My 11 Month Old Stoped Eating Food.

Dear K.
stop giveing him bottles .Give him a sippey cup Cut down on the fluids He is filling up on liquids
From a mother of 9
let me know if this help

Time to start weening the bottle, he is drinking too much and that is filling him up. Try just a bottle in the am and one before bed. Give him foods he can pick up himself and experiment with.

Hi K. -

My daughter did the same thing. First, I think that you have to cut back on 6 bottles/day. This amount of formula is filling up your little one so he is probably not hungry. When kids are hungry enough they will eat. What I did, is when my daughter woke up, I wouldn't give her a bottle first. I would give her food. Cheerio's, yo-yo baby, cereal, fruit, or a cereal bar. Just put the food on his tray. Let him play with it and he will probably eat some.

If he wants a bottle - give him 7oz water and 1 oz juice. This will not be as filling as formula. Try to get him back to 2-3 bottles of formula/day and three meals. Don't be too worried about the type of food that he is eating (fruits/vegetables). As long as he starts to balance out food and formula - he will eventually get back to where he is supposed to be.

At this age kids sometimes stop eating as much because 1) they want to feed themselves 2)they go through something where they don't require as much food around the age. Don't worry, this will pass.

My son, now 14, did this too. You might be trying too many new things too quickly. 11 months is still o.k. to be primarily nursing. He might be slowing in growth and doesn't need as much as your encouraging him to eat. He sounds pretty normal.
This is what I did. Find one healthy solid food he likes and let that supplement his eating. Start with the new food and let him "play" with it. Some kids really need to investigate thier food before they'll eat it. Also he may be realizing he can control you by refusing to eat. "Look, I can make mommy get all worried."
Stay away from too much starch or overly sweet foods, its hard to introduce veggie foods over sweet ones. If it's a texture thing let him eat homemade baby food. You can puree anything!
My son is sensitive to sensory overload (still), so too many new sensations will overwhelm him. Introduce new foods in a quiet environment when he's particularly hungry.
Gently and steadily work on one nutritious food at a time. He might not want to try anything else thats new for weeks. Experts say most children usually have to try something 15 times before they like it. Your child may be a 25 times child. If he's gagging or showing any signs of digestive distress, even moodiness, after eating a food he might just have a sensitivity. Trust your instincts and get professional help if he's loosing weight or showing any other signs that may be of concern.

My daughter could not stand eating baby food(pureed or textured) so I started giving her things she could "play" with and pick up herself(like canned peas.) It might interest him if he can feed himself.

hi K. . as i can see you give him to many bottles you neet to cut down on them . he if full drinking to much millk or if you drak lets see if you drink 48 th ounches of milk or juice you would not be hungry your self right? so try cutting him down to 3 bottles a day and ill bet he will be hungry at dinner time . also masch pattaoes and gravy he would like with some chicke cut up in small pices or what ever meat you make . i hope this will help . thanks B.

Hi,
I'm so sorry to hear about your son's difficulty,I know how important it is to us to see our babies eat healthy food.
What kind of food is he eating? Are you giving him jar food? I was giving my son homemade baby food and he was doing really well. We went on vacation and I brought jar food and he would only take a few bites. I tasted it and it really didn't taste as "alive" as the fresh food. Could it be possible that your little guy is smelling your delicious food and, by comparison, his food doesn't smell as delicious?
Or, maybe he's just entering a new stage of development and is just too busy to eat.
Also, I've noticed that sometimes if my son is fussing over his pureed food, he will eat finger food, Cheerios, banana pieces, bits o squash, etc...
Hope that helps, good luck!

how many teeth does he have? i found a great food - were eggo waffle mini's, aunt jemimia mini pancakces, and nutrigrain bars... they were all soft enough to gum.... my 18mos old daughter is very independant and refused to eat if she couldn't do it herself - so we started off w/ these that she could eat on her own w/ little mess.... she also loves oatmeal (the fruit flavored variet). make it a little more on the dry side - so it sticks to the spoon really well - he maybe more interested if it's something that he can attempt do on his own.

another possibility is ears/sinus - has he had alot of runny nose/sinus stuff. my daughter has alot of that (actually looking to get her tested for allergies) - but her nose has been running for about a month now (no fever etc) and i can hear her swallowing the mucus - and that is sometimes upsetting her stomach where she doesn't want to eat that much.

I agree with Heather P. She had some excellent ideas. My grand daughter primarily drank her goat milk until 2yrs old. She is healthy as a horse and never has been to the doctor, never even had a runny nose, so do not worry.

Hi K...........my daughter, who has three children, went through this with all three of her children about the same age: 11 month. She finaly figured out with her last child, that the bottle was taking place of the solids and basically gave three bottles and waited for Cole to get real hungry ( about 2-3 days ). He's two now and thriving. It's sounds cruel but if all is normal with your little one this may work for you.

Blessings, P.

I have a 16 month old that would not eat any food, baby food or table food. I started feeding her solids at 4 months and from day 1 she refused to eat the food. I talked to the pediatrician and he told me to stop trying for a month. So I did, at 5 months she still wouldn't eat and again at 6 months she wouldn't eat. Then after that I would give her something once a week or so. She never ate baby food and she started to eat table food well around 12 months. I think sometimes if you give them a break, they will miss it. I was worried about nutrition, but she was getting everything she needed from breastmilk and forumula, so the pediatrician was not concerned. I was also worried that if she did not start eating solid foods she would always be a difficult eater, however now at 16 months she eats pretty much everything I put in front of her. Granted she does not eat a lot, but she is a very petite little girl. It was difficult struggle for us but it didn't last that long(especially considering I am used to her 3 year old sister who eats everything in sight.)

It sounds like he is bored with the pureed foods. Even if they have more texture, its still pureed. By 11 months, my daughter was eating what we eat, just cut up really small. Toast,waffles,pancakes,fruit cups(no sugar or syrup added),cereal with milk(or without) are good starters for breakfast. Once you are confident with those, you could try feeding table food at dinner too. My daughter ate every meat we did except steak(even cut up small was a problem)
Also, with 6 bottles a day, he might not be hungry at all. If I remember correctly, all my kids were on less formula by then. What you could try is offering solids first and THEN a bottle. Also, dont stress about the 3 meals a day thing. Sometimes my daughter snacks all day and other times she eats 2 big meals. As long as there is veriety and its healthy food, there should be no worries. There will be many food strikes in the years to come, so as moms, we just have to relax and find a happy medium between us and our children. Kids eat when they are hungry. My pediatrician said she has seen VERY few cases where a childs growth was effected by the "food strikes" Yet, she has seen thousands of worried parents calling her office asking about the same issue you have. So its normal and your child will start eating again.

Hello K.
go to the store and get yourself small processor they not that expensive, my daughter after I did that she was better, some time they just don't like to swallow chunck.my would gag or spit out the chunck.

K., may I suggest that your baby needs to be seen by the pediatrician asap to assure that identify any physical reason for the change in eating habits. There may be a blockage in the esophagus, the tiny tube which runs from the mouth to stomach - or a diverticulum (small pocket) off the esophagus which causes the baby discomfort when swallowing food.

Ask to see a speech/language therapist to ascertain if there is something wrong with the mouth or tongue if the first route checks out fine. Early Intervention services may be able to help with a feeding assessment if this is the issue. Call Family TIES of Massachusetts (800-905-TIES) for a referral.

Keep asking - you know your baby best, and it's a dramatic change in habit that needs investigation.
Best wishes to you and your family,
M.

Hi K.,
If this is a very new behavior, I would check to see if he is teething or has a sore throat. Sounds like one or the other, or both.
Good luck!

try eating together when you can so he sees everyone doing the same thing, don't worry, when he's hungry enough, he'll eat!

My 18 mos. old just went through something very similar to this. It took about a week before she began eating again. I was frustrated to the hilt and was concerned about her nutrition. She is on vitamin flouride drops which put me at ease a little, but not enough. As it turns out she was cutting her eye teeth. Whether or not this was the cause to her boycot to eating...not sure. Honestly I think she knew it stressed me out and so she played into it more. So basically my advice to you is continue obviously the bottles as normal, offer nutritious snacky foods, and hopefully it will get him back to eating:) He is probably well ready for the solid foods rather than just mush. Whole grain noodles are a great starter for us.

You don't say what the bottles of liquid are, but assuming he's drinking milk, which technically is a solid, I'd start with cutting back on the liquid intake. More than likely he's getting his fill with the liquids and has no appetite for solid food. Possibly mix something naturally sweet (like apple juice) with a nutritious cereal along with cutting back on liquids might bring him back. Seems to me you should talk to your pediatrician about this some more.

I think 6 bottles a day for a 11mo old is way too much. I would get him down to 2, maybe 3 bottles a day, and introduce a sipee cup as well, with juice diluted w/ water.

As far as the food, I bet you'll see a increase in his desire to want to eat solids once his fluid intake goes down a bit. Just keep trying all kinds of finger foods, things to make and cut small. Steamed veggies cut small, grilled cheese cut small, cereal bars cut small, small shaped pastas cooked in chicken broth, cherrios.

Just keep trying and dont give up. Children will eat when they are hungry..... Best of Luck

Hi K., My little one, who is now three was the same. My advice would be to try any and everything that he is able to eat. My Ped. says that a child will turn away certain foods 8-10 times before they actually eat it. If you find something that he will eat, if he will eat that same food for every meal, then allow that, but still try other foods or different ways to prepare it. One thing that worked for me was, if my little girl saw me take a bite , then she would take a bite afetr me. My 3 yr.old eats, but I still consider her a poor eater, she is very picky. There are days where she will only eat P B & jelly for B.fast, Lunch, & Dinner. At least she's eating! Then there are days where she barely eats anything. My Ped. also said that a child will eat when their hungry,so if they don't want to eat,not to force them. I wish you the best!