10 month old fussy eater!!!

[pinkprincess]

I have a 10 month old baby who used to love her food, she would eat anything I put in front of her and I really enjoyed cooking her lots of different recipes. In the last few weeks she has suddenly changed into a 'fussy eater' and seems to hate meal times. She seems hungry but gets very upset when we put her in her in her high chair and sometimes screams when the food is put infront of her. She seems quite happy to have finger food such as bread or pieces of fruit but feel she needs a decent meal inside her at least once a day. We sit down with her at meal times and try to make it fun but you cant help but feel anxious.
Any tips or advise would be gratefully received.

[Bear]

Hi and welcome to the site!!
Dont worry too much, it seems a phase that all babies go through at some stage or another. Thomas was also fine until he reached about 8 months ish, then it all went completely wrong and hasnt been great since!
If she is happy eating finger foods have you tried giving her the bowl with her main meal in and letting her eat it with her fingers? I know it will be horribly messy but she might prefer that as its her own independence if you know what I mean. Thomas wont eat lumpy or finger foods or even feed himself so I know exactly what your going through, your not alone.
Try not to worry too much about it, she will eat when she is hungry, and as long as she is a good weight I dont think you need to worry too much, she should get back on track soon enough! hope this helps, x

[Claire76]

Yep, Finlay doing the eact same at the moment. Lunchtime is horrendous, I can't get him to eat anything other than sandwiches at the moment and only dairylea too, anything else he just spits out! Teatime is also a bit of a mare but by that time I think he's so hungry he'll eat it. Seems to be preferrign meat and fruit toegther recipes so has been having lots of chicken and apricot or apple with sweet potato etc. He too would eat anything and everything, such a lover of food, still likes to EAT but just snacks atm, it's really hard, so I know how you're feeling. I guess their taste buds must change and adpat like ours do, plus teething etc can all affect how they eat. As long as they are eating something, that's all that matters I guess??!!

[Bear]

blimey claire I wish I could get thomas to eat sandwiches your so lucky!!

[sweston]

My daughter has been "testing" at mealtimes, I sit and let her throw her tantrum, just reading or doing something else in the room rather than let her think I'm giving her attention. Then after a few mins (10 sometimes!) I try again. However, I have given in and just put her food in front of her (either in the bowl or emptied onto the highchair tray) and let her get messy. She seems to prefer the messy option so think it's just one of the stages of getting independent...... has to happen at some point. Am going to try it more often and also allow her to try with a spoon. I think baby knows when they are ready, we just don't always want to admit they're growing up, that's my theory anyway..........
Good luck to you all...........

[kerri-anne]

Hi,

I know exactly what you are going through!! Molly also used to eat anything I gave her when she first started weaning but at around 8/9 months suddenly refused anything that was given to her on a spoon (apart from sweet things i.e. yoghurt, rice pudding etc and porridge).

Since then I have had to give her all her meals that she can eat with her fingers. Not easy to start with but the ladies on this site and AK's books have been great for ideas and she now has things like fishcakes, burgers, veggie sausages & burgers, meatballs, fishfingers etc, all things she will eat with her fingers. I serve these with pasta (nice and easy to eat with fingers and quite fun!) and veg. Molly is such a creature of habit that she would eat the same thing everyday if I let her but I do change the main part of the meal every day and she has different veggies everyday too. She used to love eating potatoes/sweet pots but has gone off them and won't even try them anymore so it is pasta every day at the moment!

For tea she has more finger foods like sandwiches, omelettes, eggy bread, cheese on toast etc. From the above it sounds like she eats well, but believe me it's a struggle all the way and some days she doesn't eat much at all. However, her weight is good and she is a happy little thing so I know she is eating as much as she needs and I have learnt to chill out a bit (easier said than done I know!!!).

If you need any recipes for finger foods or recommendations of books just let me know. Sorry to waffle on but I know how worrying this time can be and just wanted to reassure you that there are many other babies out there doing just the same!!!!

[caroline84]

I am so glad i looked at this site now!! I thought Henry was the only baby who wouldnt eat from a spoon suddenly.

He is exactly the same, he was fantastic at weaning until the last couple of weeks. He will gladly eat any finger food sometimes not hot though. But put his bowl in front of him and all hell is let loose. The best thing for us is to give him what he likes for the time being to take some of the anxiety away from meal times. We now take his sandwiches in his lunch box out with us rather than home made puree etc.

Hope this also helps someone, good to know we aren't alone!!

[Parks]

This is so reassuring- i've had exactly the same problem with my 10 month old boy. mealtimes are a battle and especially the highchair. we have good and bad days- some days he will eat no problem - others we really battle. I have given him more finger foods- some days he preers others he wants to eat smoother dishes. He seems to have a preference for sweet things and pasta. I get stuck some days on what to give him.

[isabellasmum]

This meal thread is useful for ideas!

[UmTamara]

My daughter is 10 months old. She as well stopped eating her meals and prefers finger foods. It's driving me crazy. May be because she is my first that's why i'm so stressed about it. Could u pls send me finger foods recipes and recommend books.