10 Month Old Wont Eat Baby Food. Hasnt Since She Was 6 Months. What Do I Do?

What do you mean by baby food? Jars? It's not a problem if she won't eat jars of baby food , give her what you are eating cut up very small , she can have a few finger foods now , things like toast , banana , strawberries , crackers such as Ritz , pancakes. She can have pasta in sauce , so many things she can have now , literally anything you are having but nothing too spicy.

Does she eat regular person food like noodles and steamed veggies and other soft things? Maybe she'd rather feed herself. And eat something more interesting than baby squish.

Like jarred baby food? Gerber? Thats really not a big deal.... honestly lots of kids, mine included, never ate jarred baby food. We made our own because the jarred stuff is overpriced, over processed, and very bland. We made all our own baby food, and my boys were both on table foods (whever we were eating cut into tiny bits) by 9mos.

Give her a plate of whatever you are eating, she's plenty old enough and will really enjoy real food, and its better for her.

until 1 year baby breastmilk/formula is still the main source of nutrition. baby food is just practice food. don't worry too much, just keep offering it. and try other things too- cheerios, fruits, veggies, etc.

I agree with Kate. By 10 months my son wouldn't eat pureed baby food either. He wanted what he saw mom and dad eating. Just cook hers a bit longer so it is soft and made sure it is cut up small, but she can eat whatever you are having.

Breastmilk is an excellent source of nutrition far past the 1 year mark, so in that respect, I wouldn't worry.

My daughter HATED babyfood, but would eat other stuff - cheerios, raisins, etc. I think the texture turned her off. To this day she hates mushy stuff (she is almost 10 years old).

Try finger foods.

:)

Don't give her baby food. GIve her very small pieces of everything you eat. I gave baby food to my twins and it was hard to break the habit. I never gave it to my third baby and he never missed it. Even with no teeth at 10 months he still preferred little pieces of what we all ate.

I absolutely second what Joanne H said about Reliv. It's delicious and it has a balanced formula that is highly absorbable. Doctors who have strong nutritional backgrounds (and there aren't many) wholly endorse it not only for general nutrition but for help with allergies (food and others) and many other conditions. I would not do a liquid multi-vitamin like one post suggested - any doctor with any background will tell you it's just providing "expensive urine" as most of it is not absorbed.

Later on your child will be able to handle more texture, which may be her problem. (My child had trouble with a lot of that.) Meantime, the Reliv takes the worries away and also will help when she starts eating solids. Most kids who are called "allergic" to dairy, wheat, etc. are NOT - they just don't have the necessary enzymes or trace elements or phytonutrients to digest these new foods. The Reliv will give your child what she needs so this doesn't happen. And you get great support from the distributor who helps you place your first order - the network of parents helping parents is awesome, and the distributors get ongoing training from the top food scientists at the company. So it's a name you can trust.

I can totally relate to this concern... as my daughter who just turned 1 year in April also had this issue. She would scream and cry - although would accept more spoonfuls b/c she was hungry. I finally took her for a feeding evaluation with an Occupational Therapist to see if it was a texture issue (sensory) or if she suspected a medical basis for the problem. I feel it might have been both - but my daughter does have reflux.... the OT thought that she probably was reluctant because she was afraid it would hurt. Her swallowing was loud gulping at times, which indicated reflux even happening while she was eating (which as a Speech Language Pathologist MOM, I never realized could happen - so don't feel bad if that IS happening with your little one and you didn't know it). Most likely, the problem is more of a sensory thing - like she doesn't like the texture or taste... but I would suggest if you don't want to try feeding therapy or an eval, you could attempt what the other posters suggested - trying the table foods mashed or cut really small. Try soft stuff like cut up or smashed bananas, canned or really cooked soft carrots cut up.... Gerber puffs is what started our daughter going on solids - she liked to crunch and it dissolved so I liked that safety factor. She also screamed and refused when transitioning to solid foods / table foods as well - so it was scary for us. She gradually tried the puffs - still refused Cheerios, but eventually wanted to eat what we had like bananas, apples (she shaved bits off the core w/ her two bottom teeth), peas, mashed potatoes, baked potato bits, sweet potatoes (also baked and cut up into pick up sizes), etc. It can be scary jumping right to solids, but if you start with small pieces and mashed up your baby will be safe. You could also try those self feeding mesh bag things with the handles - put some fruit in there and let her chew on the bag to get used to chewing, get the flavor of the food and be more interested in trying table foods. Good luck - and if you are not getting anywhere - speak to your pediatrician about wanting to go to an occupational therapist for a feeding evaluation. Braintree Rehab (they have multiple locations) has experience in this.

If your daughter is otherwise healthy, i wouldn't worry about it - our daughter did not eat solid foods probably for the first year - but like other posters, she did like gerber puffs, that was what she started with. we put liquid multivitamin in her milk/formula, although I can't remember exactly when the doctor told us to start that.

Funny, our daughter is now 2 and 1/2 (almost!) and now she likes babyfood! It's like pudding to her....

Hi S.
Frustrating situation. Especially when your pediatrician has probably not studied nutrition so they don't have an answer. Reliv Kids now is a complete food supplement that has been feeding children around the world for several years. It is safe and effective and has been distributed to impoverished countries through the kalogris foundation. I am telling u this because this is all the nourishment many of the children get all day.
If it can sustain them-it can certainly do so for your child. I"d be happy to have you hear some stories.
Good luck
J. H

My daughter was the EXACT same way. I believe that is a sign of incredible intelligence on the child's behalf. Have you ever tasted that stuff?? Between baby food or formula, I am not sure which takes the cake for tasting the WORST! However, my daughter is now 17 with a 3.9 GPA...so...intelligence or stubborn...I pick intelligence.

I hand made her food from the very beginning. There are many "power tools" for the kitchen now that you can use to make baby food by yourself very nicely. Buy a Magic Bullet or some machine that will finely puree foods, and I guarantee your child will eat fresh, healthy, YUMMY foods for you. The best thing to do is ask the pediatrician what foods your child may not eat...anything else...PUREE AWAY!! Hope this helps!

my youngest did the same thing. she just turned a year in april, but she refused baby food just a few weeks after trying it.

i agree with the other poster(s) that mentioned breastmilk or formula is all baby REALLY needs for the first year. if baby still seems hungry (after nursing or bottle), try table food. my daughter started with mashed veggies - whatever we were having for dinner, really - and moved to noodles soon after. bananas and peaches are good smashed up, too.

don't worry if she doesn't want regular food, either. as long as she's developing (gaining weight and whatnot), i wouldn't worry.

and if you're really concerned about the pediatrician's lack of concern/help, maybe you could try a new one? just something to think about. i know it's starting over and a new one doesn't know your daughter, but if it'd help put you at ease, maybe you should.

good luck!

Have you tried feeding her real food? I never fed my DD baby food. I actually exclusively breastfed until 10 months and then started introducing real food-avocado, bananas, veggies, and went from there. She fed herself. There were a few occasions when I spoon-fed her apple sauce or soup but other than that she fed herself always. Small, soft pieces of real food worked really well for her.

As others have mentioned, at that age food is for practice and experimenting. They get their nutrition from breast milk or formula.

Pediatricians get like 2 seconds of nutrition training (if that), so if you are otherwise happy with your pedi, I wouldn't switch just because of that. If there is nothing else going on that makes you suspect your daughter has some sort of illness or disorder, just try giving her real food. And try to relax about eating because when she becomes a toddler it will only stress you out more. :)

You are obviously a great Mom so what I am going to say is probably going to shock you.....she will eat. My two children now 26 and 33 never had solid food before one year, yes one year. They are thin, intelligent and healthy adults today. Maybe you are so stressed about her lack of solid food consumption that you are stressing her about food. My advice, back off for a bit. Make sure she is getting enough liquids, breast milk or formula, not fruit juice and try to reintroduce baby food in a couple of weeks. Of course I would favor totally organic but that is your choice. Good luck with your daughter.

try giving her table food - either stuff that will dissolve in her mouth or would be too small to choke her. My DD didn't like baby food, either, she wanted what the grown ups and big brother were having. So we cut it up small and gave it to her (and expected a lot of it to land on the floor).

Neither of my kids were really into baby food either.At 10 months your baby might be ready for more substantial food. Have you tried small pieces of bananas, avacado or tofu? My girls were much more interested in real food (particularly if they saw that everyone else was eating it). My eldest we intentionally kept on breastmilk until she was 9 months old. She is such an adventurous eater now and when we switched over to food (she absolutely refused babyfood!) at 9.5 months she was so psyched. I don't think it is a reason to be stressed out. Whether your daughter is drinking breastmilk or formula, they have all the right nutrients and your pediatrician probably isn't worried b/c she is gaining weight-right? Don't worry yourself- just give her lots of tasty options and she will figure it out!

I would think about finding another pedi who can answer your questions about feeding - it is such an important issue! Have you shared your concerns with the Dr?
Sometimes not eating can be related to reflux - they don't eat because it hurts them to eat. Other times it can be a sensory issue - they don't eat because they don't like the texture of the food. As many moms have already mentioned, breastmilk or formula provides all of a baby's nutritioinal needs during the first year, but many Dr's feel that it is important for a baby to get used to the texture of eating solid food. Some people feel that if a baby does not eat solid food before a year, it can be difficult for them to transition to solids due to texture issues.

As many moms have already mentioned, many babies want to eat what you are eating! only introduce one new food at a time and give that food for three to five days to make sure there are no allergies or other problems with that food. Lots of good books out there on feeding - we liked "Super Baby Food" by ruth Yaron. Your pedi should be able to offer at least a little guidance!

consider a feeding eval and please get it scheduled before your dd turns one!

Good luck, feeding issues can be so stressful!

My suggestion would be to get another pediatrician... I am not an expert in children eating so I couldn't offer an help on the subject but if your pedi won't either, I suggest it's time for a change. Good luck :)

What does she eat? Children's nutritional needs are to be meant through formula and/or breastmilk alone for the first full year. Food is just to be fun to transition them into getting their nutritional needs meant through table food down the road.
DO you make your own food? store bought baby food is pretty gross. Homemade has more flavor, nutrients, and really isn't much work at all. Plus you can play with texture by adding more or less water and pureeing at different concentrations.
Try just feeding her regular food though. Whole wheat pasta, hummus, lentil soup and others...crackers, apple, banana, berries, carrot sticks... they get pretty excited over real food. In a few months you should be able to offer her plain yogurt and cottage cheese. We keep frozen berries around all the time to add for natural sweetening to these things. Also, at 1 year - when scrambled eggs are ok to try out - I've been able to sneak in all sorts of minced sauteed veggies and cheese in there.

As long as your daughter continues to thrive - she is perfectly fine. So relax and have fun with it.
If you have any questions on making baby food or ways to "fatten it up" with healthy stuff - feel free to message me.
Good luck!