My 10 Month Old Stopped Eating Solid Food!

Updated on May 15, 2010
T.M. asks from Charlotte, NC
19 answers

Please let me know if anyone has run into the problem. All of the sudden, my 10 month old refuses to eat his jarred baby food. He will drink his milk just fine, but refuses any solid food. It has almost been two weeks now. I am also in this transition period from jarred food to regular table food and need some advice for first foods. I am SO VERY NERVOUS about him choking. Any advice would be so helpful. Thanks in advance!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.B.

answers from Charlotte on

my DS went to only table food at 10 months also. it is very scary at first but he will be okay! do things like mashed potatoes, eggs, grits, bananas, oatmeal, cheerios, cut up green beans and carrots, things like that til he gets the hang of it and soon he will be eating everything!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.R.

answers from Knoxville on

My little girl started eating table food at 6 months old. She hated baby food so we just mash up everything we ate. Maybe he is sensing you are a nervous wreck everytime you offer him food. I was nervous about choking as well I learned infant cpr and posted my pamphlet in the kitchen if I needed it.

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.P.

answers from Raleigh on

Hi T.,

Neither of my babies ate baby food from a jar. They went from nursing to nursing and table food. I would mash the food up or cut it up into small pieces - but it was fine. The most important thing to know when you start giving your child table food is the difference between gagging and choking. Your child will probably gag as he learns to swallow chunks of food. Gagging happens because he is trying to swallow and breathe at the same time and it's tricky and it is a learned behavior. You know your child is gagging and all will be well, no need to go into a frenzy and think about CPR or anything when you can hear him coughing, teary eyes, looking like he's going to vomit, but still taking breaths. Choking is much more dramatic - there is absolutely no sound coming from your child and they are turning bright red to deep purple very quickly - if you provide small pieces and mash food, then it is very unlikely that your child will choke. Recognize gagging as part of his learning experience of eating - some kids have a stronger gag reflex than others too.

Hope this helps!
R.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.K.

answers from Raleigh on

Yes I went through that with my daughter and son. They stop eating it because they want real food. Baked potato, baked sweet potato, applesauce, pasta, cheese pieces, string beans, yogurt, banana, oatmeal, grits, canned fruit, chicken and stars soup, chicken noodle soup, bread pieces. They can eat w/ you, just make sure to cut up the food into small pieces. Also you can buy toddler meals which are right next to baby food.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

P.B.

answers from Raleigh on

T.,

I got a lot of mileage out of this product:

http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-Food-Mill/dp/B00016X0GY

It is a food mill that simply grinds table food up easily so you can feed it to your baby. It is inexpensive, easy to clean & can take it with you. No more worries of large chunks of food!

He may be wary of new textures. Make sure he is hungry when you feed him, he will be more inclined to eat different foods.

One last thought, is he doing other things developmentally, like learning how to pull up or walk? Babies frequently put aside an achieved skill to concentrate on one they are trying to master. Perhaps standing in his crib is a lot more important to him than eating new stuff.

Hang in there, you guys will get it sorted out!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.M.

answers from Parkersburg on

My 10 m.o. dd is doing the same thing. I've found that if I offer finger foods along with her jarred baby food, she does much better. She's getting more independent & wants to feed herself. We give her well cooked frozen peas, green beans & carrots (diced small), small pieces of turkey or chicken, graham crackers, Cheez-its, small pieces or shreds of cheese, noodles, scrammbled eggs and pancakes. I just make sure anything we give her is cooked until its soft & small pieces.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.P.

answers from Raleigh on

I would just do away with the jarred baby food. Maybe since he has gotten a taste of real food, he doesn't want that stuff in the jar (and who can blame him- it tastes awful!). When my son was that age, we just gave him a little of what we were eating mashed up. A lot of what he ate was mostly pasta, cereals, some veggies (cooked and cut up), fruit, grits, pudding, yogurt, muffins, etc. Pieces of meat might be a little more difficult, so you may have to chop that up really fine or just hold off altogether until he is over a year. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

G.M.

answers from Nashville on

I have four boys and my last little one who is now 2 years old, he started at 8 months old not eating any baby food, not even the cereal. It worried me, so I got online looking for options and I found this website it is called wholesomebabyfood.com. You have to check it out, it has easy fast recipies for all ages and they give you recipies by age. I started getting like frozen squash and carrots and then I would put them in a little food processor and then I would add maybe a little butter and brown sugar not a whole lot, just a little. My little one ate it up, he ate more than he ever ate when he ate jarred baby food. They also have a recipie for yogurut, my little one loved this. I loved the fact that he was getting whole fruits and veggies where most of the time when you give them jarred food you give them a little veggies and lots of perservatives. I hope this helps you. It really helped me and it ended up being cheaper. I did not do it for that reason but it was a nice side benefit. Let me know if this helps you out and congratulations on your first little one. Look forward to every moment you spend with him, I know even though mine are getting older i still cherish the time i spend with them and I know you will also.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.D.

answers from Nashville on

I would take whatever the rest of the family was eating and smash it up for the baby. I gave my babies just about everything.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

P.G.

answers from Raleigh on

Hi T.
Maybe he is ready for table food. If a child likes the consistency of courser foods or chopped foods, his palate may not like the mushy jar food anymore. Give it a try. Just monitor him for choking and make sure the table food if finely chopped or cut up and that it's soft so he can chew it.
Good luck! P.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.P.

answers from Asheville on

Cut back on his milk a little, offer him things you know were his favorites, and be patient. If no improvement in a couple weeks, I'd check with his pediatrician just for the sake of easing your mind and to eliminate any possible problems.
As far as transition to table food, invest in a blender or food processor. I used to convert most of our food to a consistency (starting off with pureed) that the baby can handle easily, and changed it as baby grew into toddler. Maybe start with things like peas, carrots, chicken, macaroni and cheese, fruits, whatever you eat, just make it chewable for him. At ten months, unless he has a mouthful of teeth, don't give him anything chunky yet.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

G.M.

answers from Boston on

I can answer your question....For one thing table food that you cook yourself taste a hell of alot better then baby food...baby food is cooked on a vary high temperture and has no flavor.....Babies get use to that and won't like baby food anymore....If u are worried about your baby choking...if you have a blender you can puree your food, for a little while, you can leave a few lumps, you don't have to make it watery...just add alittle water in blender depending on what you r pureeing... or u can just smash it good with a folk..My son just started eating he is 6 months old..He wants no part of any baby food...I just give him what I am eating, of course with no sugar or salt....He loves it..sometimes he chockes a little, but he hates food that is too watery he rather chew....I hope this answer was a help to u....

G.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

V.W.

answers from Wheeling on

Dear T.
When my children came close to being a year.
I started them with mash potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Just a little at a time.
I mixed them together.
Then gradually i bring forth green bean smashed and a bit of mash sweet potatoes or yams in them.
You do it a little at a time.
As far as meat.
try some tender chicken smashed really good and some sweetpotatoes or yams.
He might like it for a while.
But you check with your doctor about it.
It might cause a little reaction to his bowels.
just take it easy and always have your milk handy.
Another idea I done this with my daughter then i had to wean her off of it later.
Sugar milk with bread.
She loved it and she was getting some food in her belly.
But it took some time to get her off of it.
These are just some ideas.
The food has to taste good to them it seems.

Have a good day Today
Vicki W.

C.R.

answers from Charleston on

I had this very thing happen to me. My little guy was 9 months old when he stopped eating. It took almost 6 full weeks and a-lot of wasted food. I ended up constantly nursing. But, eventually, he started eating again. I think that teething triggered it. He finally became interested in what we were eating so I would make really small bites (as he only had two teeth) and hand it to him and he would put it into his mouth. He loved being independent, I believe. Anyway, it made me clean up my eating habits since I will only feed him healthy foods. We started off with sweet potatoes. They are easy to bake... dice really small, toss in a small amount of olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes. He eats them up. Now I just make his food the same way I make ours(minus to much seasoning) and he basically feeds himself. We have to help a little because he can't pick up too much at one time. There is nothing that this child won't eat now. So, hopefully, your solid food strike won't last as long as mine did. Be patient and try letting him feed himself. As long as things are small enough he won't choke. If I feed him chicken I tend to shredd it for him. Good luck.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.M.

answers from Louisville on

try him on foods that arnt out of the jar... things you and i eat... they taste alot better! use common since nothing hard all veggies cooked really well. they even have these little net things you can buy at the store that makes it so they have to chew their food really well before it comes through the holes. and dont worry this is normal my daughter did the same thing and would just not want to eat baby food for a while then go back to it. also try feeding baby food first then bottle.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.P.

answers from Memphis on

I never gave my kids baby food, and started feeding them from the table when they were about 6-7 months old. You have to be thoughtful, of course, and not give anything too hard, spicy, salty, etc., but they can definitely handle it at this age. I'd put a few cubes of boiled carrots (cut very small, of course) onto their trays and just let them feed themselves. They didn't eat very much, but it kept them busy at mealtimes and gave them some experience with eating at the table.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.N.

answers from Raleigh on

I ran into this problem when my youngest daughter was a baby. When she was 9 mos. old, I had to put her on solid food b/c she refused to eat baby food. Feed him whatever you're eating. You can break it up into very small pieces. When my girls were babies, I'd cut a hot dog into circles & then cut the circles into 4 pieces. That way, they were small enough for them to eat & they couldn't choke on them. They also loved grits for breakfast instead of the baby cereal. YOu'll be amazed at what they can eat at that age. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.P.

answers from Nashville on

Wholesomebabyfoods.com has this great recipe for baby pancakes. (If you can't find it there sent me a message and I'll type it in.) My son loved them at that age and they did so much to help him learn to eat on his own. Good luck.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.B.

answers from Greensboro on

when my children were small, which they are teenagers now, as I was moving from baby food to table food, I put the table in a food processor and ground it up. My daughter loved her fried chicken tenders wth mac & cheese. I put pot roast with vegetables in my processor. The spaghetti worked pretty good as well. The hamburger don't get ground up as well as I would have liked.

I am not sure where you are from but in NC we eat biscuits with gravy. My chilldren loved that as well. It did not have to be ground in the processor.

Soft foods like mashed potatoes or yams or small things with gravy on them is great for a 10 month old to eat.

Hope this helps.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions

Related Searches