10 Month Old refusing solids

[jillanrael]

Hello everyone, I am new here and I have a question for anyone that might have some advice!!! My son is 10 months old, he is a solid baby, he weighs just over 20 lbs. He has been eating solids since he was 5 months old, and he absolutely LOVED them! Anything that I give him, he would eat. In fact it was hard to get him to have a bottle. At 9 months, I started giving him yogurt and that was by far his most favorite. Now for the past couple of weeks, he has wanted absolutely nothing to do with his solids. He just clamps his mouth shut and turns his head. He has no interest in putting any kind of finger foods in his mouth by himself, (I have to do it). He never has put things in his mouth, even his teething rings. The only thing he will feed himself is a teething biscuit. He is getting all his formula, but I just don't know what would cause this. He has his 4 front teeth and his gums have been really swollen for a few weeks now. He has been sleeping through the night since he was 4-1/2 months old, and now he is waking up to eat again a couple times through the night because he isn't getting any solids through the day. It's so frustrating! I just want to know what's wrong, and I am afraid that he is going to start losing weight too. Any ideas?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!
Jill

[ks6]

Sorry I don't really have ideas, but when ds did this (several times), he screamed at the solid food.  At first I thought he was trying to voice his opinion on the food, because sometimes he would eat only bananas.  My best guess was teething, because he started eating again as soon as new teeth showed up (once it was 2 weeks later!)  The next time, I think he was constipated.  As soon as I was able to get some prunes in him to clear things out, he was a new baby.  Just letting you know what happened with us.  Hopefully, someone else can help you. 

[tylersmommy]

It sounds like it could be teething or feeding independence rearing its head. A lot of babies don't want to eat from a spoon around that age, and finger foods are often the answer. If he'll eat them from your fingers, that may be the way to go until he figures out how to put them in his mouth on his own. Tyler never put stuff in his mouth either so it took him a little longer to learn how to eat finger food on his own. What I'd do is put a few pieces of whatever he was eating on his high chair tray. I'd pick up one of those and feed it to him from my fingers instead of picking up pieces from a bowl or plate that I was holding. After awhile, he realized that the stuff on his tray went into his mouth, and I could pick up a piece and hand it to him, then he'd put it in his mouth. Eventually he progressed to picking it up and putting it in his mouth by himself. It took him awhile, but he did figure it out. If that's what it takes to get your little guy eating again, then you might consider switching to mainly finger foods and helping him learn to feed himself.

[datallan]

Phoebe does exactly the same. Afraid it is combation of teething & independence.

What is his food schedule like?
What is his milk intake and times?

Phoebe is a long and heavy baby, roughtly same as your little rascal. She loved food finger food, off the spoon and floor!!
She lost all interest in her lunch and tea. IT caused Early Morning Waking (EMW), tiredness as not getting enought. She was only having yoghurt and milk.
She as eating brekkie no problems but that was it apart from a little a tea time. She only has 2 bottles/beakers milk which are morning and bedtime. She has about6oz at each feed.

THis is what I did to change her eating and it had immediate results..........She is also teeting. I don't like taking or giving medicine but if you think what a toothache/earache is like, I do give medicine to Phoebe for teething especially at night. It is non drowsy. I use a natural pain killer for teething during the day "Ashtons and PAsons teething powders here in UK"

Brekfast - bottle at about 7ish (in beaker) 6oz. She would normally have brekkie but for 3 days stopped giving it.
First day she was showing BIG hunger at 1030am so I gave her her lunch "chicken and peach cassarole" followed by slice wholemeal bread and 2 chicken nuggets(homemade). She goes for a 2 hour nap at about 1230/1245 so I gave her 4oz milk and she slept the 2hrs.
This nap had also been effected she was only sleeping 45min/1hr as hungry.
The following 2 days her lunch was a little later and again 4oz bottle.

Day 4 - milk in morning and for brekkie she has dry cherrios and 2 strawberries or 1/3 banana or fruit and toast. Small brekkie.
She still ate her lunch and tea. She is eating more than she did before she went on strike.
She now has yoghurt after lunch............a pot of 100/125ml yoghurt is equal to 4.5oz milk. You can give cheese if milk intake low.
Your LO should be looking at solids more than milk at this age.

Everything I give at brekkie is FF. At teh other meals I make sure she eats main part and rest is FF.

I hope in some way this has helped.

DEbbie