Refusing to eat

[alotofyarn]

At what point is refusing to eat dinner a problem? E is 8 months and flat out refusing to eat dinner lately. Does she need formula or extra nursing if she won’t eat solids? She normally easily ate 4oz of puree at dinner, and now she just refuses to open her mouth and shakes her head back and forth. Do I try fruit, in which case she won’t get any vegetables or protein? Or just let her go with only what little I am able to sneak in her mouth? I’m torn between raising a picky eater and depriving her of calories that she may need. I know that “under 1 is just for fun” and all, but we also had weight gain issues until we started solids.

[Thirteen]

Did you mention she's been teething? That might have something to do with it.


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[alotofyarn]

Well she just ate 4oz of yogurt, the 4th thing I tried after chicken/applesauce, mixed veggies, and carrots, all of which she's eaten before. I never know if she's teething. She hasn't had any big signs in the last month or so after seeming like it was really hurting her for more than month before that. She doesn't have any teeth yet, so it's always a possibility.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I'm normally a big proponent of just keep serving what the family is having and they'll eat something eventually but I know you've had some weight concerns with her (though she seems completely developmental normal/ahead in all your pics so I doubt it's truly a huge concern...I just think she's a peanut). I bet she's teething so I'd offer the breast more to make sure she's getting her calories. At this age, I basically continued breast feeding pretty much on demand and let them taper themselves off of it

[alotofyarn]

I haven't done too much of serving her what the family has, because that would require us actually eating decent meals, and we're not quite there yet. I try to do oatmeal/applesauce with fruit finger foods for breakfast, some sort of starch/fruit/veggie puree combo for lunch with some puffs, and mostly veggies (puree and finger foods) for dinner with fruit afterward, although I'm trying to add protein in for dinner too. She's been doing 4oz of puree each meal, although they said at daycare they thought she could probably do more. I tend to send stuff I know she really likes to daycare so that they don't have to fight her, but I'd like to send more variety.

[alotofyarn]

So I found this - something to shoot for, I guess: http://www.healthychildren.org/Engli...Month-Old.aspx

We're pretty close, except for dinner. I guess as long as she's doing well with breakfast and lunch, and still nursing (currently 5x/day plus usually once at night), I'll do my best to not worry.

[MrsC]

She may be getting bored with pureed foods. Now that DS is good with finger foods, he will only eat pureed fruit with oatmeal in the morning. He has to have what we're eating, which can be frustrating if we're eating something he can't have for dinner. In that case I give him cheese, fruit, whatever else we have. He'll usually eat diced veggies and little bits of broken up meat for dinner. It has to come from our plates, no baby bowls.

[alotofyarn]

I do think she prefers finger foods, but she had peas and tomatoes tonight, and she wasn't even eating those, she was just throwing them on the floor. I try to do purees still just to make sure she actually gets food in her, because it's hit or miss on how much finger food actually makes it into and stays in her mouth. She doesn't have any teeth still, so anything she gets has to be able to be gummed. I may try dicing the meat - I made chicken for the first time on Friday, and she loved the first little bits I gave her, then I added some of the cooking juice to puree it a bit more, and then she refused to eat it until I mixed it with applesauce. I'll try to cook some more and shred it, and see if she likes that better.

[MrsC]

Good idea. Shredded chicken should be fine to gum. C still has two teeth and barely uses them. It's too slow so he gums everything. I'm always amazed at what he can eat, had shredded steak for dinner this evening.
It's so hard when they go off food!
He was only taking two bottles for two days and I was really starting to worry. Back to normal today though! Seems like it's something new every day.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

D will suck on any strips of meat we give her (long enough so they're like a lollipop). We've never done puréed food, it's always been finger food. I've tried oatmeal so many times in the morning and she hates it! I think it's the mush. I'm going to keep at it though, it's such an easy breakfast to fix for two of them!

[alotofyarn]

Would D eat oatmeal with chunks of fruit?