Help desperate for ideas. 11 month old refuses food.

[cheekysmum]

My 11 month son is refusing to eat food. He previously at least ate organic jarred food, but now he refuses averything except yoghurts & creamed porridge. I tried making him home made macaroni cheese but he struggled with this. I have tried all the veggies pureed when he was younger. but i'm getting concerned about him now. He loves baked beans but i worry about the sugar & salt content in them with him being under 12 months. In addition to this, the only milk he'll have is with his cereal in a morning, he won't even take a bottle mid afternoon or at night now. I get so worried that he's not getting enough iron, vitamins & fluids. I'm a first time mum & if i sound stressed it's because i am. I just want what's best for him. Any help, advice, recipes would be appreciated. Also he won't pick up finger food yet, he just mushes it into his tray with his fingers, but doesn't eat it unless you feed it to him. I'm worried about this as i go back to work next month & am concerned he'll suffer because of this.:(

[lunarx]

is he teething? whenever my son around that age refused food, is was usually down to teething and not just fussiness.
what milk does he have? (i mean, if he has formula, that should be sufficent in iron and vitamins for the time being) - and its likely that his taste buds are starting to change. (so rest assured its not your cooking!)

baked beans arent the worst thing he could have (and they do make low salt/sugar ones too!) what about spaghetti? try and offer small portions of food too (so a big plate isnt off-putting). and maybe try to coax him to eat some sweetcorn or peas just off his highchair tray or plate. and whenever you can, sit down and have a meal with him. let him see you eat and maybe even feed him off your plate (i did this with my son (who is also my first) when he was around 13 months, the only way he would eat lunch was if it was off my plate!)
scrambled eggs might be worth trying too (you can sometimes sneak shredded veggies in them!) just keep offering foods and finger foods too. his appetite will come back around.

and hang in there:)

[lunarx]

is he teething? whenever my son around that age refused food, is was usually down to teething and not just fussiness.
what milk does he have? (i mean, if he has formula, that should be sufficent in iron and vitamins for the time being) - and its likely that his taste buds are starting to change. (so rest assured its not your cooking!)

baked beans arent the worst thing he could have (and they do make low salt/sugar ones too!) what about spaghetti? try and offer small portions of food too (so a big plate isnt off-putting). and maybe try to coax him to eat some sweetcorn or peas just off his highchair tray or plate. and whenever you can, sit down and have a meal with him. let him see you eat and maybe even feed him off your plate (i did this with my son (who is also my first) when he was around 13 months, the only way he would eat lunch was if it was off my plate!)
scrambled eggs might be worth trying too (you can sometimes sneak shredded veggies in them!) just keep offering foods and finger foods too. his appetite will come back around.

and hang in there:)

[lunarx]

oops sorry that posted twice!!!

[cheekysmum]

Thanks for your advice. He is teething & has also had a cold recently. I'm generally getting him to take about 8oz of follow on milk a day. He does seem to like eating food offered from our plate at the moment. I tried him with spaghetti today & that went down pretty well. Thanks :)

[hugeheadofhair]

I have some advice, which might not be the best but perhaps worth a try. My DS2 went through a fase of bad eating at that age but he would eat when I put him in front of the telly! He was just so absorbed by the Teletubbies that he didn't think of fussing, he just opened his mouth like a zombie. Did that for a while till his appetite came back. And at the moment DS3 (11 months)will only eat if I give him a spoon in his hand, and he can "eat" himself. Most ends up on his face or down the bib, but we take turns in putting the spoon in his mouth, so he does finish his plate. And I agree with the previous advice, the food off mummy's plate seems much more interesting than his own food! Good luck!

[lunarx]

you're welcome, cheekysmum. i know how nerve-wracking it can be!! 8oz is good, maybe try and increase that slowly:) and the spaghetti is good too!!!
good luck:):) i hope his teething phase passes soon and he gets right back to eating!:)