11month old not eating- HELP!!

[mrpanda]

Hello

Sorry for the dramatic title. Says it all tho.

She took really really well to weaning - ate everything, enjoyed food etc etc.

In last month her eating has got worse and worse to point now where she will have three or four spoonfuls of food a day (porridge or yogurt maybe banana) and that's it. It feels like we've tried everything - new food, finger food, letting her feed herself, feeding her away from her high chair, eating with her, distracting her during food time (eg entertaining her). But it's like at lunch or dinner she just won't even entertain the idea of opening her mouth to eat . AGH.

I'm going to contact the GP tomorrow because I'm worried (and when she wakes newborn she really struggled to gain weight so it feels like the same problem all over again :(

Any one else had this?
Did it resolve?
Any tips?

Other than that..she's very active happy baby. Very very active crawling everywhere and cruising etc. so it's difficult to see that she's really hungry!

If she is still having plenty of milk in a day then try not to panic.
I found both my children would have phases of not being interested in food, and it often seemed to tie in with a new development. You say she is cruising lots so maybe first steps will be soon?
Just keep offering small amounts with plenty of variety and fingers crossed she will be back to eating soon.

dont panic, it’s really common as they approach toddler hood, they start to assert their dominance more and they’re calorie requirements actually go down as their growth slows.

that being said there are some things you need to stop doing or it will make the situation worse. Stop distractions and stop pressure. Waving food in front of her face, encouraging to take a bite or even too much praise or rewards for eating will be perceived by a child as pressure and cause them to dig their heels in.

view meal times as an opportunity to eat not an obligation. If she doesn’t eat, that’s ok, she’ll have another chance in a few hours.

Thank you, that's helpful to hear. It's just been going on for a few weeks now (altho def worse in the last week / 10 days). She is drinking milk and does drink water. She also quite enjoys occasional snacks (crackers, apple)

I feel like I'm losing my mind!

what you can do is serve a safe food ie one she’ll eat, cracker, apple, cheese whatever at every meal, who cares if it goes. That way there is sometbing familiar she will eat and in time it will help her try more foods

I know it's awfully worrying when they stop eating but if she is still drinking milk and eating a little then there is nothing to worry about. She just isn't that hungry at the moment. Soon enough she will have a growth spurt and then be properly hungry again.

I can usually tell when my kid is having a growth spurt when she asks for a second breakfast. The rest of the time she begrudgingly nibbles on something and then wanders off claiming to not be hungry. Grrrrrrrrrrrr

Ohh thank you. It's so frustrating!

I think I do need to reset my mindset and think that she will eat if hungry...and if she's charging around the living room and never stops moving she can't be that deprived of calories....

Agh. Life felt so much easier when she ate well!