8 month old going off all his favourite foods

[bleachblondemom]

My 8 month old DS has been a great eater since we started weaning him and would eat everything, but over the last few weeks feeding him is becoming a pain in the arse. Nearly all the foods he used to love, he’s now gone off and won’t eat. Or has a few mouthfuls then starts spitting it out. Anything he does eat takes him ages because he’s messing with it, throwing it around, dropping it on the floor. I end up having to feed him myself by hand because he doesn’t want to hold the food himself anymore after about 10 minutes. He just wants to mess with the high chair straps, turn around to watch the telly (so I have to just turn it off but he still messes around), basically is distracted by every single thing around him. I hate every meal time because it’s so stressful to get him to eat anything without it taking the best part of an hour. He’ll eat pouches of baby food, because that requires no effort on his part. Oh and baby crisps. Which I have to resort to giving him when he refuses to eat anything proper that I give him so he’s not hungry. Even the baby biscuits I used to give him as a treat he won’t eat, just has a few bites then plays with them or completely discards them. I can’t rely on milk because he refuses to take a bottle unless it’s nap/bed time. It’s been that way for months. Absolutely no way in hell will he have a bottle when we’re out of the house, unless he is absolutely starving and tired, literally as a last resort when he gives up fighting. So I need him to eat enough when he’s awake to get him through to his next bottle. I’m getting so frustrated and fed up of constantly trying to give him food, picking it up off the floor, trying to coax him to eat it, and then in the end just throwing it all in the bin. I don’t know what to do with him.

This is so common around 8 months, almost like a food regression.

SR_Nutrition has loads of info on Instagram and her blog about it, but basically try not to stress, keep offering him a range of different foods, not just his favourites.

With the types of food he’ll have, it does sound like it could be teething. Lots of purées, rice pudding, Greek yoghurt etc as well as things like cucumber which will be quite soothing on his gums.

@MaverickDanger thank you that’s reassuring

almost liquid, or hard and crispy
its so unlike him

Hi OP sorry he is still off his food. I really think my first suggestion of this being teething is still very likely.

Especially wanting hard and crispy food. This is because that type of food can be good for sore gums.

Other food you can try that might help just now are cucumber and melon as finger food straight from the fridge. this is cool and soothing.

Oatcakes and bits of toast as finger food - hard and crunchy and again good for sore gums.

If you are worried about him not getting enough food then liquids that are good are custard, fromage frais, yogurts. They all have both protein and sugar for energy.

My HV also advised ice cream in this situation - good for sore gums and some sugar for energy.

Try not to worry too much. He is still getting most of his nutrition from his milk. At this age food 'should' be really just about fun, learning, trying different textures and making a lot of mess.

But its hard not to worry.

I’d not worry too much at this stage. It does sound like a phase. He’s realising that he has power over food and he’s using it.
Stay as calm as you can, offer him food and if he doesn’t eat it, then calmly remove it.

Model good eating habits yourself

You can always speak to your HV for advice

Ugh, weaning is so stressful.

How is his sleep?

@Rainbowqueeen @GintyMcGinty thank you both for the advice, you are making me start to feel better

@Planetsandstars sleep is great! He doesn’t even seem to be crying in pain or anything from his teething or struggling to get to sleep, like he’s done past few times, it’s just the food thing. He does get a bit upset when he really wants something to chew on.

[quote bleachblondemom]@Givemebackmylilo no need to be so harsh when I’m obviously worried and upset.[/quote]
In all fairness, all the 'nicer' responses you've just continued to say "but I'm still worried it isn't like him" so you're clearly not taking on board what 99% of people are saying who obviously have more experience than you.

It's normal. Stop worrying.

My 15 month old started doing this, it is irritating at first but I assume its teething so just Yoghurts easy foods etc.
If he is fussy I skip a meal and try again a few hours later with something simple like toast and cheese spread.
The main thing is not to show signs of stress or let it get to you, I know it's hard but the more you push the more reluctant they are to eat.
I always found if we were eating he would sometimes be interested in our dinner, so I would offer him chips to munch on.

@NotMyselfWithoutCoffee when we were away at the weekend he ate out with us several times and was happy trying little bits like chips, bread, mash etc whilst we were all eating. But he doesn’t want to eat a full meal, it’s like he’s getting fed up with everything after a few bites. But he will eat a whole pouch/jar so at least he’s filling his tummy that way. Will keep trying but yes you’re right I should not show how stressful I’m finding meal times. Whenever he does eat something, even just a mouthful, I make a big deal about how yummy the food is and how he’s so clever feeding himself.

He really might be getting full after a few bites of proper food. Ella’s pouches have about 100 calories in each one. A few spoonfuls of mash and half a piece of bread could easily be more than 100 cals

Maybe look up the nhs portion sizes guide.

I was surprised at how little is a portion for my 2.5 year old and also my 4.5 year old.

Maybe a few bites is an 8 months old portion size.

I understand what you’re saying but up until a couple of weeks ago he was eating literally everything. It’s not that I’m having problems with weaning him and he’s not taking to solids- he did take to solids, and now he’s gone off nearly all of them.

So why would he suddenly be getting fuller quicker, he’s not drinking more milk or being less active.

@bleachblondemom

So why would he suddenly be getting fuller quicker, he’s not drinking more milk or being less active.

Because that's just what they do.

I swear DS survives on nothing but fresh air for days on end sometimes.

Just like you will go through phases of eating lots and then not eating much, so do babies.

They also have growth spurts, where they eat a tonne, and then can appear to eat nothing when actually it's just levelled out

@Givemebackmylilo never thought about the growth spurt, that’s a good point. Maybe he’s just had one. And now he’s over it.

Mine spent about six weeks at one point refusing to eat anything other than Petit Filous. We just kept offering other stuff alongside it and eventually she got over it (until she turned 2 and decided that the only foods on her acceptable list are beige or full of sugar 🤦🏻‍♀️)

And also: food before 1 is just for fun. Milk/formula is far far more important at this stage.

He doesn't eat? So he doesn't eat. As long as there aren't medical issues, he won't let himself starve. At this stage, eating is just practice for when food becomes important (after 1).

My dd is 2 and a half. She was really ill a couple weeks ago. She didn't eat for four days and just had water (she doesn't drink milk 🤦‍♀️) and yes she was supervised by the various a and e doctors over a couple of visits. She got noticeably thinner because she had a calorie intake of 0. But she was fine and none of the medics she saw were the least bit worried about her not eating. And has already gained back the weight.

He's a baby. He doesn't need to eat yet.