10mo crying through meals and eating very little

[lesliemarie]

DD is 10mo and has recently had another tooth pop through.  She has been crying through meals and is eating only about half of what she normally eats.  She has no problem with harder foods (arrowroot cookies, saltine crackers, etc) and she will also eat finger foods (tofu cubes, blueberries, cheerios, etc).  I thought that she was getting to the point where she didn't want to be fed but she isn't eating a lot of the finger foods either.

I'm just wondering if there is anything I can do to get her to eat more or how long this will last.  She also isn't drinking any more formula.  Any ideas?

[Lemonthyme]

It could well be the teeth.  We're at 15 months and pretty much the last 7 have been on and off teething.  Also I've found my LO liking to exert a bit of control; wanting to feed himself, deciding he doesn't want to eat certain things on certain days, wanting to use a spoon himself.  I just try and keep calm, keep offering things even if they've been refused before (I just give it a couple of weeks then try it again).

[*Kara*]

Agree with Lemonthyme... likely the teeth.  LO's can make you think they will starve when they are teething... she will eat when she is hungry... all you can do is keep offering

[lesliemarie]

I just wanted to say she is pretty much back to normal.  She likes to have her finger foods while being spoon fed but will accept the spoon fed food as well now again.  It must have been teeth.  She is also much less clingy now too.

[*Kara*]

Excellent news!  Those teeth can disrupt everything!

[babys papa]

I came onto this board to look specifically for something about this issue.  DD is 10.5 mos. and all of a sudden is yelling, whining and screaming through meal time.  I checked with the daycare provider and she said she's great during meals.  We know she is teething, so that could be an issue.  We're also wondering if she's just board with the foods we feed her.  Our sitter makes all kinds of meals from scratch - pasta, soups, casseroles, etc., but at home we feed DD pretty basic stuff - toast, cucumber sticks, sweet potato fries (homemade), various fruits, etc.

We're wondering if maybe she's just done with the plain old finger foods and maybe needs to get going on more grown up foods and things the daycare provider is feeding her.  Or is it just her teeth?

[Shiv52]

Could be a bit of both.  My 11 month old now pretty much eats what we eat as she refuses any spoon feeds and much prefers our meals.  She is doing great with it so far.  She'd lasagne last night and loved it. 

[*Kara*]

Who doesn't love a good lasagne?!?!