10 Month Old Rejecting Baby Food

[JaneDoe]

My 10 month old dd all of sudden started to reject baby food. Up until now, she loved her peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, etc. Now, she clenches her mouth shut, bats at the spoonful of food and begins to cry. Why? She continues to nurse regularly and she readily eats her finger food.

Could it be that she's done with the baby food thing, and ready to move on to big people food? If so, what do I feed her? I know that's a silly question, but all of the food we eat has spices, salt, etc. For instance, on the menu for tonight's dinner is burritos. How do I feed a 10 month old a burrito?

I'm just really confused about how to feeding issues right now. Probably, due in part to the fact that she is on the skinny side -only in the 12 percentile for weight. I also don't have as much milk as I used to, so I think it's time to start weaning. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[PrincessFiona]

Aidan really never liked the smooth texture of baby food. We pretty much went straight to finger foods and I felt funny about it too. None of my other children had been like that.

Try the 'gerber graduates' or simply start chopping up the veggies/fruits that you eat at home into baby-sized bites. We started out by chopping up little pieces of banana into bites that he could pick up and safely eat. I still have unopened jars of baby food in my cupboards...we ended up letting him just east what we were all eating from the very beginning....spices and all. He's my best eater now.

I'd cut up the burrito into bite-sized portions and let her have fun eating them!

kris

[mommax3]

My kids all did this to some extent. It is frustrating! Check with your doctor first, but we relied on yogurt, (the kind without chunks of fruit) Cheerios, bananas, mandarin oranges, applesauce, toast with butter or margarine to make it soft, and torn apart pieces of cheese during this stage. Oh, and also peanut butter Ritz bits. They always liked cooked peas, too, but actually into their mouths was tricky! Scrambled eggs might be another option, and plain cooked pasta might be fun, too.

Hope this helps.

Sally

My 10 month old is the same -- no baby food in the last two months or so. I just try to give her what we are having in small pieces. Last night she ate pasta with a tomato, cream, and pancetta sauce and loved it. The only smooth things she likes are yogurt and applesauce, probably because she sees her big sister eating it too. Here are some things -- in small chunks -- she likes (ditto to checking w/ your ped):
Avocado (good fat for a smaller baby!)
whole milk yogurt
applesauce
oatmeal
scrambled eggs (should really just be the yolk, check w/ your dr)
banana
pear
cooked apple
cooked carrot (simmer til soft)
cheese
macaroni and cheese -- noodles on the softer side
any pasta in small pieces
crackers
toast
pancakes
waffles
tortilla ripped into small pieces

Hm, she likes a lot of breakfast food! Cheese is probably her favorite thing of all.

Ah, the words of wisdom from the "experienced"!!

Kids won't starve themselves and about this time is when the also start to show more independence. Rejecting foods is about the only way they are able to express themselves and see what happens from it. Don't take it personal, tomorrow it will be something new!

When our youngest started in this phase, which was early, we did what Kris did. Seems he just wanted what everyone else had! Also, you may try giving a untensil and allowing the mess to grow, that has seemed to work at our house too.

[SueC]

Our oldest did this at only 7 months!!! She only had 2 bottom teeth so I had to get really creative about what I fed her. If she didn't put it in her own mouth, she didn't want it, so I could only feed her things that she could "self-feed". Her diet pretty much consisted of the things Nellie had on her list. In the long run, life became much easier when she started feeding herself, since I could spend mealtimes eating my own food rather than sitting there shoveling food in her mouth. The current baby in the house (also 7 months old) is starting on table food and I've noticed my standards have relaxed significantly. Yesterday I gave him pizza to gnaw on, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

[Flynn]

Yep -- baby food is over! We stopped all baby food at 9 months and began finger food but kept rice cereal.
Most of the nutrition is still coming from a bottle/breast milk anyway so put the baby food away!

[Meenah]

My first did everything by the "baby book". My second one wanted what everyone else was eating. At 10 months I let her have a BBQ rib (bad Mom). We were eating ribs and she threw a fit til we gave her one. It kept her entertained for a very long time. She is a great eater now.
Luanne

[JaneDoe]

Thanks for all of the great advice. For tonight's dinner, my dd will be having a burrito (in baby-size bites).

[Cumberland]

Seems like there are a lot of 10 month olds around here lately. My little boo is doing the same too, although she loves applesauce and yogurt too. Dinner tonight was mushed peas, banana chunks and cheerios with the occasional mouthful of peaches in kefir (sp?) snuck in there.

[BonBon]

Oh gosh, I think Gavin only had baby food for maybe a month. He's been eating whatever we're having for months now. And the poor kid doesn't have a tooth in his head. He LOVES to feed himself.

he eats a lot of:
yogurt
string cheese(his favorite thing)
scrambled eggs with a little cream cheese and bacon mixed in
cheerios
goldfish (as they are now trans fat free)
fruit
sausage and spinach pie(thanks Alison-in-OH!!)
quiche, etc

I bought him one of those little nets to put fruit in but it's too hard to keep clean. We only used it twice and it got really vile.

I realize I'm a bit late commenting on this issue, but most of the advice you recieved is good. I wanted to address your concern about your milk supply. As a Breatfeeding educator and a mom who breastfed my two boys until beyond the age of two I want to encourage you not to give up. Most moms have concerns that they don't have enough milk at some point in their baby early life. Unfortunately many give up before learning the facts. When babies start to eat more table food, they may tend to nurse less often. Remember your milk supply is based on supply and demand. Your body will produce what your baby demands. Since you have been nursing for 10 plus months, I have not doubt that you have been meeting your babies needs or your pediatrician would have addressed the issue earlier. Remember expressing or pumping does not give an adequate assessment of your milk supply since they are both artificial means of doing what God intended your baby to do. I am a good example since my pumping never amounted to much and yet my babies did great. The best indication that your baby is getting adequate nutrition is infant satisfaction after nursing and the amoung that is coming out in the diaper. Good luck and don't give up yet. Breatmilk is the best nutrition for your child--and no matter what the advertisements say, formula doesn't even come close! Oh, yea, after a year it is okay to give cows milk too. Many people thought that since I breastfed my kids for so long they didn't drink anything else. They had they cups of juice and milk in addition to breastmilk.