Help! Baby is 1 and still only eats baby food...

[Ivy7550]

So my 1 year old absolutely refuses to eat anything other than very smooth purée/yogurt. He does eat finger foods but only those baby crisp things (carrot puffs/veg straws/rice cakes etc). Getting a bit down about it I keep trying new things but he either has a melt down or just throws it all on the floor, in fact sometimes he's so repulsed by what I make him he actually reaches into his mouth and pulls the food out he seems to only accept the Ella's pouches which gets pretty expensive for every meal!

Not sure how worried I should be about this? Is it just a phase? He used to eat things like fruit as finger foods but has totally stopped now keep getting comments like 'oh is he still not eating real food?!' Which makes me feel I'm letting him down, but I'm at a loss for what to do I feel I've tried everything short of force feeding him! Any suggestions very welcome, anyone been in the same situation? As another note - he's only just getting his first tooth, could this be a factor?

The tooth thing may well be a factor if his gums hurt. Having had DS who ate nothing I'd say keep going with the purees, so he's keeping up with trying flavours even if he's not doing lumps, as it were. Can you puree your own meal smooth so he's eating the same as you?

Also try planing with food - sit him in the middle of a pile of cold spaghetti to play with (on a towel / mat) or leave wedges of apple around when you're with him (the cold feeling may also help his teething).

does he feed himself? I'd maybe do mostly puree and a few bits of other chunkier food and let him chose what he wants to eat. If he just has the puree, fine, just eat your own meal alongside him and resist the urge to run circuits of the room if he eats a chunk of fish!

Does he have the opportunity to eat around others his age? They copy all sorts at this age so a little picnic (even just a friend round on the living room floor) might work for him trying something new.
Also messy play activities are good for inviting eating (a farm with cornflakes).
Could you try some of those next stage prepared foods that have small lumps? And purée some meals you are eating. I’d probably offer fruit/veg before each meal - even if it gets thrown away.
Banana pancakes (Just mushed banana and a egg to make the batter) with a teeny spread of Nutella or peanut butter goes down well here too.

Don't worry - he's unlikely still to be on Ella's pouches when he's 21!

Could you try some really tasty, sweet solids to get him started? A lot of people on pinterest make frozen yoghurt drops, for example - he'll have to pick them up but they'll melt in his mouth and he can learn that solid food can be really tasty too.

You could try half-mushing a banana when he's hungry - spoon feed half then leave the rest on his tray?

I've learned that DS is a lot more likely to try things when I'm eating them (or when they've been dropped on the floor - I have seriously considered serving him veg on the floor to see if he eats it!). Maybe sit nonchalantly munching on a banana in front of him and see if he shows an interest...? I always refuse to give it at first to heighten the anticipation

There’s a great baby led weaning app that has some good recipes on there such as teething mash and teething soup. Maybe try those? It’s the baby led weaning cookbook and also has a Facebook group with support.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

That's a good idea about the messy play with food and putting stuff on floor (on towel), he does seem more interested in earring when he's not in his high chair funnily enough, will try that today! I did catch him trying to mine sweep some unidentified price of food off the floor the other day so might be a winner if he thinks he's not supposed to be having it

He's actually worse eating around his wee friends - he gets too distracted by trying to play with them to want to eat anything! But he's definitely better eating with us at the same time so we have been doing that every night.

It's a weird one, I've tried lots of tasty bits - banana pancakes, porridge fingers, rostis, and even resorted to cakes and scones but he just won't entertain them! I purée up what we are having but 90% of the time he flat refuses or has a couple of spoonfuls, then we usually cave and give him an Ella's pouch (though he is now only really eating the cheesy pie one) or some baby crisps - should I not be doing this? Don't know what to do really as I don't want him to starve but also don't want him to only eat Ella's cheesy pie and veggie puffs should I just go with the flow or be more strict?! It's hard as he's only a year so it's not like I can explain it to him! I even tried exactly recreating the cheesy pie recipe but he wasn't having any of it, I guess he knows what he likes!!

Haha Fartniss indeed it might be awkward on a date if he busts out an Ella's pouch