Eating Solids

Hi, S.. I have actually had that issue with my 9 month old son. When he first started solids, he loved them. Couldn't get enough and would reject the bottle in favor of solids. REcently he's gone the other direction, but the bigger issue is that he hates his high chair. He whines and cries when I put him in it and would rather pull his feet or stare at the cat than eat. One thing I found that works better is a booster seat. We went to the mountains a few weeks ago and didn't want to bring the high chair, so we brought his bath seat that allows him to sit up safely. He sat on the floor in this seat and ate great the whole time. Maybe your baby just doesn't like her high chair and feels too confined. Maybe she'd rather be at the table with you in a booster? Making this move has really helped our son to get back to eating solids. Good luck.

Just an intuition, but maybe she finds regular baby food boring. It might work to make her meals more interesting with texture and color--a little bit of well-cooked brocolli, mashed zuchinni, beans, squash. With these very soft foods with more mouth-feel and flavor, she might be more keen. And make sure you're not conveying a frustrated vibe to her while eating, a big smile and little games may give her reassurance that she doesn't need to be on your hip to enjoy meal time. Best wishes.

Do not get her in that habit of only eating on your hip, you will set yourself up for a lot of grief and problems later.
I would just continue to expose her to new foods in her high chair with and without your assistance. She is very young still and not needing solids to depend on for nutrition so I would just give her some time. Feeding her only from your hip sends mixed signals on what is okay as eventually she will need to eat by herself and sitting at the table like the rest of the family. I found if I put my daughter up to the table during meals with the rest of the family she was very eager to join in and eat. Maybe feed your daughter when you are eating as well.

Now that she has had a taste and feel for a full belly, is she still not eating in her high chair? Will she sit and eat if you take the tray off and let her sit in it at the table, or pulled up closer to you? Our youngest daughter is almost 10 months and just started eagerly eating solids about a month ago. She went from taking a bite here and there to eating a full jar or more twice a day, literally the change happened over night. Sometimes at a meal time, if she stops before we think she is ready to, if we take the tray off she'll start eating again. Or sometimes if we give her a cracker or some finger foods to keep her busy, she'll let us feed her with a spoon.

Good luck! They sure do know how to keep us on our toes :)

Hi there,
Not sure if I can help but would love to try! I am 38 with 7,5 and 3 year olds.
I see a connection between her being more apt to eat at the highchair if she can feed herself, and the fact that she's more apt to eat while you hold her: in her baby mind, it's less confrontational. When one sits across from another, whether in a job performance review or when being fed, it puts the feeder in the control position and the receiver on, well, the defensive. Maybe somehow, she senses that eating has become this "thing" and she's decided that she doesn't want to take part.
Having said that, I completely understand the feeling of wanting her to eat so that she can get all of the nourishment that she needs, and I can also see how you would feel some anxiety about wanting that to happen. You are only human. :) The thing that we all forget sometimes is that our children can pick up on that. As I'm sure you're learning, a huge part of motherhood is strategy and figuring out what motivates each child...which is a real challenge but it can also be super fun.
Ideas: at nine months, especially since she sounds really smart, she is SO ready and able to use a spoon and bowl herself. Babies R us sells those bowls with the suction cups on the bottom to eliminate the frisbee lunch scenario. Try to find one with the sectioned walls within the bowl to seperate the jarred foods from one another. Throw some chunks of baked apples in there, some oven roasted and skinless yam chunks, and some browned ground turkey! She will, most likely, chow!
One important thing to remember, which I actually read when I started this journey, is that we, as food providers, are only in control of two things when it comes to mealtime...#1 what we offer and #2 when we offer it. The eater needs to decide if and how much. I have found that the less "charged" mealtime is, and the less I try to "sell" it as this super great thing, the more and the healthier they eat. Just keep providing healthy choices, and leave it up to her. Soon, she will feel that she's this newly empowered, capable little person. I think that it will be a great experience for her...and a huge relief for you.
xoxo,
Fellow momma

I prefer to eat my dinner in peace and quite after my son goes to bed. I recently figured out that he eats more, like he should, if i make dinner for us to eat together. He usually wants food off my plate instead of his own, but whatever to get him to eat. Try sitting at the table with her in your lap a couple of times with the high chair next to you, and when you try her chair tell her its for big girls. My son doesn't like the tray so i pull his chair right up to the table and he loves it. Good luck. Every kid is different and you just have to find what works for you. Good luck!

Little Lucy likes to sit on your hip, or lap. Spend time reading with her, then feed her at her chair. If she doesn't eat, well, she'll not starve.

I have been going through the same thing. My son is now 14 months old and has always been to busy to make time for eating. At 11 months I was still holding his bottle for him because this was the only way I could be sure he would eat it all. I asked my dr for advice and she said "As a parent it is your job to offer your baby food, it is the babys job to eat" Yes, I would prefer that he eat in his chair, however if the only way I can get him to accept food is on my lap or while he is running around playing, that is what I do. I have tried really hard to just meet him where he is at. I have also read studies that say the more you try to force your child to eat the thinner they end up. The opposite is true, the more you restrict food from a heavy eater the bigger they are as older children and adults. Anyway, I hope this all helps. I still constantly worry that he isnt eating enough, but he always has plenty of energy and he is healthy as can be. Good Luck

I would say just be consistent with the high chair. They will learn quick what they can make you do and how to do it. If you don't want to feed her on your hip then don't! I learned really quick to make my daughter eat at the table. If she didn't eat there then she wasn't allowed to eat until she did. Don't worry, they learn. You just have to be consistent and firm. And it probably wont' be easy so just stick with it! good luck!

I'd like to suggest that it makes a great deal of sense that such a young baby would like to be on your hip to eat. Many babies don't even eat solids at nine months and most babies very much associate that physical connection as part of the eating process, which is fantastic. Soon enough, she'll be too big to pick up all the time, so I'd say enjoy it while you can. Don't worry about "starting bad habits"; since when is wanting to be close to mama a bad habit?

Soon enough she'll be struggling to be put down and then you'll be the one thinking of how sweet it was when she use to want to be on your hip to eat...