Help, 9 month old hates eating dinner, what am I doing wrong

[Little Bear's Mum]

My ds has never been a big solids eater, he started at 5 1/2 months and is now 9 months. He's good with breakfast, ok with lunch but hates eating dinner. Cries most meals and often won't eat unles he's had custard or yoghurt first then he'll eat some veges and meat purees/mixes.

I've changed the time he eats between 4.30 -6pm. No time seems to have any better results than another. I dropped his afternoon bottle thinking he might not need it, but that just made things worse. So at the moment he's having a bottle around 4pm, then solids at 5pm. Today he just wasn't hungry. Tried again at 5.45pm with a little luck after he had some yoghurt.

I have finger food like cheese or bread/toast available to him on the tray, sometimes this helps a little. He doesn't like vege finger foods.

I just can't handle this much longer. I loathe dinner time and although I'm trying not to stress, I'm at a loss as to what to do.

Any suggestions appreciated. Thank you.

[beccarman]

my nearly 9 mth dd has been the same!!! the main way i managed to get some savoury food down her was to do alternate spoonfuls of veg/fuit, this foxed her most of the time apart from when they were very different colours and i think she could tell the difference then! one spoon of fruit meant she opened her mouth the next time expecting fruit but really got veg, the next spoonful was tricky as she though it would be veg again but if i put it to her lips she could smell/taste it a bit and opened for the fruit...this went on and on! it was extremely (bad spelling - sorry!!) frustrating with a lot of singing and dancing at meal times, waving toys around to get her attention and me opening and mouth to try and encourage her to do the same! dd has milk at about 2.30-3.30 and then dinner at about 4.45-5.00, this means she getting hungry and now seems to understand that the solids will help fill her tummy and not be looking for milk, could you try and give his  milk a bit earlier so hes more ready for dinner? sometimes dd gets a bit tetchy about 10-15mins before tea but then seems to take the first few spoonfuls easily as shes ready for it.
i really hope this gets better soon, and understand your frustration.

[FrasersMum]

Hi Hailstones  :lol:  :lol:

We have had to completely abandon spoon feeding at dinner time - we can get away with it at breakfast and generally at lunch but at dinner time he just wants to do it himself.

So dinner is all about finger food - it takes FOREVER! - but it's better than complete food refusal/screaming match.

The other thing to remember is that he is the best at regulating how much food he consumes - so he might only need a small amount at this time of day.  Just a thought.

Anyway, good luck!
Jo

[tylersmommy]

It's pretty normal for babies to eat less and less as the days goes on. You'll find that it's true for toddlers, too...for the longest time, Tyler's eaten the house for breakfast, a decent lunch, and maybe a bite or 2 at dinner. He doesn't wake hungry at night, and I've learned to trust that he knows when he does and doesn't want to eat. Offer one or 2 things, and if he isn't interested, don't push it. You don't want to start a battle, and he'll pick up on your anxiety and that only makes the situation worse. Don't worry, he'll eat when he's hungry!