13 month old doesn't eat anything

docmay25 · February 2013

My ds was always a big eater. He started table food when he was 6 months and since 9 months he has been eating everything that we do. He always would eat anything I put on his tray. The past month or so he hardly eats anything I put in front of him. He throws everything on the floor. Sometimes he takes a couple bites, then throws it...sometimes he throws it the second I put it down. I know some of it is a game/attention. I try not to react. But I feel like he is hardly eating anything. He is completely off formula and doesn't drink that much milk, so he isn't getting full from liquids.

Just a stage? Anything I can do about it? Mealtime is so frustrating. Anyone else have a baby like this?

blu-eyedwife · February 2013

I'm going to go with "just a stage." I'm pretty sure they all go through this. Sometimes they're ravenous, other times they hardly eat at all. I know teething and illness plays into it (which is probably true of adults too. I remember not wanting to eat much on days I got my braces tightened).

I don't worry about it since I figure it will all even out in the long run. I bet in the next few days/weeks he'll start devouring everything in sight again.

Krystal6826 · February 2013

If they are hungry, they will eat. Just ignore and keep offering different foods. Hopefully it is a short lived phase for you all.

gajumper · February 2013

Yep, just a phase. There are days everything ends up on the floor and days he gobbles everything up and is saying "more, more".

It just depends...and on what I dont know. Its very frustrating.

TiffanyBerry · February 2013

They go through this in cycles. Eat a lot, then hardly anything, then normal, and so on. Keep aware of weight changes, but I wouldn't worry unless you see OTHER signs that something is wrong. Behavior would be the most important sign to look at.

Tink112011 · February 2013

Same here. Daycare is starting to comment on how DS doesn't really eat lunch.

I keep reminding myself not to have battles over food. He'll eat when he's hungry. If he doesn't eat whats in front of him, then he must not be that hungry.

I have noticed that my DS eats an OK amount for breakfast, and then the rest of the day he lives on a few cheerios, milk, and air.

jenb_99 · February 2013

It's a phase, related to teething, self-assertion, or both. At our last two appointments the pedi warned us of it and asked if DS has gone through it yet. She says when it happens we just need to focus on getting calories into him any way he'll take them (even if that means giving him "baby junk food" if that's what he wants), make sure he drinks his milk for calcium, and add in a multivitamin drop if the feeding strike gets too extreme.

prettypinktress · February 2013

So glad I saw this... now I don't feel so bad. My 13 month old is exactly the same way... ate like a champ basically from 6-12 months... never turned down ANY food. Now he just likes throwing his food a lot, and I worry I'm starving him. I'm with you all... hope it's just a phase! In the mean time, I basically just give him one small thing at a time to eat and give him more if he does eat it.