How big a portion should my 10 month old eat?

[plou1981]

Hi mums and dads,

Really needing some advice. My daughter is just 10 months and is started to be really difficult with her food. When she was younger I would weigh out 100g of food I'd made for her and she would usually eat all of it but over the past month or 2 she has not been finishing the 100g and sometimes will barely eat 40g. She is not having more milk or snacks, in fact she seems to be feeding less (still bf so no idea how much milk she gets but her time feeding is less.

Recently she has been refusing food even before she tastes it so its not like she doesn't like what I am offering. She is crawling and very active now so I'd assume she'd want to eat more not less.

Please help!!

Thanks

[DrP]

There is no rule as to how much or how little they need to eat. Until they are 1 milk still remains their main source of nutrition, food is really only something on the side so they learn how to eat, learn flavours etc. As long as she is getting enough milk she will be fine. I know you can't tell with bf, but if she is happy, healthy, putting on weight at a normal rate then she is fine. There are lots of reasons LOs go off their food after they have started weaning - teething, illness, asserting their independence and saying no, going through picky phases. I wouldn't worry about it at all if she is doing fine. Just offer her food, finger foods are great, just prepare a few things and see how she gets on. Don't push it if she is not interested, she will get back to it when she is ready.

[nkvilla]

My son goes through phases like this and we've found that just small changes in routine can trigger it. However, we've also learnt that he will eat when he wants to. It may sound harsh but if he refuses his dinner then we don't try and force him, however we won't give him any crisps or snacks until tea time. That way we know he is hungry and nine times out of ten he wolfs it down. He will have eaten what he needs for the day plus his milk. I have also read a few books that say if he/she spit out their food or turn their heads away, they aren't refusing it, they are just full.