We have a nine month old boy that is only at the 10% mark for growth. How can we get him to eat more?

Question

He has had 5 ear infections now and we are always giving him antibiotics. It seems he doesn't trust us anymore to put anything into his mouth. He only has two teeth so far. Maybe some new teeth are really bothering him?

Answer 1

If he's consistently in the tenth percentile, there's almost assuredly nothing wrong with him. Some babies are destined to be smaller than others.

My little girl is very small for her age (8 months tomorrow). She weighs just over 16 pounds (7'15 at birth) and has only grown five inches since birth (to be fair, she was 21 1/4 inches at birth, though). BUT, she's crawling, cruising, standing momentarily, just said her first word, and understands a few more, etc.

She eats as much as she wants. Milk on demand, and solids as she wants them. We give her "real" people food; meaning she mostly grabs what i'm eating, or what we have in the fridge for ourselves. Today, for example, she's so far had about 21 oz of breastmilk and formula (she'll have another 4-6 oz before bed), half a peach, half a container of cottage cheese (ok, she wore most of that), a slice of deli cheese, a couple of bites of blueberry applesauce, some "puffs" (the only "baby" food) and bits of lettuce. The only thing off of a spoon was applesauce, although she would have gladly fed herself that, I'm sure. I don't worry about "balanced" meals at this point, as most of her nutrition still comes from milk and formula. Yesterday she had only breakfast along with her milk/formula. The day before that she had breakfast, a snack, and about 36 oz of milk/formula.

As long as your son is growing CONSISTENTLY, be it at the tenth or ninetieth percentile, he's probably fine. And, if you force the issue, you're going to end up with some horrible battles over food later on. Try tossing some food on the tray, and seeing what he does with it. Our baby HATES to be "fed"; it's much more fun to play with it first. :-)

Answer 2

My baby only had 3 teeth at that age. Shes 18 months old now and has 13. Dont worry about his growth. As long as he is still in the curve hes fine. The ear infections youd have to talk to your doctor about. He may just be really prone to them. I was when I was little. I had so many that they had to put tubes in my ears when I was 8.

Answer 3

Please consider taking your child to a chiropractor with training in dealing with kids, you would be surprised how much it can help with ear infections and other problems.

Also breastmilk/breastmilk substitutes are more calorie and nutrient dense than anything else. Make sure he gets enough of those.

Also nine months is pretty normal to be on only finger foods, many kids hate having things put in their mouth. How much would you like it? My son never would eat anything off a spoon and I think commercial baby food isn't healthy anyway so it worked out great.

Answer 4

I'd put out finger foods more often. He should be able to start putting food in his mouth on his own. Try different small cereals and work up to other food items. That way he's responsible for feeding himself. At the same time, when you go to put in a new food yourself, remember that it can take a baby up to 60 tries to truly determine whether or not he likes it. Therefore, keep trying! Good luck!

Answer 5

try offering a wide variety of baby food... if his teeth are bothering him try canned sliced peaches from the refridgerator, something cold and just lay it on the high chair and let him go to town! dont be afraid to let him get messy! as far as the ear infections go its really hard to determine what the cause is there are a number of things it could be, smoke, a cold and etc...

Answer 6

First off, have you looked into pro-biotics? With so much anti-biotics, hes going to need something to help build up his good bacteria.

I 2nd the finger foods... my son has barely been spoon fed from the start.

As long as he IS growing, he should be fine.

Hes still getting plenty of breastmilk or formula, right?

I wouldnt worry too much... when he does start eating more solids, make sure hes getting plenty of good fats:avocados, eggs, olive oil, butter, cheese, yogurt, etc...

Solids arent really important the first year, more for practice... offer him food he can feed himself and let him explore at his own pace.

Answer 7

I would give him some soft table foods like mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc...
My daughter has never even been on the Charts! Othan than less than 1% my son was like this also but he finally had a big growth spurt at 15 months.