so I put cut up pieces of food in my bowl for him to fish around in - if you are not comfortable with adult food cut up, put baby food in there (yes it is messy but my pediatrician says feeding will now be an 'adventure' and I should have a sense of humor about it. Now is the time that parents come in with stories of babies throwing, playing, spiting food, etc)
Cut up pieces of fried or hard-boiled egg yolk. My pedi said no egg whites til at least after 1 years old.

Lunch
ripped up pieces of fortified cheese
snack-sized ricecakes (if she likes it, later try dipping them in baby food for nutrition - the ideas is to have her eat and not just drink her nutrition- the crunch was very important to my son during this picky eating time - a combination of teething and favorite texture)
Steamed veggies supersoft and cut up into tiny baby bite-sized pieces or Gerber Graduates bite sized carrot pieces and really soft whole string beans
Soft blackbeans for her to pick up and feed herself
Rice steamed super soft, then for nutrition (regular rice has zero nutrition!) mixed with thick baby rice (try adding a tbsp or 2 of fat-free, no sodium chicken broth)
Make baby rice thicker than usual, so it sticks to the spoon when you give the spoon to her to play with, er, I mean, chew on, eat.
Try putting thick food on both ends of the spoon.
Try feeding her food from different utensils, chopsticks, adult plastic spoons, etc.

Bottle training
I tried adding 1/2 - 1 ounce of full-strength juice to formula only at meals. I put formula mixed with juice in my nuby sippy cups with handles. I fed him a sip and put it down. He eventually got the association that it tastes better when he feeds himself than when I feed him.
I originally tried 7 different sippy cups but the above worked for me after like 6-8 tries.
Eventually he was able to use all 7 kinds of sippy cups (11 1/4 months), it wasn't the cup, it was the willingness/readiness to feed himself.

Dinner:
Give her stuff that you eat rinsed in some water to get rid of all that extra sodium your kid doesn't need. No hard food though like corn. Try gumming all your food first to make sure it can be done!
Teething biscuits that dissolve the slowest and is the hardest (I used Earth's Best because it lasts the longest and is impossible to bite off) for her to "teethe" on and while she is preoccupied with the biscuit, you can get lots of food spooned into her, especially since her mouth will be wide open.
Distraction, distraction, distraction - if you distract her with something to do while she is eating, she will eat - don't undestimate this little fact.


Other points:
At 11 months, she's still getting most of his nutrition from formula so don't fret.
Also realize that it just takes longer now to feed your 10 month old than it took to feed her when she was 6 months. Food is no longer her primary concern. At my 9 month visit my pedi warned me that it could be more interesting (read "difficult") to feed the baby starting at this age with more food phases (how about the time my son didn't drink anything for 4 days!!!!!!!!! I was beside myself and rushed him to the Doctor several times)

I hope I have provided you with the best answer!

Answer 2

Don't worry, I've got three kids well past that stage, and their appetites still swing up and down. Oddly enough, we seemed to notice that their appetites decreased just as they were going into a growth spurt. I can't think of any occasion where I've heard of a child starving to death when food was available. Naturally if it persists or there are other changes in her behavior, bring her to a doctor, but swings in appetite are very normal. (Let me gues....your first child?)

Answer 3

dont worry yourself, i have a 3 year old and some days he'll eat nothing and others everything he gets his hands on. i would take her to your local well baby health clinic to check her weight, you may be surprised and find she's actually right for her height. when my son has off days i tend to offer him a wider variety of food in the small hope he'll eat something. you could always give her bread sticks, carrot sticks, box of raisins and other snack foods on those bad days, then at least shes eating something. good luck and please dont worry xxx

Answer 4

Please dont worry, children will eat when they are hungry. She is probably a little more ative than before. My son goes off his food when he is teething but always asks when he is really hungry.

The health visitor would of said something if she was concerned about her weight as well.

Answer 5

Just take her to the doctor straight away. It maybe her teeth, but if she is small, don't ignore her lack of appetite.

I hope you get some good advice that will help.

Source of experience, sisters children

Answer 6

Dont worry, i have a son the same age, he has hungry periods then periods when he dosent eat alot, as long as she is having plenty of fluids she will be fine. It may be that her gums are hurting her. x x

Answer 7

Sounds like the teething is bothering her. Give her some tylenol and just let her eat what she wants. She'll be fine.

Answer 8

My son went through this too. I spoke to my health visitor and she said it is a phase. She is probably more interested in playing and exploring and doesn't have time to eat!!