Almost everyday is a challenge for me. For the past 2 months my 9 month old starts crying whenever he sees the bottle of formula. He only finishes his bottle when we show something bright or musical thing. In other words cheat to drink. He was fine with his lunch and dinner. But now he doesn't want that too.He hates his high chair. He just gags and throws up after every meal. But his energy never diminishes even after a big throw up. He loves to pass his day playing, babbling and crawling everywhere. Its me who always think that its time now, he must be hungry but he never seems to be. All he want is to play play and play. No snacks,no food and no formula. My pedia and friends say its normal. leave him like this and he will come to you for food. Everyone calls me tension mommy. I thought as babies grow they eat and drink more. All he drinks is 16oz with long battle. At the end of the day its me who cries. Please give some advice on how to make my son eat and drink.
Babies self regulate. Don't make food a battle. The people I know with food issues with their kids are the ones that battled to MAKE them finish a bottle. He may cry when he sees it because he knows you are going to keep making him drink until he's too full and so full he throws up!
That was the age my daughter was when she quit nursing, went straight to a sippy cup, and refused baby food. She never took bottles so she just got formula or water in a cup when she wanted it. I gave her all food she could feed herself and put it straight on her high chair tray. She ate what we ate. Sometimes she ate, sometimes she didn't. You might be stressing him out with your own anxiety. Just give it a while and see if anything changes (as long as he's healthy and not losing weight).
There are two things you can't FORCE a baby to do...
One is eat and the other is sleep.
Your son really won't starve himself. If the pediatrician isn't worried just yet, you shouldn't be either. Kids go on spurts where they eat everything or nothing. It really is normal. It sounds like he's too busy exploring his world right now to stop and eat on cue.
Keep offering, but don't try to force things with him. If he picks up on your tension, that won't help things. I know it's hard, but try to be a little more relaxed about it.
It might work.
Best wishes!
He will eat and drink when he is hungry and thirsty. Don't force. You don't want him to be turned off by mealtime at this young age. Don't stress. Children's eating habits change with age. He just doesn't need as much right now. He'll pick up the pace when he needs the food. Make mealtimes enjoyable for all.
Is he losing weight? If not, I'd take some of the pressure off and he should tell you when he's hungry. If he is losing weight - I'd check w/ the doctor to see if there is a medical issue. It's very frustrating - hang in there, you just care and want the best for him - a good MOM!
Your boy is healthy, right? Then he's probably OK. Food is an up and down thing. Babies eat and drink more as they grow, yes, but that's in the long run. In the short run, they can... well, do things like this. As long as he's healthy and happy, he's obviously getting enough nutrition.
You might talk to your doctor about what to do for him instead of formula, since he doesn't want it. You don't want to start a big food war, because you can't win food wars. Pick your battles carefully! (You'll know this more certainly when he's about two years old.)
You may have read all the right books (as I did) and know what OUGHT to happen, but your baby hasn't read them. So smile! Offer him regular meals and snacks, but when he doesn't want them (or want much) then declare meal time over and let him down. When he is hungry, trust me - he will eat!
Sometimes children won't eat and/or vomit after doing so, if they've swallowed something harmful. At that age, it could be a penny, marble, etc. That could be way off base, but you're the advocate for your child. If you want it examined further, push the doctor to do diagnostic studies.
My son would not eat and still doesn't (now 20 months old), although he will drink milk. He would gag violently when he tried to eat table foods, sometimes even baby food. After many different assessments - pediatrician, ENT, and speech, occupational, and feeding therapists, we believe he has low muscle tone in the lower part of his cheeks and mouth, and a strong gag reflex. The low muscle tone makes eating difficult and tiring for him, so he often would rather just not eat anything. If you suspect that something like this could be a contributing factor, try to seek some help right away. It seems to take a long time to work through this problem, and the later you start, the more averse he might become to eating. I think we eventually got help when the ENT determined there were no obvious reasons why he couldn't eat - no obstructions, no difficulty swallowing. Then he referred us to Our Children's House at Baylor for an assessment for feeding therapy. We ultimately wound up working with therapists through ECI (early Childhood Intervention). Every county has an ECI office, check out this web site for more info. http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/index.shtml
Of course, your son may not have any problem at all, but I thought I would pass along our story in case it could be of some help to you.
Have you discussed this with your pediatrician? It might be normal but it might not. Is he losing weight? Is he healthy? Is he growing normally? My daughter was small,on the low end of the growth chart.She ate fine she was just tiny. My sister insisted I make her eat but her Dr. said no,that she would eat when she needed too.You may be making it worse by forcing the issue. Try giving him a few days and see. He has to eat at some time. If he still doesn't want anything after not eating for 2-3 days then take him in to his Dr.
CALL ME! Send a message and I will give you my cell. Our daughter spent 4 weeks INPATIENT at the Dallas Baylor's Our Children's House overcoming this issue which was part behavorial, part physiological.
I can give you the highlights for you to employ with son.
