9 1/2 Will Not Eat the Stage 3 Foods

My daughter is 11 months and also in the 5% for weight and height. She also refused stage 3 foods and went straight to table foods at 9 1/2 months. Just cut everything up very small and offer her whatever the family is eating

Don't worry! My son did the same thing, some kids will completely skip stage 3 and go to table food. He would not eat any of the stage 3's with chunks for a long time, after his first birthday if I remember correctly. Try mixing a little ceral in the stage 2, that worked for me.

If she likes finger foods, I would take her off the jar foods. My youngest quit eating out of the jars about 9 1/2 months, too, and just ate whatever we were eating for dinner cut into tiny pieces for her to pick up. It was less expensive and a lot easier (though sometimes messier)!

I agree with the other posters, try blending the stage 3 jarred food a little or make the baby food from what you feed your family. My son is 9 1/2 months and has never eaten any jarred food until now and I only give him the meat jars for protein. I steam all of his vegetables and puree them and he loves it. Let your little one tell you when it's time to eat, trust me they eat when they are hungry.

you may want to seek out a speech therapist to work on sensory defensiveness in her mouth. You can also use things like a toothbrush or a nuk brush that she can chew on to desensitize her mouth.

J.,

You've already gotten some great advice. Just a couple of things to keep in mind. Somebody has to be in the bottom 5%! As long as your baby is hitting her developmental milestones and is happy and healthy, I think she'll be fine. About store-bought baby foods, taste them, they are completely unappealing. It's really no surprise children don't like them. There are plenty of foods you and your husband eat, that she can eat. Maybe this is a great opportunity for mom and dad to start eating better quality foods? If she enjoys finger food, roll with it. Finger foods can be ANYTHING that is soft and cut small enough for a baby to handle. If you enjoy cooking, find a copy of Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron. It has lots of food ideas and developmental information. Lastly, is your baby on formula or breastmilk? 3 feedings a day of milk sounds low, until their first birthday, most of their nutrition should still come from milk.
Best wishes!
S.

Switch her to table foods and she will gain weight. You can make her some mashed potatoes, no salt, and fresh steamed carrots to start. I didn't have much succes with the jar foods once my kids turned about 5-6 months. They start losing interest in them. She'll love table food!

Years ago, when I asked my pediatrician about adding or changing food/formula, he said, "Do what's working. He's gaining, he's healthy, why rock the boat?" Worked for me--the "babies" are grown-up, healthy omnivores!

If she likes a variety of foods, but only the smooth texture and finger food I think you should keep feeding her what she'll actually eat and ignore the doctor's "stage 3 foods" request, at least for now. My kids went right from smooth baby food to table food. I always found the jarred chunky stuff pretty gross looking anyway. :) Keep offering new textures and flavors, but don't make it a battle and keep her happy with mealtime.
For the future, do yourself a huge favor and gradually add in regular food, like what you eat, as she gets her teeth and can safely chew it, etc. You see all the moms on this website who's kids only eat hotdogs and macaroni & cheese? That's because somewhere along the way we start feeding them that crazy (and unhealthy) kid food and they get hooked! It's much easier to start with good habits than to break the bad ones that slip in (I'm guilty too! I'd do this food thing differently if I had another chance!) so hang in there and stick to the freshest, least processed foods you can buy. Even if she stays thin she'll be healthy and vibrant.

I understand the concern regarding her weight but it sounds like she is not ready for the stage 3 foods. I really don't think going to lengths to "desensitize" her mouth is really necessary, she's only 9 1/2 months after all. Many babies don't start stage 3 foods or table foods until 1 anyway and continue the formula or milk whatever she was on. (Although most peds don't reccomend milk until age 1 because the proteins are hard for babies to digest.)

So I would stick with the stage 2 and as many of the stage 3's as possible and any table foods she will eat. Listen to your instincts not the pediatrician! As long as she continues to gain weight and eats healthy it really doesn't matter what stage foods it is.

Remember to trust your instincts!!!

feed her table food!! except cut it up in small pieces, like stage 3 food! have you ever tasted that stuff? it is horrible. just because the grocery store sells conveince food doesn't mean you have to feed it to her. guaranteed that a little cut up chicken nuggets, green beans, and mashed potatoes will go straight to her stomach.

My daughter never wanted to eat the jarred food. I made her baby food and then as soon as she wanted finger food we started letting her eat whatever the family was having. She loved diced avocados, black beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, shredded chicken, bananas, canned fruit of any kind (canned in juice not sugar), peas, pasta, meatloaf,just about anything we ate, she ate.

Neither one of my kids would eat the stage 3 foods. My son went from stage 2 to table foods (cut up real small, he liked the spices) and my daughter wouldn't eat ANYTHING other than stage 2 until she was about 14 months. She did eat rice cereal and oatmeal cereal (the babyfood kind) but just had a really hard time with swallowing textured foods. If she is eating finger foods ( as my son did) keep up with that instead. Just make sure it is still healthy. If you are eating chicken for dinner, just make sure to peel off the skin or crunchy stuff, things like that, when you serve veggies, get a serving for her and over cook it a touch so it will be soft enough for her. My son loved sweet potatoes so I would buy him one and bake it in the microwave and scoop it out when cool. He loved it. BTW, have you tried tasting that stage 3 stuff.... YUCK!!! Even the pasta mixes have almost NO FLAVOR. She probably just wants some extra flavor!! Just make sure to give her a BIG variety of finger foods not just the sweet stuff.

I have known about 10 kids who hated stage 3 foods, so skip it. If she is getting fruits and veges and eating finger foods then it is not necessary for her health/diet. My daughter loves avocados and they have good fat so try that if you are trying to boost her weight, but remember that chart is a national average and any given day there is a new study out about how fat our kids are so take it with a grain of salt. My daughter dropped off the chart at 4 months and didn't return to it until after 2years old. She ate all the time and got plenty of nutrients she is just small. We never even put her on dairy (although the dr. wanted to to boost her weight). She is very active and healthy and I never had any worries about her because I watched her eat everything. She also never ate stage 3 foods :o).

My daughter is 9 months old and I make most of her food for her now. She eats it sooooo much better than the store bought stuff so you might want to try making your own. My neighbors little boy (also 9 months) will only eat what they eat and loves it. He wont eat from a jar either. I bought some great food storage containers from Amazon that I store it in. It is BPA free and easy to thaw out and she gets just the right amount. http://www.amazon.com/Baby-CubesTM-Contains-Phthalates-Bi...
Try that and see what happens!
Good luck!

She does not need to eat jar food at all. You can give her any table foods that she can eat. Bread, make sure it's 100% whole grain/wheat, diced fruit, stay away from berries though,too acidic, you can puree (with a hand mixer is easiest; kitchen aide makes an awsome one)fresh green beans and carrots(steam them until they are soft first; you can even steam then and just cut them really small if she can eat them that way), frozen peas are GREAT and babies usually love them. I am surprised your dr. never told you anything about just making her food. Store bought baby food has a lot of sodium/salt. The colors of the store bought stuff look as though they just take canned stuff and puree it. You can def. tell the diff. between fresh made baby food and store bought. Hope this helps. This will save you tons of money too. Also, eggs are great. They are really easy to chew and most babies like the texture. If you have any other questions let me know! I live to give nutritional advice! heehee...Oh, AND SHE NEEDS TO BE DRINKING AT LEAST 20 OUNCES A DAY OF FORMULA/MILK. Her schedule/feeding should look something like this.....wake and drink 6 oz. bottle, maybe 30 min. later feed her breakfast food (cereal w/fruit, or eggs and bread). She's up for a few hrs. then she drinks a 2 or 4 oz. right before her first nap. After her first nap she wakes and drinks another 2 or 4 oz. bottle. Maybe 30 min or an hour later she eats lunch (puree cooked chicken and put fruit in it,apples and pears are good with chicken, or frozen peas and small chicken chunks if you want to do finger foods). After she is up for a few more hours, she may take a second nap. At the second nap she should drink another 2-4 oz. bottle. When she wakes from her second nap she should have dinner after she's been up for 30 min. or so. Usually a veggie and a fruit or just a veggie for dinner is fine. you can peel and cook a couple of sweet potatoes and give her that mixed with her milk or water to make it smoother. When she goes down for the night feed her another 6 oz. bottle.

If you are just feeding her 3x a day and each bottle is 6 oz. or more, then that should be fine also. But her nutrition right now is mainly from her milk. If you are nursing, you may want to supplement to try and get her weight up. But if she looks healthy and acts healthy I wouldn't worry about her being in the bottom 5 percent. My son is also, and he has been sick 2 times in his life (he is 4). As long as she is growing....

J.-
My first son was the same way, stage 3 is much thicker and chunkier. I ended up using a small chopper to blend up the chunks. He ate it just fine. It helped with the transition.

M.

Her strong gums and teeth are probably ready for table foods. She might do better if you offered her what you are eating. My guys were always tall but light as feathers. Wonder why doctor is stressing the jar baby food...you can make your own and it will probably be more appetizing.

Look forward to seeing what you decide to do.

The jump from stage 2 to stage 3 is such a big difference in texture. Maybe you can use the stage 3 and blend it a little bit more so that it is still thicker then stage 2 but not quite as bad as the stage 3. I know I had to do this a few times for my son before he was able to eat the stage 3 as is. If that doesn't work there is no reason why he can't still be eating #2s. Hope this helps.

I agree with Angela S. You don't have to feed your child jared foods at all. Have you tried those stage 3 foods? They are nasty. There are alternatives that are healthier for your child, more affordable, and that she will probably eat! Good luck!

Have you tasted the baby food you are giving her? They are horrible! Try pureeing food you have made (leftovers work too) in a food processor with a little milk, water or stock/broth, see if she doesn't like those better. Gradually increase chunkiness.

I've fed all three of my kids 'from the table' because they refuse store bought baby food.

Good luck!

First things first...take a breath. My youngest is in the under 5% club as well...but she is HEALTHY and DEVELOPING. If these two things are happening, dont stress yourself. She is the smallest of my three, so we were freaking out as well. I used table food more so once we moved from fruits anyhow, because the other foods are nasty! My little one is still little at 2 1/2, but someone has to be in that percentile or else we would all be the same. As long as the child is developing fine and is happy/healthy dont worry. I think too many doctors are used as an absolute decision making power these days. Remember it is called practicing medicing for a reason. =) Just my 2 cents.

My daughter hated stage 3 foods. I took a taste and they really do not taste all that great.

One way I got my daughter to eat Stage 3 was to cover it up with her favorite Stage 2 vegetable. I would scoop a bite of Stage 3 and then scoop Stage 2 on top of it. It would worked the majority of the time.

Another thing I did was I would feed her whatever we were having. I definitely would cut it up into little bits. I always gave her this first when she was hungry. If I gave it to her last or in the middle, she would not even try it.

Once she ate at least some of it, I gave her her favorite Stage 2 veggies and rice cereal.

She loves spaghetti and hamburger meat.

I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter didn't like stage 3 at all. She liked 2 just fine, so we kinda just mixed it up with the 2 and the regular food. One thing she did love was mixed vegatables(frozen). I would pop them in the microwave and she loved picking out the different colors and eating them. She wasn't wild about the green beans, but loved the corn, peas, and carrots. Now if these were in any way mixed into some stage 3, she wouldn't eat at all(i don't blame her).

My son is in the 5% for weight also and we have been concerned for most of his life with weight. He never really ate 3's either. He didn't like the texture. It also took him a while to warm up to table food. Don't worry my son is a very happy active 27 month old. We still keep an eye on his weight but not like we used to do. He still has days where he eats 5 bites all day and then another day where you can't give him enough food.

If you feel the need get her some nutritional drinks that will provide all the vitamins. We gave it in place of milk, but not until he was about 16 months.

Check with your pediatrician to see about the nutritional drinks and about vitamin supplemnent drops.(We used Poly-vi-sol from Enfamil.)

I agree with the other moms. The stage 3 food is gross. You can really let her eat what you eat, looking at its appropriateness, of course. Lots of resources on the internet.

My kids wouldn't eat baby food. My son refused, so when my daughter started solids (7.5 months) I only tried once before going on to "food". They both did much better with finger foods. DD's first food was small bits of diced (very ripe) avocado. When they could feed themselves they were actually more interested in eating.

Perhaps you can steam veggies and cook fruit and cut them up. That way they are soft for her, but she can still pick them up. Beans are a great source of protein if she can't/won't eat meat yet.

I wonder if she's eating enough "milk"....I know that breastmilk should be the primary nutrition for the first year, and I thought formula was similar. Solids are more for experience than calories at this age. After all, the calories and fat in breastmilk and formula are MUCH higher than in the amount of food little ones can eat. Perhaps she should be taking in more breastmilk or formula, too.

many babies do not like the stage three foods...if your daughter has teeth give her the alternatives that are available nowadays.. The little kids meals etc...are just as healthy and good for your child as the stage three and your baby may like them a lot more...

Good luck..

My daughter is 15 months and refuses to eat meat of any kind. So I buy the stage 3 foods and puree them in a food processor so there are no chunks and she can't tell that there is meat in it. You might try that with her. She will still be getting all of the nutrients, but she might tolerate the texture better. Good luck.

Only 9 months? They don't even "need" solids at this time. I wouldn't worry about it. Switch her back is what I would do. Doctors help you make educated, informed decisions - but they shouldn't make the decision for you. Now, you know what he thinks. But, you also know what you need to do.

Greetings Jaime. My name is E., and I just became a member. At 9 1/2 months- My son & daughter were eating fast also. Are you feeding them from the jar and also giving milk bottles? At this age, nomatter what they say- they are not full! Mix, their vegggies, w/a fruit.(Like squash w/ banana. Carrots, w/applesauce, etc- experiment yourself before serving. Think what he or she would also like to consume in the bottle w/the milk. And make sure it's warm, as if a normal feeding. Be sure to shake well, and it's all mixed. She will get full. As for the chunks of food, it's just that she has not really been properly introduced. The chunks are still too big for her/cut in even tiny more sizes. And for the varieties, just the same. But if you do it it in formulas, her taste buds will become familiar. And soon she will eat just that as served. Good-Luck, and let me know if this helped?

Your New Friend,
MamaSource- EFSILGUERO

Hi J.,
Just feed her what she will eat. It is matter of texture to her right now- don;t worry about her eating habits- as long as she is happy, sleeps well and gains a little weight she will be fine. The more active she becomes the more she will eat.
Good luck and blessings

My daughter didn't touch the stage 3. Many toddlers I know didn't either. It might be the texture and I tasted them and they are really bad. I skipped stage 3 and started table food. Good luck.

If she is already eating finger foods, skip the stage 3 and go to those. As long as she is eating a broad range of food, there is no reason to try to force her to eat the jar food. Give her plenty of avocado to help with good fat and calories. You can added cream to her cereal for extra calories there. If food allergies aren't a concern (no family history) you can add eggs, fish, and even peanut butter to her menu. Another favorite was greek yogurt with fruit.

J.,
None of my 3 kiddos (including my low percentile baby who's now 2.5 and healthy as ever) would eat stage 3 foods either. The chunky texture was just too much for them - except for the fruits which were just thicker, but didn't have chunks.
I stuck with feeding more stage 2, added finger foods (which they absolutely loved!), and made sure they were still getting enough milk for the calories.
So long as your little one is feeling happy and healthy, I'm not sure I would stress too much about the stage 3 stuff. Remember, this is such a short period of her life and then she'll move on to other things.
Take a deep breath momma. You're doing just fine!!
K.
Mom to Kate (6), Ethan (4), and Karis (2)
TheMommyJournal.com

My baby is 18 months old & still eats stage 2 foods. He refuses to eat stage three. I even smashed up all the chunks & still still would gag. The nurse at the Kidmed in Louisiana told me neither of her 3 children would eat stage 3. Then I went to a garage sale this weekend & I saw they were selling stage 3 babyfood. I asked if their child did like it & they said no. So I think its just not flavored good, or something. My baby as yours will eat snacks, even crackers & the Gerber Cheetos etc but anything with chunks gags him. But he will eat soft french fries. He is healthy & weighs about 28 lbs. one way you can add weight to your child is mix yogurt in her milk. I've been doing this since my baby was 9 months old. I started out mixing 1/2 yogurt with 1/2 water then when he got off formula I started mixing it in whole milk. This week we bought the V-8 juice & he loves it so we are now mixing yogurt in it.(wish i'd tried that long ago!) He does not like plain milk so I have to put yogurt in every bottle. I buy the big tubs from Walmart the walmart brand vanilla & the yoplait creamy varieties (like creamy peach, stawberry & banana strawberry. It doesnt have chunks of fruit in them. I mix the vanilla with the juice & the flavored ones with the milk. You may need to put a little bigger hole in the nipples you use for the yogurt mixture though. The yogurt is healthy for them & they gain weight from it. My baby drinks yougurt in every bottle, except his water bottle & the apple juice & juicy juice brand orange tangerine juice.( thats all the juice he likes) I know at 18 months my baby should be gobbling down anything but he doesnt. But im not concerned, he will eventually eat table food & get off the stage 2 but until then I will continue to feed him stage2 :) I have raised 9 children, of the 9, seven I adopted & my two nephews i raised. So I have been around ther block so to speak raising children. We have 7 adopted ages 34, 19, twin girls 18 & twin girls 5 & the 18 month old. My suggestion, throw the stage 3 out the door & feed her what she'll eat! But do try the yogurt it will help her gain weight :) I didnt use it for that purpose, i did it cause he likes it, but he is a chunky healthy baby.
Let me know how things go for you & your baby girl....Best Wishes!

At 9 months, my day care kids didn't eat babyfood, they had finger foods (green beans, corn, bananas, diced fruits, soft chopped meat, crackers, cheese, ect.) If she is eating finger foods well, go with that. If she's not having health problems from it there is no reason why you have to follow what the dr says.

I did not buy stage 3 foods because I thought they were a waste of money.

S., mom to 5