Rejecting mealtime - is it a phase?

[newyorkgirl]

Recently, my 9-m/o DS started to cry the minute we put him into the high chair. We've been doing finger/table foods for a few weeks now, with baby foods mixed in. At first, I thought he was just not liking veggies, but it turns out that he's upset at mealtimes altogether. He'll only eat the very few foods that he likes which don't constitute a balanced meal. (They're mostly carbs.)

Is it just a phase? Is it the high chair? Is it table foods? Teething? DS doesn't have any teeth yet, but he's generally happy most of the time, and he still STTN. I've tried giving him frozen cubes of expressed breastmilk at mealtimes, thinking he was teething, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. He still carries on as if mealtime upsets him altogether.

I have no idea what to do. HELP!

[jrdhbunny]

We're having a similar problem. DS used to love to eat, now he'll take a few bites and then waves his arms in the "get that stuff away from me" sign.

Could it be that your DS is just really into what he's doing and doesn't want his play to be interrupted?

[newyorkgirl]

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be the case that he wants to play and not eat.

I'm bumping this up in case anyone else has any ideas - I'm desperate! He used to be such a good eater and now I don't know what his problem is! I don't think he's sick or anything, because then he'd reject food altogether, but he will eat only his very most favorite foods. All else makes him cry miserably.

[kmack]

hey there - interestingly enough DD is doing the same thing! i just had her to the ped and sort of mentioned it but she had been really sick so that's what they attributed it to. she is starting to eat a little more so i'm not sure if it was just the sickness or an all out solid strike...hope someone else can offer some help!

[bluebunny]

It could be a number of different things but personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Prior to age one, breastmilk/formula should be an infant's primary source of nutrition and solids are just practice for the future. My DS at about nine or ten months hardly ate anything at all. I was a litte concerned and spoke to the moms in my playgroup about it (my son is the youngest) and all of them said that their children went through something similar. Don't force the issue, especially if your child doesn't want to be in the high chair, but continue to offer foods and maybe he'll grow out of this stage. HTH!

eta: My son, now 17 months old, is a great eater now if that makes you feel any better! :)

[newyorkgirl]

kmack and bluebunny - thanks! I know solids are just for practice, but somehow I still worry, especially since DS is down to about 5-6 nursing sessions a day (sometimes 4). I guess I should worry less about giving him just bread and stuff since those 5 nursing sessions ought to be giving him everything he needed, right? (Should I up the nursing then?)

DS is one of the older babies in his playgroup, so we don't have a lot of precedent to go on. :)

[kimthebride]

Thomas just in the last couple weeks has started being fussy at mealtimes because he wants to feed everything himself. Apparently, he is a Big Boy now. :rolleyes:
So I let him feed himself something (peas, avocado, cheese, bread, whatever finger food I planned) and sneak in spoon-food in between his bites when his mouth is wide open. :D

[EJH]

I thought there was a thread on this!

My almost 8 month old DD has been rejecting solids for the last couple of days. She's still nursing, so we know that she's getting good nutrition, but we think the not eating solids is leaving her hungry and therefore our wonderful sleeper is now not STTN. Not a problem we've (knock on wood) ever had with her.

She will literally clamp her lips together and shake her head. :rolleyes: Even for her faves, there's just no getting her to eat. We won't force her though.

We are chalking it up to teething, because she's been a bit feverish and cranky and is gnawing on everything not food related.

Guess we'll just wait it out, but it's good to know we're not alone in this!!