How to Get My 10 Month Old to Eat

Just feed her what she wants and when she will grow out of this stage. Both my son's went through this.

I had a very difficult time with my oldest daughter as she would not come off of baby food. When I had my second daughter (20 years later), I decided no baby food. I put her on regular food we ate. I would make mashed potatoes with gravy, get frozen squash and microwave some of that, put pea, green beans, carrots--whatever we were eating into my Black and Decker chop chop (mini processor) and feed that to her. Try different fruits--bananas, applesauce, etc.

TRY PUTTING CRACKERS OR CHEERIOS IN WITH THE FOOD. OR TRY TAKING FOOD FROM YOUR PLATE AND CUTTING IT REALLY TINY AND FEEDING HER THAT.. MAYBE SHE JUST WANTS WHAT YOU HAVE.. MY DAUGHTER HATED THE BABYFOOD AND TOODLER FOOD..AND ALL MEATS ECEPT FOR CHICKEN SO NOW EVERYMEAT IS CHICKEN LOL.. WHEN WE ARE HAVING PORK CHOPS I TELL HER ITS CHICKEN AND SHE WILL EAT IT RIGHT UP BUT IF I TELL HER THAT IS PORK CHOPS SHE WONT TOUCH IT. GOOD LUCK

Our daughter got like that-- at 1 point, she just pushed the baby food away. It seemed as if she wanted what we were having and wanted to eat that "other stuff" too, so-- we gave a lot of it to her. You can give her mashed potatoes, pastina pasta w/ a little butter (this pasta is so, so small-- swallowing it whole wouldn't be a problem), reg. applesauce, very small pieces of pancake (if she has a few teeth), Cream of Wheat or oatmeal, cous cous, little veggies like peas, carrots & green beans (cut up) she can pick up on her own & feed herself, and reg. food ground up really good (she might like the different tastes)-- whatever you eat, give her a little, but just break it up small. She is still getting a great deal of vitamins from her formula or milk-- whichever she is on at this time-- they even have vitamin drops if you feel she needs more vitamins and the dr. agrees. I know I mentioned "butter" and some people think "oh-- the fat!", but per my pediatrician, during the 1st 2 yr. of life, they needs the "fat" which aid in brain development and function.
just some thoughts... good luck!

Not sure if this'll work for you or not, but my son did the same thing for a while and the first thing we found that he would actually eat were Gerber fruit dices. They were big enough for him to pick up on his own and soft enough to go down easy.

I believe in force feeding, although not everyone does. It's difficult initially, but eventually your child understands that they have to eat, and they learn not to be picky eaters as well. Good luck!!

With both of my sons they liked to feed themselves from the get go so I never used baby food with either one. Have you ever tried baby food? Most of it is pretty tasteless and the texture is gross! My 7 month old LOVES pretty much every fruit & veg I've given him. As long as it's soft (hard stuff gets cooked in water) I can cut it into little chunks and he will feed himself. If you do this, just make sure the pieces are big enough for your baby to grab, yet small enough to go down whole if she doesn't chew it well enough. You can also feed most table food, providing there aren't a ton of additives. Just set some aside before you season it. Good luck!

My 3yo has always been a very picky eater. His diet is mostly pizza, fish sticks, ham, and Dino nuggets. He does eat a lot of veggies and fruit but not much real food. I just keep pushing and he will eat a very very tiny bit of other foods. I tried the "he'll eat when he gets really hungry". That didn't work, he just got REALLY CRANKY!!. Just keep trying. She'll come around.

Hello, I have a ten month old niece who does not eat baby food either. they have these lil entree meals that she likes to eat but other than that its all regular food. she has 8 teeth so she can eat pretty much anything, the other day she sat and she ate a chicken wing by herself! But we still give her formula and juice that gives her extra vitamins ( i'm not sure what its called but we buy it at giant food store) and she spoke to the doctor and he said it was fine. She's very healthy. So i wouldn't be too concerned about it. Next time you eat just sit her next to you and let her share with you and see how it goes. Let me know how it goes!

Have you ever tasted baby food or the toddler food?
I thought that with my first child I had to give him that junk. The result really picky eater.
On the second child my 89 yr old grandmother said to me "we never had any of that stuff for our kids we just cooked our food a little longer till it was soft and mashed it by hand"
The result baby girl (16 months) eats anything we eat. It took me a little while to figure out that just because they market it for babies doesn't mean it's the best thing. Fresh mashed veggies from the garden or farmer's market are yummie but mashed in a factory and put in a jar are not.

I had some problems spoon feeding one of my twins when they were around that age and he told me to start letting them feed themselves. They are ready for independence, could be why she likes eating things that she can give herself. Like they said in the other comments, it's messy, but you have to give them that freedom and let them make a mess, even though it's a pain! She will eventually learn. The other thing is that she could have teeth coming in. I know my sons don't eat near as much or they only eat things that they can really "gum" while their teeth are coming in. So that could also be the problem. I hope this helps some!

Hi B.

My 19 month old won't eat either, so I know what your going through. At this age they are very picky about what they eat. My son's doctor told me to try pedasure for both of my son's. It gives the nutrients they are missing. But have you also tried giving her some of your food. Try starting her off with noodles, rice starchy foods my boys love eating rice and noodles. But if she takes to that then start to add small pieces of meat to it.

I hope this helps

S.

I have a 9 month old who will not eat anything but cheerios. He didn't even like baby food. The doctor has said that he will eat when he is ready. That he is not going to starve himself! Just keep offering him food, and at this point, just offer food off of our plates rather than buying anything and wasting the jarred food. Remember that until at least a year, breastmilk (or formula) can be thier whole source of nutrition and that many kids don't really start eating until after a year.

Don't stress! Enjoy your time together and don't force her!

Little kids go through many phases in their lives. Right now she might not eat much but in a year or 2 she might eat everything you give her. When I was about a year old, the only thing I would eat was cheerios. My mom was so concerned that she asked my doctor about it. The doctor told her that she should not worry about it because Cheerios have quite a bit of nutrition in them. The good news is that I eat way more than cheerios these days. (although, I do still like cheerios right out of the box)

I would only worry about your daughter if she is unhealthy and underweight. Talk to her doctor; see what he/she has to say about it. Your daughter is probably going through a phase and will out grow it. For now, just give her the cheerios and crackers.

I've been lucky that both of mine have been pretty good eaters. I link some of that to the fact that I fed them primarily homemade babyfood and all homemade toddler/table foods. I know it sounds like a pain, but it's really pretty easy to do. Each night as I made dinner, I'd leave a little bit of the fresh cooked veggies in the pot and cook them a bit longer to be soft. Then I'd put them in a mini food processer to smash them up. I filled an ice cube tray with the baby food and freeze it. Once frozen, I'd toss it into a labeled zippy bag and toss that into a box to keep all the baby foods together in the freezer. When I was really organized, I'd pull out meals for the next day at night before bed and toss in fridge. By the time meals came around, it was thawed and just needed quickly warmed up. A small amount of fresh veggies goes a long way for making baby food. Mashed sweet or baked potatoes work well too. Mine transitioned from this to eating small chunks of the same foods - fingerfood style. When we'd go out or other certain times, jarred foods were clearly more convenient and we'd use them. I was picky about using certain brands/flavors though. If I couldn't stand the smell/taste of them, I wouldn't feed them to my kids. So they only ate a few varieties. At 10 months she should be able to eat most foods that you eat with fewer spices if possible. Just make sure the foods are soft and cut into small pieces.

I agree with the other person that mentioned how horrible most baby foods taste. The toddler foods are pretty nasty too. Neither of mine would eat them. I tried a couple for convenience a few times, but they refused and only wanted fresher foods. They are both great eaters and love veggies and fruits and grains. We're vegetarian so they don't eat meat, but they are open to many flavors.

I had the same issue - my daughter stopped eating baby food and I spent one month being beside myself. The pediatrician said - try her with regular table food - whatever you're eating - and it worked great especially soups, pasta, meatballs, soft veggies or chicken/fish cut in small pieces -
Now that she's 2, my daughter is a great eater and we aren't stuck feeding her the usual kid stuff now (mac/cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.) She'll eat most things and I don't have to prepare separate meals.
good luck!

I hope she is still on formula or the breast. They need that for the first year. As for the eating, just give her cereal/bananas/avocado/ sweet pot/zucchini/noodles/mac n chz/spage..ect...little things like that, and let her feed herself. It will be messy, but it is a part of becoming independent. She will be fine. I used to get concerned about that issue too, but the mamasource ladies gave me support, and today all is well even though she is so picky. good luck

My daughter really didn't eat a lot of solids until she was 13 or 14 months. They're really for experimentation and learning in the first year at least; milk should still be the main source of nutrition.

Try to introduce some grown up food. You can make it healthy for her. Spagetti, chicken, beef (just make sure it's in pieces that she can handle) Veggies that are soft for to eat, same as fruits.
Baby food tastes gross. I used to buy the gerber meats-looked like cat food. No wonder the kids don't eat it.
She is too young for milk and eggs right now so steer clear for now.
Oh one thing i used to do-sounds gross but my two ate it. I would make toast and spread either the veggies or fruits from baby food on the toast and let them munch on that.
Just keep an eye on them

When your daughter is hungry, she'll eat. I would suggest giving foods that are the same size as cheerios & crackers. Like frozen peas, green beans, fruit, etc. When they feed themselves it's fun & they are getting nutrition at the same time.