Suddenly Refusing Solid Food

[Courtney]

Anyone had this problem or know how to help resolve?

My nine-month-old after working up to three solid meals a day of homemade baby food in addition to nursing all of a sudden began refusing solid food by tightening his lips together and turning his head. This is odd because he would generally open his mouth time after time to take another bite, resulting in me preparing second and third helpings until he was full. Now he won't take a single bite but will only nurse. This new pattern has been going on for a week. Just tonight at dinner I had a sweet potato casserole on my plate that he accepted numerous bites of from my fork - Could it be that he wants "adult" food and not "baby" food? How can I get him to resume eating like he used to?

[James&Cindy]

I noticed with our son that he eats better if we are all eating together. He sees us eating and wants to duplicate it. When he is do for a meal and we aren't, we will pretend to eat from his spoon while feeding him and it seems to help.

[Tamara]

My daughter started doing the same thing when she was about eight months old, and I also suspected that she wanted "adult" food. Turns out, I was right. Now, she basically eats what we eat -- with a few modifications, of course. She also primarily self-feeds. She flat-out refuses to accept anything that we try to feed her with a spoon, so we scoop it up and hand over the spoon and let her put it in her mouth herself. I would try cutting up bits of what you are eating, or perhaps letting your son use a spoon himself, and see if it makes a difference. Provided you haven't noticed any significant allergic reactions to any foods yet, this could bring him back to solids and make fixing meals a lot easier for you, too.

My only other thought is that my daughter tends to up the nursing when she is teething. Could that also be a factor?

[Courtney]

Thanks Tamara - that's very helpful. I believe I'm dealing with both teething and a new stage of development for my son. He gnawed on his hands all through dinner tonight and was exceptionally fussy, but accepted lots of bites of what we were eating (after a turn in the food processor for him).

[Tami]

Adult food is just fine if he is willing to eat it. My kids were on adult food by 9 or 10 months, it's way easier!!!

[Fleur]

Try not feeding him at the same to time you eat - see if that helps, he may well just want what your having ... and if he can't see it, maybe he wont be so fussy. Worth a try! Waitress Resume Winning Resume Template