9 Month Old Not Eating Solids

Relax about it! I have a 10 month old too who is doing the exact same thing! One day he loves banana and will eat the whole thing. Then for weeks refuse banana and throw a big fit in his high chair at the mere suggestion. He went about 4 days with barely eating any food, just formula. Finally this morning he ate rice cereal like he was starving. He is my 4th baby and none of my others have been this way. However, because he is my 4th I am much more relaxed about it. I don't pull out 20 things from the pantry trying to get him to eat anything. I stick to my plan of what he is to eat and when. If he doesn't eat it, I throw it out or offer it at the next meal (it kills me to throw away food!).

It's ok if she doesn't eat. It is normal for her to do this. I know it's hard, but don't stress too much! She will be fine!

People get way too into thinking they need to force feed their kids and babies. First of all one person said it already, it's actually best NOT to give your baby solids till about 1 year old, at least not for a source of nutrition. Don't confuse your baby’s nutritional needs with your own, they're very different. You're baby is getting everything it needs from the formula (of course breast milk would be better) and solids at this point are more for "practice" for when they start relying more on solid food for nutrition. And one important point is that you should always listen to your baby. At this point, she may know better than you do about what she needs. Later in life when she's telling you she needs cookies for breakfast is when you need to tell her when and what to eat, but be careful to listen when they tell you they're full or that they don't want a particular food, it may be for a good reason. Especially when they're young like this, you could be doing more harm by not listening to your baby when she is telling you what she needs, even though all you're trying to do is what you think is best.

Somewhere around this age there is always a battle. It happened with my 3 kids, and I have seen it on Mamasource numerous times! Your daughter is starting to assert her independence, and she wants to do it but she can't feed herself enough to make a difference. I found with each of my daughters if I would give her some finger food on her tray for her to concentrate on, she was distracted enough for me to spoon feed baby food to her at the same time. It's an amazing trick, but they get so busy working on picking up the food that they don't even notice that they are opening their mouth for a spoon! Occasionally a toy works as well, but that is much messier. Good luck!

My 8 month old has started to refuse baby food. So...I am on to lunch meat (roasted chicken and roasted Turkey), cheese, fresh fruits & veggies, etc. 've made sure I cut up the pices or break it into pieces tiny enough he'll be able to eat. He has no teeth, but does a good job chewing anyways. So far I've tried the meat sticks and apples chunks from Gerber graduates. He does a good job self feeding, but is still learning so quite a bit ends up in his lap or on the floor. He is more willing to let me help him eat when it is "real" ood too. Tonight he actually let me feed him the Gerber graduates chicken & Stars with veggies from a spoon. I fought him for the last couple of months with the baby food and decided it's not worth the fight...he just wants to eat regular food so I'm letting him.

Don't underestimate those little gums! I wasn't sure if I should start my daughter on firmer solids then one day just see what she would do I gave her a very well steamed carrot. She smooshed it to peices with her gums. She started off with little bites and sucking , but now she's starting to chew a little. Even though I know she can probably handle her food fine, I still put soft solids into a mesh feeder for her that way she gets the chewing action she wants without me worrying she's gonna choke on a big piece. You can find them at Target or Babies R Us. Good luck!

At this age, solids are for tastes and experiments only, not for major food source. My son didn't start eating full-on solids until he was about 15 months old, and even then he was still maybe 70-80% breastfed. It's nothing to be concerned about as long as she's still gaining and meeting developmental milestones. Offer her things here and there but don't make an issue of it. It's not like if she dosen't have solids now she'll never eat them...I promise you that!

My 17 month old is doing the exact same thing--you are telling our story. We took him to the dr and he said he looked totally healthy that if you keep offering kids dont starve themselves---its been a month and he is still hardly eating. We offer him different foods 4 or more times a day--we change the food to all the things he liked to anything else to baby food. The only thing we know is that he is teething and that hurts alot. We now put 3 spoons of cereal in every bottle of formula. He also walked at 9 months and is very busy all day long.

Neither of my children got their first tooth until 10 months. So, naturally I was reluctant to feed them table food. However, I found, that this is what they wanted, no teeth and all.

Here is what I used to do:

I put a variety of items on the tray of the highchair and let them go at it. If they didn't eat it or it fell on the floor, oh well. I fed them whenever I ate. They still should be getting most of their nutrition from the formula anyway, so if they don't eat very much, then that is okay.

Here are some things that I fed my kids:

Slightly frozen peas
Cut up green beans
Cooked spinach
Raviolis-the ones they sell for babies without sauce
Tiny pieces of whole wheat bread
Any cut up fruit
Cooked carrots
Ground Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Cooked oatmeal(served in bowl-didn't help)
Cheerios with milk-served in bowl with spoon(didn't help)

I hope this gives you a few ideas. DON'T FORGET-Monkey See, Monkey Do! Eat with your baby-I usually ate what I fed my kids. Just in adult fashion, not cut up:)

Hi L.,

Because a baby's stomach lining is not fully developed until age one, it is best NOT to feed them solids until they reach that age. Doing so sooner may cause food allergies because the food can be passed through the stomach walls and create toxicity in the body. Breast is best; but if you've already switched to formula, I recommend sticking with that. A little rice cereal would be fine, too.

Best of luck to you!

Warm Regards,
G. Van Luven, H.C.
Healthy Habits Wellness Center, LLC
www.HealthyHabitsWellnessCenter.com
###-###-####

L., I have been attending these great workshops for free. While i have no good advice I know the speaker would she is and renown expert on children and feeding issues. Check out their website or better yet come to the workshop. Info is as follows Good Luck need and if you need any extra info let me know ____@____.com

"Effective Intervention for Young Children with Feeding Challenges &
their Families" at 6 pm on Thursday evening, May 14, 2009. The session is
entitled "Transitioning from Tube Feeding Towards Oral Feeding (Part 1)" and
is presented by Marsha Dunn Klein MED., OTR/L. Registration and a light dinner
will begin at 5:30 pm. The workshop will begin promptly at 6 pm. Please email
____@____.com if you are unable to attend the workshop on
Thursday evening.

Child Care will be provided by reservation. If you would like child
care during the workshop, please email ____@____.com no later
than 5 pm Wednesday, May 13, 2009.

Workshops are held at:
Easter Seals Southwest Human Development
2850 N. 24th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85008

Please call ###-###-#### if you have any questions. We look forward to
seeing you!

The P.O.P.S.I.C.L.E. Center