Difficult Eater

ChrissyD1203

If the bad sleeper wasn't enough, after loving solids when we started them at 5 months, around 7 months she started not loving them and around 10 months every meal is a struggler.  Feeding her off a spoon is impossible.  Sometimes I can squeeze a few drops of a plum organics packet into her mouth. She does the best with real food cut up feeding herself like steamed broccoli or grilled chicken but she will only have a few pieces before she starts throwing them and saying (or attempting to say is more like it) "done".  She is growing but her growth % have fallen.  She still nurses a lot although only a few minutes at a time (she has never been a good nurser either).  She would eat about 30 cheerios and yogurt chews but other than that after taking a few bites of anything else (and we have tried a million different foods) she just isn't interested.  Is anyone else going through this?  I need help 

failuretofly

My LO has decided he hates the spoon too. I've found the easiest way to get him to eat a reasonable amount is to first allow him to feed himself (he is most keen on this when he's really hungry at the beginning of the meal) then after he's kind of over that I just use my fingers to feed him chunks of stuff. For some reason he's much more responsive to my fingers than a spoon!

Mamabeagle

Babies growth naturally slows as they get older. I agree its hard to know how much babies should be eating of solids, and at this age they are also decreasing their milk intake at the same time as starting to rely more on the solid food. 

My guy will eat very different quantities one day versus the next, but he still has a good number of pee and poop diapers so I think its all ok. 

fishee333

I'm definitely going through this. It's very difficult. She has bursts of some good days/good meals, but nothing consistent. And by good I mean it's good for her, not the average baby her age. I'd say LO is still relying on breast milk 99.9% of the time. 
There are a couple of foods we can count on working (Cheerios, yogurt, peanut butter.. that's it), but even then it's not much. Spoon never works, she's gotta do it herself or if shes in a food eating mood I can feed her with my fingers. Shes very healthy, but stuck at the 9th percentile and I'm just worried shes never going to wean. 

failuretofly

Oh I thought I'd also add I saw a dramatic uptick in LOs interest in solids once I stopped feeding him at night.

nackie

DS loved solids when we started, but has recently decided that if it's not apples, it's definitely going to kill him if he eats it.  He's also refusing a bottle at daycare, so I'm pretty worried about his food intake.

Cricket99

@kvacmak I use my fingers too! If I act like I'm enjoying it and eating it too (and actually eating it sometimes too) LO is far more likely to want to eat it. He also really likes sucking all the food directly out of the pouches. I'm actually going to get some re useable pouches to put jarred food and baby cereal in. God forbid I try to get near this child's mouth with a spoon... 

kraane

We are struggling here too. LO loves nursing and has never been a huge eater but recently it seems she has cut back a lot. Only a few bites at each meal. It also could be her cold or the fact that she just cut her two top teeth. I've started feeding her more times a day so she's getting a bit more. But like a lot of you said the spoon is out. Just know that you are not alone and we can just keep offering variety and hopefully they catch on soon. 

charliesmommy6

I thankfully have a good eater (but not a good sleeper so definitely not bragging here!) but he really loves things with different textures like sticky rice or scrambled eggs or the inside of tomatoes, etc. Maybe the textures will get her interested. But maybe she's not feeling 100% or is distracted while eating. I think babies go through ebbs and flows of eating a lot, so keep trying and I bet she will eat one day soon

cyanope

LO is also a great eater (finally). But it took a lot of time and practice. She HATED purees, and would not take the spoon, so I mostly just counted on breastfeeding. I talked to LO's doctor about it months ago, and she suggested that I stop trying to feed her. So, I don't ever use a spoon anymore. I just make sure to give her foods that she can pick up and eat herself (chicken, potatoes, beans, soft fruits/veggies, bread, eggs, etc.) I don't do true BLW (not that I'm against it for other people), because I'm too freaking paranoid, so I just cut all of LO's food into bite-sized pieces. I also second what a PP said...LO can get VERY easily distracted which is when she starts "playing" with her food instead of eating it. I have found that if I don't try to talk or engage with her during meals, she eats MUCH better. That sounds harsh (and is totally against my nature since I'm usually ALWAYS talking to her), but it is the only thing that works!

ChrissyD1203

Thank you everyone for all the feedback.  I will be trying ALL of these suggestions!

grkgdss00

I've found they go in phases. One week eating will suck and she throws 80% on the floor, and the next week she can't shovel it in fast enough. Just keep trying and mix it up. It sounds like she likes feeding herself, so stick with that. Steamed butternut squash chunks or sweet potatoes with cinnamon are a fave in our house. Also diced up chix nuggets and turkey meatballs. Offer water if she gets cranky with it, and I also try not to stress over it and be patient. Because she will get cranky but if I just leave her and not react she will go for round 2.

kodariah

We struggled with our LO eating for a really long time the thing I found that works the best for my LO is making myself baby friendly food and sitting him next to me and letting him eat what I am eating. He loves being involved in what we are doing and so this worked great for us, now he's a little pig. I also found getting rid of all distractions helped so he was focused on eating, that included feeding his off a spoon or letting him eat himself because the spoon or food would become something to play with. I would just pinch a little of my food and feed it to him. Hope you find what works best for you guys

ChrissyD1203

Thanks everyone! Coming off a better week and trying to relax.  Steamed broccoli, slices of cheese and cheerios seem to be best.  I've had some luck sort of ignoring her and taking away all of her toys from the highchair.  She then gets into a routine of throwing five pieces of food, eating one, throwing five etc lol

fishee333

Ok we finally have had a really good week of eating solids!! I figured out a trick that helps - put LO in front of the mirror. She loves watching herself eat

Cricket99

I've encountered an interesting thing while LO eats this past week. He will put things in his mouth, roll them around for a bit, then spit them into his lap or hand. I'm assuming it's just a phase of playing with texture, but has anyone else had this problem? How long did it last? I swear he is getting so much in his lap and the intake has gone waaaaay down.

nackie

My does the same, but he likes to spit it into my hand.  Thanks kid.  

Cricket99

@nackie Boys are gross...

SDaniels19

@Cricket99 My LO did exactly that for a little while, then the phase went away. Towards the end if he's not hungry anymore he'll play with his food that way a little but not like he was all the time for about a week or so. Hopefully will pass soon for you too!

KFrob

My babe who used to eat practically anything is suddenly picky. I'm hoping this is part of the phase everyone is mentioning or maybe part of her suddenly teething. She won't eat things I know she likes! So frustrating 

nackie

@KFrob  our apples only phase lasted about a week.  Hopefully yours is short as well

Cricket99

@nackie we currently only eat: bananas, puffs, and vegetable pouches. And we cry and whine the entire time we do eat... it's driving mommy crazy. We are almost a week in, so hopefully it's over soon.

krrpe99

DD has done this for months (but it is getting better.) Some of it can be them playing with their food. But some of it is them just figuring out how their tongue works. 

mestokes

Graham has gotten so picky!!! He eats a lot of pouches and loves Graham crackers and peanut butter. Most other things he spits out or gives to the dogs