Picky 10 Month Old??

Hey K.,

Could he be teething? Maybe he is just refusing solids in his mouth. Just be observant and consistent in offering foods, maybe try some new stuff too. He'll get back on track. Good luck with him!

Hi,

We had a similar time with our son at about 10 months he refused to be spoon fed! It was a tough time trying to figure out what we could give him that he could feed himself and still feel like we were giving him a variety of vitamins and nutrients. Things that we were sucessful with for him were carrots, bananas, apples, pears, blueberries, peaches, bread and butter, crackers, potatoes, yogert pancakes, waffels, peas, mac & cheese, spagetti, various meat balls, & turkey.

Just keep trying different things for him, he will most likely enjoy them again before you know it, our son now eats pretty much anything we serve him and is able to uses utensils @ 15 mo...guess giving in to him @ 10 months was just temporary...hang in there!

Hi Kristen,
You have a lot of great responses. I agree at this age they are checking things out and as long as he is getting his vitamins from breast milk or formula not to worry much but when he is older don't let him become to picky an eater by fixing separate meals for him from what the rest of the family is having, my step son had nannys at his moms house and dictated what he would eat completely different from the rest of the household and it was made for him, to this day he is a picky eater (age 27 now) and very demanding about it.

Also if he is being picky have healthy foods that are his choices, getting to choose is great but if he has mac and cheese or hotdogs or sweets for every meal he isn't getting the balance he needs so don't have it available. Kids will eat when they are hungry enough. I have one friend who has sweet drinks and foods available all the time for the kids and her oldest son was just told by the Dr. he is grand obese, age 9. The option was let him continue making the choices or take the bad choices out of the house, let him make the choices if you want but only have healthy items available. He is eating a completely different diet, took him a while to like it but he didn't have any choice but to eat the healthy stuff and he is back to a healthy weight.

As your son gets older and breast milk or formula are no longer his sustenance just know he will not starve himself, kids will eat eventually (direct words from the pediatrician). What I found with my own son was involvement helped a lot. When he was about 18 months he started helping pick out the fruit and veggies at the store, he learned to smell, touch, soft, hard what made each one good...he got to weigh them on the store scales and then when home he got to start help cooking, cracking eggs, building the salad.... It gave him a sense of pride and he wanted to try the foods he helped with. He didn't always like them but he tried them. As he got older, age 3 on we started talking about how taste buds change and to keep trying new foods, to try the ones he didn't like as you generally have to try something many times before your taste buds like it, also that blueberries are good for your brain, protein is good for your muscles and bones and your body needs just a little fat for growing but sugar is just a treat as your body doesn't really need it. He loved all the science talk and was more willing to try things he new would help him grow. He also, now 9, loves to help in the kitchen, experiments with new recipes and gets frustrated with friends when they won't try something new and tries to convince them otherwise by stating 'if you had never tried pizza you would have never known you liked it'!

Participation helps alot and the choices he has makes a huge difference.

Something I forgot was not letting him fill up on drinks, especially juice (they really don't need juice, the fruit is much better), while eating a meal. I like to give him water or milk with a meal or sometimes let him drink after eating so he fills up with the food instead of the liquid. Even at 9 chocolate milk is a treat after dinner.

Good luck, have fun,
SarahMM

Foods under a year old are about the baby learning new taste, textures and just "how to do it". It isn't meant for nutrition, if they are on formula or BM then there is no need to worry, they are getting all of their nutrional needs met.

You will also find that over the next 2 years they will eat something one day and hate it the next, you will find also find that there are some days your little one will eat you out of house and home, and then turn around and eat nothing but chicken nuggets. To get a better overall view of your baby/childs nutrition you need to look at it on a weekly bases and not on a daily bases.

Don't let food become a battle, offer it and if he doesn't want it, fine, he can try again later.

K.,
My youngest and only son went through the same thing. And I know exactly how you are feeling. Worried. He started about the same time, it got to the point where all I could get him to eat was applesause, squash, and peach cobbler babyfoods. So I would give him baby vitamins and he had his formula. With mine it kept going as a toddler the only foods I could get my son to eat at about age 2-4 was fries, apples, milk, cinnamon life cereal, bacon, pepperoni, sometimes baby carrots. I still gave him vitamins and sometimes put some formula in his milk. I had to be presistant though and forced him to try at least one bite of a new food every time he ate. At age 5 he decided he loved to make his own salad which consisted of lettuce, carrots, fresh peas,and bacon bits with ranch dressing, loved pepperoni pizza, and fondue steak were added to his list. But he finally grew out of it.
Now he is 16, stands a little over 6'2, weighs about 180, wears a size 14 shoe, and eats everything I think except mushrooms. So my advice is give him vitamin suppliments and keep having him at least try a bite of something even if he throws a fit. He'll eventually grow out of it for the most part or completely like my son. So you know though you never stop worrying even when doctors tell you they will grow out of it. And thats another thing ask his doctor for advice too, they may have something new today that they didn't have when my son was a baby.
Good Luck
E.

Me? when my kids were smaller I fed them what they would eat, my theory is when they get ready they will try something new and different. I think that a lot of parenting is gut instinct anyway.
Good luck keep up doing what you are doing. My daughter would eat only fruits and veggies not a lot of meat, drove her father nuts. Me? I just fed her what she was hungry for. She's grown now and eats what ever she's hungry for any and all meats and still fruits and veggies, she's pretty healthy. She didn't like and still doesn't care for milk to drink, my friend who had a hfood store said give her yogurt and ice cream for the calcium.
It worked.

My daughter and son did similar things. One way to get more veggies in their diet is to mix steamed and blended orange and yellow veggies with their fruit (applesauce). Start out with 1/3 veggie or less then slowly make your way up to 50/50 or more.

Kids are picky occasionally especially if they notice it gets your attention. They will do anything for attention even give up foods they previously ate. He is probably just realizing he can control what he eats and is really enjoying it. That feeling of some control is good for his self-confidence, so just sneak in veggies and give him some straight veggies on the side so he thinks he is still making his own decisions.

He is a smart little one!

Good luck,
R.

Only giving him what he will eat is a huge parent no-no.
It will set him up for using food as a power play. First, you can be assured he is getting nutrients by making sure he has his formula. That should be enough for his daily requirements. Offer foods and different flavors, he has a choice, to eat them or not. Serve him a variety and continue offering things right now he is passing on. He will eventually come around to them again. If he sees he can reject something and you offer up his favorites this will continue on a vicious cycle and it will get harder not easier.
I am a firm believer that you continue to expose him to new things, that you do not allow "only" his favorites and he can eat them or not. Granted he is young, but he will not starve himself, he won't. He has a deep instinct of survival and will eat if truly hungry enough. Teaching him now that you are not a deli or diner and you serve what you serve and he has the choice to eat it or not is the best thing you can do for him. Baby foods tend to be bland and yucky in texture, expand his varieties to chopped up versions of whatever the family eats, sit down with him at all meals so he feels like it is a family thing to do.

Include him as he gets older in helping fix meals as that is a huge bonus in my house.
His taste buds will change a ton of times. Texture and blandness usually are a huge factore for kids. I am one that believes all kids have a select few things they just do not like, however they should always try something to really say they do not like it and then it is okay for those FEW things, however, setting him up with knowing you will cave and give him his favorites if he doesn't eat is a bad choice on your part.

Hang tough, be consistent and offer new things, fresh green beans, frozen peas, diced fruits, hard boiled or scrambled eggs with cheese, chopped up cheese pizza, rolled deli meat as a rollup or diced up, pasta that he can pick up, etc. He may just be done with baby food as my son was at that age. Add spice and flavor and he will be a lot less picky later on.

kids go through a lot of food phases. and our taste buds grow and change throughout our lives, so we like different things at different ages. at 10 months, i just let my kids have what they want and offer a little portion of what the rest of the family is eating so that if they feel adventurous they have the opportunity. this way two goals get accomplished-- filling their bellies and allowing them to experience new tastes and textures in food. when he's a little older you can get pushy about him eating the same balanced meal as the rest of the family. (it has to be when you're ready to discipline him for NOT eating what you serve him.) i used to give my youngest at least 3 items on his plate. if he ate at least 2 of them until he was full, i was satisfied. at 2 yrs he went through a stage of eating 2-3 hotdogs, a meal of ramen noodles, and fruit cocktail 2-3 times every day. not the best diet, but it was only a stage. he's moved on to other favorites now. good luck!

when my kids were that age, it was all about presentation. I'd make a sandwhich and ask "do you want squares or triangles?"....then I'd cut the sandwhich into fourths.

The fewer colors the better. At one point I had to play a game: "can you find the cheese? can you put the cheese in your mouth? good job! you found the cheese!"

my boy doesn't like eating things that are green. My girl will eat anything as long as you say "yummy" when you put it down in front of her.

Kids change constantly on what they like and don't like. It is important though that you are cnsistant with him. He is learning that if he spits it out mommy will give me what I want. So here is what my doctor told me. At 10 months old your baby should still be breastfed or getting formula. If he is still drinking his mlk then don't worry. If it is like 2 days and he hasn't eaten anything then give him something that you know he will eat. Mostly at this stage keeping him from getting dehydrated is the most important thing. Offer him food and his milk. I hope this helps. It is hard for us moms to think our kids are starving but breastmilk/formula have all the vitamins and fat he needs. He could just be teething and it hurts to eat. Good Luck.

Unfortunately, yes, it can be happening this young. My youngest was really picky from the time he was six months old. It won't hurt them to eat what they want. Just watch his weight. My youngest still goes through stages, sometimes, like now, all he wants is cereal. I can't make him eat anything else. If he does it's a really small amount and then he still wants the cereal.

I'd just feed him what he wants and keep an eye on his weight. Good luck!!!