Eating Solid Food

Gerber makes a "spoon" for babies to start feeding themselves. It looks like a stick with grooves in it. I would get him that and let him feed himseld. Once he gets used to the flavors, then try feeding him, so that he'll get more in his belly. I would start with a sweet veggie like sweet potatoes, and sweet peas.

Before a bath one night you should strip him down, sit him in his high chair and let him play with the baby food. Try fruit first (like bananas) and let him feel it and try it on his own time. Ideally you would be there with him like while you cook dinner or something of the sorts. After a little play time try feeding him some with a spoon but let him have his own spoon too. best of luck!

I agree with both posters so far. I wouldn't stress too much over it and I also wouldn't push it. Continue offering but if he doesn't eat no big deal. He will when he is ready!

I have heard and been told that it takes at least ten times of trying for a child to get a liking to new foods. I think many of us are quick to give up and just announce to the world that they are picky eaters. So don't give up, and as others have told you he won't starve if he is not eating solids right now. Have some patience and keep on trying. Good luck.

At this age, my daughter did not really like those types of solids either. What I did was get some rice cereal and mix it with yogurt. She loved it. Also, my daughter did not care for some of the baby food solids, so I had to figure out other things. Try the diced fruit already in little containers. They are soft and he may like those. Yogurt was one of my D favorite. Toast with butter and cinnomon/sugar. If he is interested in doing things with his hands, let him finger paint with pudding. Sometimes it just takes their taste buds to loosen up and accept the different tastes. Oatmeal, Mac and cheese, jello, and applesauce. Just a few ideas.

I do know that babies get most of their nutrition from formula or BM but I know how it is and you want them to get the feel for food. There is also a book that has some good recipes, Toddler meals for dummies. (Not calling you a dummy) but I found some really easy and some foods to try.

Good Luck!

(1)The old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. You can't make your kid eat either. (2)Keep putting it in front of him. It takes at least 8 tries before a kid gets accustomed to it. (3)don't put too much food. It can be overwhelming. (4) make it look appetizing. YOU eat it. You eat as a family at the dinner table. Make it a game. Give him his own special plate, plasticware, & sippy cup. (5) Limit his milk/juice intake. During meals only offer water. Offer milk as a snack. Offer only 16-20 oz. of milk per day. Only 4 oz. of juice per day. (6)Relax, your child is not going to starve himself. He will eat on his own terms.

We had the exact same trouble with our now 12 month old girl. Funny enough, we just got tired of trying. So after an attempt at feeding her yogurt (usually the only thing she was interested in) about a week ago, he just left the container and spoon on the tray and walked away to get something. When he came back, she was feeding herself! So, we realized she wasn't interested because she wanted to do it herself, or nothing. Now, we just strip her down to a diaper, and let her go for it! She eats like crazy! There is a concern that she isn't getting very much, but we figure its more than she was doing.

It's worth a try...

K.

Don't feed it to him when he's hungry. Let him drink his bottle or breastfeed on his normal schedule, then about halfway in between feedings, try sitting him in his chair to eat some cheerios or crackers. He may be more willing to munch on them and get used to eating them if his tummy isn't completely empty and wanting to be full as quickly as a bottle or breastmilk makes him. He'll start getting interested soon enough. But it is a good idea to try to get him used to eating solids. It's a natural step in the eating process for babies his age. Good luck! He'll do it sooner or later.

Even though this is annoying for you, it is still very normal. Just put little pieces of soft food in front of him, or offer him jarred food periodically. Eventually he will eat it.

With my third daughter, she started swallowing food on the day before her first birthday. Everything else about her health and weight was normal. She got her nutrition from formula. To this day, she LOVES milk. (She's almost 7.) Good luck!

If not interested yet, he will be soon enough. There is no reason to rush the process. MAKING a child do (or not do) something will always result in a power struggle, causing more stress and frustration than need be for both child and parent.
Do you eat with him at the table? family dinners are the best way to show little ones how we eat, children learn mostly by example at first.

Babies inherently know what is good for them--if he won't eat it his system is probably not ready for it. Eating before 12 months of age is only practice anyway--they get all their nutrients from formula or breast milk until then. It won't hurt him not to eat--he'll do it when he's ready :-)

I would just give it time and don't push him. My oldest daughter had no real interest in solids until she was 16 months where my younger daughter was eating quite a bit at 9 months. Every child is different and they will eat in their own time.

My son hated regular baby food. He tried cereal once and pureed food once. He turned up his nose at 'baby food' but was still clearly hungry and interested in what we were eating.

You don't mention if he can't eat or if he won't eat. There's a difference. In our case, I just took what we were eating and chopped it with a knife until it was fine dice. He loved being able to feed himself, and loved the flavors of real food. Turns out the flavor and texture of baby food was a real turn off and regular food was a turn on. And yes, in our case, the introduction of a single food at a time went totally out the window, but he did just fine.

When I talked to my ped about it he said spices are just fine for babies and wasn't concerned about it.

make it fun. don't force him. let him see you enjoy the same food. eat at the table during set times.

With my daughter, it was a texture thing. She didn't care for the textures of certain foods and would avoid them.

Right now, the biggest thing is to introduce a variety of things so he can try them. As long as he is still drinking his milk, whether that is breast milk or formula, and is alert and active, I wouldn't worry too much.

One thing we did that helped make the transition to baby cereal easier was to mix it with breast milk instead of water. We also made it really thin at first, like just a touch thicker than breast milk. That way it tasted familiar and wasn't too different of a texture. As she got more used to it, we started to thicken it up.

If your son likes fruit juices, you could also try making the cereal with juice.

Not all babies are interested in food, that is ok. All of his nutrition comes from either his formula or BM. Just keep offering it to him but don't make a big deal, when he is ready he will eat.

J., Personally, I wouldn't push it. Nine months old is a little young to even worry about him eating solids. Both my girls didn't even go on solids fully until they were over a year old. Stick with what he will eat while still introducing new foods to him and he'll catch on. Just keep it healthy so that he wants to continue with those foods. We have lots of food allergies in my family so keep giving him softer foods to eat and things that you know he wants. Don't push items that adults or toddlers would be eating. You can puree a lot of fruits and veggies for him too. In our case, there were foods that one of my girls didn't like and I thought that was strange, but come to find out she pushed it away because she was allergic to it. Hope this helps.

my kids did the same thing. i backed off until they began to show an interest in what i was eating, then shared my plate with them, then gave them their own plate. worked great for us. couldn't hurt to try. remember that kids KNOW when they are ready for things and it's only our desire to teach them and have them grow that makes us push them. good luck

When he's ready for solids, he'll lunging towards your plate and trying to swipe your food. He'll also intently watch your food go from your plate to your mouth...and then reach for the food or the silverware or your mouth. until then, he's fine with formula/nursing. Don't push it too soon.