Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

Original poster

How do I get my 11 month old to eat more?

19 replies

Candyfloss1122 · 28/12/2017 09:03

I'm really struggling to wean my 11 month old DD, not for want of trying, but she just doesn't seem interested in food at all.

On a typical day she wakes at 630 and I will make her some toast which she will sometimes have a little nibble on, before throwing on the floor. We have tried things like porridge but she will point black refuse to open her mouth. She will eat an Ella's kitchen fruit punch so I usually end up giving her that so she eats something.
She will then have an 8oz bottle at around 9am before her nap.
Lunch time is worse than breakfast, pretty much won't eat anything aside from a handful of melty puffs type crisps which I reluctantly give her. She will then have another 8oz bottle at around 130.
Dinner is the only meal she is ok with, again, has to be puree, so she has a lumpy puree, sometimes homemade, sometimes Ella kitchen. She then has 8oz before bed and typically 8oz in the night.

I just don't know how to get her to eat more, she just seems completely uninterested. Dh and I have a very varied diet, we cook from sctach most nights, which I would love her to eat but she just won't.

Last night we tried her on home made chilli (not spicy at all), she kept swallowing it whole and ended up being sick!

Should I be worried about this, or should I just let her take the lead and trust she will get there on her own, even if it is slow?

I should perhaps mention she has cmpa so all dairy is off limits for now.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

FartnissEverbeans · 28/12/2017 10:05

Can you reduce her milk? By 11 months DS was on only two bottles a day. If he had more he'd be picky and fussy with his food. Four bottles a day is a lot of milk!

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 28/12/2017 10:37

At 11 months I honestly wouldn't be worried. The enjoyment of food aspect of weaning hasn't clicked with my older dc until 13/14months. As long as you're offering her a good variety of food to try. Has she had her 1yr review yet? If not you can always bring it up with the hv & see if they have any suggestions.

MiddleClassProblem · 28/12/2017 10:41

I wouldn’t be worried but I would give her a bit of fruit or veg sticks etc to nibble/play with. Dd at that would often not eat what I’d given her but take a bit off my plate if I was snacking on the sofa.

“Food is fun in year one”... I’m not sure what it was meant to be in year two though.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

9-12 months old Babies & sleep Families General parenting

MentholBreeze · 28/12/2017 10:47

DS1 was a late bloomer food-wise - banana, mango, he'd eat some dinner, he'd eat some breakfast, but just wasn't that into food until some switch suddenly flicked a little bit after his first birthday.

I'd just keep on going as you are for a bit, and see if she gets into it.

Contrast DS2 who basically abandoned milk as soon has he'd had a first taste of real food - kids are human, and have different likes/dislikes, I don't think it's time to worry yet.

1sttimemama1986 · 28/12/2017 10:49

I'd recommend reducing the milk intake by LB was only on 1 bottle at 11 months and has always been a good eater.

Ta1kinPeace · 28/12/2017 10:51

If her body needs the calories she will eat.
If it doesn't she will not.

Separating food supply from hunger is a massive problem for most people. obesity crisis
Let her keep the connection.

pastabest · 28/12/2017 10:57

Don't reduce milk, it's unlikely to make her eat more and will just result in a hungry baby.

She will eat more when she is ready, just keep trying her with the same few things and she will get there.

Capelin · 28/12/2017 10:59

I think you have to either cut down on her milk, or accept that this is how it is for the moment and won’t be forever. There’s no need for her to eat much while she’s still having a lot of milk.

FartnissEverbeans · 28/12/2017 14:16

Don't reduce milk, it's unlikely to make her eat more and will just result in a hungry baby.

How so? I'm just asking because I very deliberately reduced DS's milk right down when he was about nine months old and he immediately increased his solid food intake.

AnnieAnoniMouse · 28/12/2017 14:20

I’m not sure why you’re so bothered about it tbh, she’s 11 months, she’s got a lifetime of food ahead of her.

If she’s happy & thriving just give her the bottles for nutrition & food for fun.

pastabest · 28/12/2017 14:52

Fartniss because all the advice is to let the baby reduce milk feeds naturally as a gradual process, and also that milk should remain the main source of nutrients until 12 months.

It's obviously personal choice though and if you decided to cut feeds that's up to you and great that it worked for you, but the OPs baby doesn't sound like the type of baby that is suddenly going to start eating 3 meals a day, if they aren't ready for food then they aren't ready and cutting milk out will therefore only result in a hungry and thirsty baby.

There really isn't a rush to wean. It's not a competition and it's not vital they are eating like a mini adult by 12 months.

happychange · 28/12/2017 15:04

Op I feel your pain
My DS is like this too, he mostly just picked at meals
It got so frustrating and disheartening that I kinda just gave up and didn’t really offer him much as I thought he wouldn’t eat it anyway

Then I went to my mums for a week where she made a real effort in offering him 3 square meals a day. We just put the food on the high chair and let him get on with it (we are doing blw) while we have our own meals

Lo and behold, when I wasn’t stressing or staring at him, he started eating a little bit. And so we praised him loads. Then he ate a bit more!

When we got home, he started to not eat so much again.

Then we go to my mil and again she’s consistent with offering food and lots of variety, and he’s eating loads!

Not sure what it is exactly, maybe new environment, different food, maybe my cooking is terrible, who knows ! But maybe consider going somewhere else where you have someone else doing the cooking and cleaning so you are not stressing, and see what happens?

pastabest · 28/12/2017 15:04

And by gradually I mean if they start getting a bit iffy about a bottle/feed at a particular time of day try not giving it and offering more solids instead.

For example at 8 - 9 months DD was still on 5 x 7oz bottles a day (7am, 11am, 2pm, 4pm and 7pm) plus bits of food at meal times. At around 9 months she started eating more at lunch time and not really wanting her 4pm bottle half the time, so we dropped it and she was fine, and also started to increase what she was evenings slightly. But we were led by her rather than going cold turkey on the 4pm bottle and forcing her to increase solids at some arbitrary point decided by us.

At 11 months she is still on 4 x 7oz bottles a day (8am, 11am, 2pm and 7pm) but is eating 3 good meals a day too (she is extremely active so we assume she still needs all the calories from the milk) however just this week she is increasingly indifferent towards her 7am bottle preferring cornflakes and cows milk instead so I suspect we will be dropping that one very soon too.

HumpHumpWhale · 28/12/2017 15:08

My DS didn't eat until after he turned 1. He's 4.5 now and a pretty good eater, slightly fussy but eats a lot and a good variety. Don't worry. It'll change.

bobstersmum · 28/12/2017 15:13

They say food before one is just for fun. My dd is 8 months today and doesn't want food, I try every day she will sometimes have a mouthful, she prefers finger foods but still hardly takes anything.
Definitely don't reduce milk.
It will come, ds2 was the same and he eats like a horse now.

Original poster

Candyfloss1122 · 28/12/2017 19:11

Thank you for all of your advice.

I am.perfectly happy to keep offering her as much milk as she wants, I guess I was just concerned that this attitude was wrong and I should be worried.

I am a believer that babies will get there in their own time, so I'm happy to continue as we are and hope that she will just switch one day soon and be excited by food!

I feel alot better now, just needed a bit of reassurance :)

OP posts:

Casperroonie · 31/12/2017 17:38

After going through the same thing with my own my advice to myself few montha ago would be "go with the flow" if she is able to have whatever milk she's able to have until she's happy to eat then that will do. As long as she is stable on the weight chart (I.e. not dropping centiles) then all is well.

Rach000 · 01/01/2018 05:21

Sounds similar to my daughter. She wasn't that interested in food and it was a struggle. She is nearly 3 and can still be hard a lot of the time but she is getting better but she knows what she likes and won't just eat anything. She will eat fruit and vegetables, meat, cereal lots of cheese and yoghurt so she doesn't have a bad diet now. But wouldn't eat a lot of our meals which is a bit annoying.
Reducing her milk when she was that age didn't make her eat more. Just keep offering lots of food to try and try make it fun but don't worry too much. Every time I tried to tell that hv I was worried they never seems too bothered as she eat some food and was gaining weight well and was healthy.

Lauraosullivan123 · 01/01/2018 10:27

Our little boy loved milk and really didn't want to have too much solid food at all. I was very worried but suddenly, and I can't remember exactly when, but think it was about the 10 month mark, he started eating! We didn't take his milk away and he showed no sign of giving it up himself but we reduced his 8oz bottles to 4oz before meal times and that seemed to help. It's hard not to worry but I'm sure by the time she's a few months older, she'll be eating more. Our wee one definitely copies us at meal times so maybe even try eating more in front of her??

Flip