Baby advice - once great eater now hates nearly everything

In My Humble Opinion
1

My 10-month-old has been eating solid foods for 3 or 4 months now. He took to it very quickly, no doubt aided by the fact that he got all 8 of his incisors in early and quickly. He progressed so rapidly that most people were astounded to see or hear what he was eating at, say, 9 months old. Around that point, he ate literally almost everything from mom and dad’s plate: meat, veggies, fruits, grains, cheese…you name it. Aside from making exceptions or modifications for spicy, salty, or very chewy foods, we have just been cutting up some of our dinner into little pieces and letting him go to town. The same has been true at daycare. He has been sitting at the table and eating at least a serving of everything they put in front of him…often demanding seconds.

For the past week or two, however, it’s been a completely different story. He won’t eat anything, with the exception of cheese and spaghetti. He spits out anything very solid, and frankly isn’t too happy about the soft stuff either. At daycare, he’s been refusing solid food, too, and they have to resort to jarred food. And apparently, getting him to eat that is a bit of a challenge.

His mom and I are hoping it’s just one of those phases that babies go through. But we aren’t hearing many anecdotes that total regression from solids at an early age is usual. I know toddlers go through many phases of pickiness, and just decide they don’t like chicken that particular week. But for an infant to go from superstar eater to wanting a liquid only diet…how normal is that?

We can’t see any evidence that he’s teething. Next up should be the first of his molars, but since he got all his incisors so early we don’t know what to expect when it comes to timing of the net round of teeth. But still, we keep checking for signs of new teeth and don’t think that’s the culprit.

Over the last month, he has transitioned from only breast milk to only formula, a fairly gradual tapering that happened over several weeks. At first, formula was introduced to supplement an insufficient supply of breast milk, and that (not surprisingly) set up a feedback loop that resulted in no more milk and 100% formula. He’s happy to have the formula, and always takes it willingly and eagerly. I can’t imagine it would cause him to eschew other foods completely, but thought it was worth mentioning.

So, any experience, Doper parents? Is there anything you might try to rekindle his interest in food? It was so nice having a complete omnivore around…and that comparison makes it that much more frustrating trying to force him to eat anything at all.

2

PandaKid did that. The doc told us to give her PediaSure (or something like that) and just make sure she stayed hydrated (she was always willing to drink something).

3

Have you called his doctor? I would call and schedule an appointment. At this age, when they can’t talk to tell you if something’s wrong, I feel that it’s often better just to have a professional check things out.

4

Could it be a texture thing?

5

I’m convinced that “signs of teething” is all a big scam, with my baby, there seems to be no relation at all between the signs (or lack of signs) and appearance of teeth. So don’t rule out teething.

I also remember from my breastfeeding strategies class that formula is simply more filling than (a comparable quantity) of milk (it sounds like your wife and I were in a similar pattern). Are you letting him get hungry enough before giving the soft food and/or formula? I know at day care, they are often more on a schedule so they can’t always adjust meals to the whims of one child, so that could be a factor, if he knows he will get what he wants (apparently formula) if he holds out long enough).

My daughter is also a good eater, but she does go through short spans (admittedly, sounds like shorter than your son’s) where she seems to loose interest. These sometimes happen after growth spurts, during which she can not get the food in fast enough. It’s like the growth slows down, and her appetite plunges along with it. During these times, provided they are relatively short, I give her the usual solid food, and if she’s rather mess around with it on her tray for a while, I let her and then clean up. Next meal, same thing. Sometimes this goes on for a few meals before she lets me know she’s hungry. She will also sometimes still fall for this trick – I will sit down and eat something while ignoring her, this makes it more appealing.

I always agree to call the pediatrician to supplement advice you get from strangers over the internet. :slight_smile:

6

he’s 10 months old. there are 7 billion people on this planet, and billions more who have existed. there’s no such thing as “normal,” especially at that age.

7

delphica stole one of my suggestions, to try to eat your Very Own Meal, and not offer that poor baby a single bite. In my experience, I could feed the entire family a gargantuan feast, and sit down five minutes later to a plate of stale bread crusts and brackish water, and my meal would be much more interesting than whatever was served earlier.

Other suggestions, assuming that this is just a minor phase: kids this age are so busy learning and exploring and discovering that mealtime just seems like some boring chore that interrupts all of the exciting stuff several times a day. I’ve had some success with making meals more “interactive” - dipping sauces (yogurt, catsup, whatever works for your kid;) spaghetti noodles and goldfish crackers - Monster Baby is eating “worms” and fishies… grrr! It’s goofy and messy, but it can help. Also, cold (chilled) foods might tempt his appetite if the weather is hot.

Meanwhile, formula is pretty well-balanced, so a few days of no appetite won’t harm him in the long run. It’s frustrating for the parents, but not a big thing (assuming that the pediatrician isn’t too concerned.)

8

The thing we got told repeatedly is ‘a baby wont starve itself’.

ie dont panic, and dont let them choose foods too much out of anxiety that they ‘have to eat something’. Give them 2 or 3 choices and dont stress too much about any single meal. Once you start giving them only what they want, you’re in trouble.

But that was after they screened for various issues, so yeah paediatrician check.

Otara