Baby not eating! I'm so stressed again!?

Question

Argh!

Yet again my ten month old is refusing to eat!

He will suck on finger foods such as rusks, baby biscuits and bread/toast. I've tried offering "healthier" finger foods such as cooked veg and sliced fruit and he just throws them on the floor.

He will eat smooth, sweet foods such as yoghurt, fromage frais, fruit puree, egg custard and baby rice pudding.

And nothing else!!!

I'm tearing my hair out that he's going to be malnourished! But short of bodily holding him down and forcing the food into his mouth I can't get him to eat anything else!

I've cut his breastfeeds down to 3 a day so it can't even be that he's filling up on breastmilk.

I'm so worried I can't seem to get any sense out of my Health Visitor! Please tell me he will grow out of this! Is he going to suffer from malnutrition?

He does have a little tooth coming through (his first!! Yay!), but he has always been a bad eater and over the last two months has got worse and worse . . .

Yes the baby rice pudding and cereals do have added vitamins so I guess at least he's getting those . . .

Lol I guess I'm stressing out because I keep hearng that they are supposed to be tucking into table foods by 1 year - well thats only a couple of months away and at the moment I can hardly get a few spoonfuls of mush past his lips!

Answer 1

Ok .. the first thing you need to do is slow down a little. Relax...
Ok, you said you were breast feeding 3 times a day so hes not going to be malnourished. Hes getting yogurt, fruit, egg and rice. These are all ok.
Hes not going to starve. Trust me I had twins 2 years ago and have gone thru this over and over again with them. It was very frustrating in the beginning one would do it then the other, but then they would eat a few days later.
As long as hes getting something then hes ok.
Also ....
Have you checked his teeth/gums? He may be cutting teeth and the smooth cold food feels really good on his gums.! :)

Answer 2

When I was pregnant I also was very stressed about the eating, and relaxing. I did twelve hour shifts in a very fast pace stressful environment, full of germs to boot. I would finally break down and say " I have to feed my baby!!!!" Finally I just looked out for me and my babe, first priority. If the other stuff didn't get done, well so be it! In the end, in my eyes, my daughter is just perfect. She was two weeks early and weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces so she must have got what she needed:) How pregnant are you. Later in pregnancy you sometimes will feel your baby less, esp. if there is no room to move. However, your doctor should give you guidelines regarding when to worry about movement, or lack of. I do think the baby can sense stress, and I know when I drank juice that really got her moving so I think the answer is yes. Can you pack lots of snacks for work so they are readily avail? Just let your co-workers know that your baby comes first!

Answer 3

Hey, hey, calm down. No, he is not going to get malnutrition. But don't cut down his breastfeeds yet. Let him feed as much as he wants. The foods he is eating are good. There is plenty of time for him to take other things. For the whole of the first year his main source of nutrients is still breastmilk. The food you are giving him is more about teaching him HOW to eat, experimenting with different textures etc. At 10 months my boys were just starting solids 3 times daily, having been only twice daily since 8 months, and once a day from 6 to 8 months. They had a banana for breakfast, a small jar of babyfood in the middle of the day and another in the evening, plus a few finger foods and lots of breastmilk. Not much more than your child. And they are healthy.

Answer 4

try not to worry too much. if he is eating normally in between these bouts, he will be fine. babies go through these fussy periods. Don't let it stress you, it will only make matters worse. If he senses you are getting stresses because he won't eat a particular food and play on it. Children can be very manipulative even at a very young age.
I am quite sure your health visitor has told you the same thing. I am sure he is a healthy weight and well nourished. That is why you health visitor will not be too concerned. He will not suffer from malnutrition. Just go with the flow, encourage him but don't make a big issue of it and he will be fine

Answer 5

my baby is almost 1 and i feel for u i too went through what u are. now my baby wont let me get a spoon to her mouth.lol but i found when my baby madison wouldnt eat ne thing else she would usally eat spagetti , ravioli, lasanga, those kind of things. she loves to have the gerber toddler foods like the healthy ravioli and even though ur baby is only 9 months i think the baby would be fine if he or she has learned to mush up the food a little. but really ur stressing ur self out if the baby needs some thing he or she will eat until 1 year babies get all they re nutrition from milk any way this eating solids now is really just practice. so try and relax a little i no its hard but give it a try ne way take care.

Answer 6

He WILL grow out of it Hun! Patience is the key. If he won't eat anything savoury try mixing it with a little breast milk, its a familiar taste he enjoys. For a short while try to make all the foods you'd like him to eat the same texture he already eats ,like rice pudding, using the milk as liquid. Sweet things like mashed garden peas or butternut squash might be the best things to start with. My niece was just the same and it worked for her. after a while she was given the same savoury flavours with less and less milk, varying the texture. I know how stressful it can be to worry about your child's diet. I had to keep an intake diary for my son from 2 weeks old. He wouldn't drink breast milk, he went through every brand or formula on the market, he just didn't like milk enough to drink the right amount to hold his weight. BUT! eventually, he grew out of it! At ten months he's still got a long time to establish a more varied diet. Try not to loose it, it just takes time. M x

Answer 7

Baby's are clever little things he senses your worry and knows you'll give him the sweet above list through your fear of his malnourishment. You are giving him the best with the breast unfortunatley when he doesn't eat and he's hungry he could be filling off you unfortunatley as you know you can't see how much.
Try squash, pumpkin, or sweet potato and carrot for an alternative and mix a little chicken, brocolli etc in much smaller quantity gradually increase ratios.
He won't get malnutrition from breast feeding far frm it and give youself a big pat on the bag for doing it so long well done it can be testing at times:)

Answer 8

Well, I would say that you shouldn't be breastfeeding him when you are trying to wean him.

You should move him onto the soft food so that he gets used to this, the baby can get very confused at this age and you need to wean him meaning moving him off of baby milk and onto harder foods.

You move him onto soft food so that he can get used to that and don't let him have your breast milk.

He will not suffer from malnutrition because if you give him the right vitamins etc he will not. If this doesn't succeed you can always take him to a doctor. Don't worry about it, it is what all mothers go through at some stage, you just have to wean him because he is confused.

I hope this has helped you. If you need anymore help just contact me =]

Answer 9

Here are some more food suggestions: sliced cheese, beats, black beans, cut up cooked carrots, peas, diced pears, diced peaches, bananas, cheerios, toast, graham crackers, and saltines.
Lately, I put Noah in his high chair, give him an entire assortment of finger foods and a sippie of milk, and then walk off. I let him entertain (eat) by himself while I wipe the kitchen counters down, unload the dishwasher, and what ever else that can be done in his view. He does quite well on his own. I talk to him and say things like...banana, carrots, green beans, etc. When he looks bored or stops eating, I pile the carrots up and knock them over...then he'll grab a few and eat more. There's a new book available called Deceptively Delicious...it's about hiding vegetables in our kids meals. For instance, you can puree cauliflower and put it in mac and cheese! Don't worry about lack of nutrition right now since you are still breastfeeding. Relax and your child will too :)

Answer 10

So long as you present him with foods that have some nutrition in them, he'll be okay. Doesn't the rice cereal have vitamins added? Your breast milk is probably enough vitamins to last him the day, even if he won't eat other things.

My friend had a child who would not eat anything but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Her pediatrician said that he'd be okay. He'd grow out of it sooner or later.

Just hang in there, and keep offering him healthy foods. When he's hungry enough, he'll eat it.

Maybe he's teething. I bet that's it.

TX Mom
not an expert