Refusing food. Looking for confirmation that I'm right.

[GuysballsintheSky]

DD is being very picky with her food at the mo. She refused all breakfast this morning. Then ate a big bowl of cheesy pasta and and then toast at lunch (carb heavy I know but I was happy for her to eat anything). Now she has refused all dinner.

If she was older I would just leave her to it, as she'll eat if she's hungry. I'm assuming that, at 9.5mo, as long as she is getting enough milk, which she is, then the principle is the same. She'll eat when she's hungry?

I tried porridge this morning which she usually eats but didn't. Then I tried Weetabix, which she also usually eats. After that I gave up. How many attempts should I make. Do I just offer something and leave it at that?

No expert on this, but I think if she's taking enough milk, I wouldn't worry about it. Unless you think she's ill, obviously. Probably just keep offering her stuff and she'll eat if she's hungry. But try to be relaxed about it. Is she teething?

I try not to go too far down the route of offering millions of different things. It's hard I know, when they're not eating anything. My ds is a bit older (14 months) and he goes for days when he just picks at things, but he's fine and healthy. I used to get in a cycle of offering something, having it refused, then offering something else and having that refused and so on. It gets very wasteful apart from anything. I think if they're hungry they'll eat. Besides as you say, so long as she's getting enough milk she'll be fine.

As HeadFairy (love the name btw) says - my ds does the same and has some days where he just picks at things and others where he is the very hungry caterpillar.

If its something that i know he normally likes, and he doesnt seem bothered by food at all, I dont offer anything else, but maybe would offer something as a snack a bit later incase by that point he's hungry.

If its the first time he's had something or I'm not sure if he likes it, I usually offer an alternative like a banana or an oatcake that I know he likes to see whether the taste has put him off, but normally its that he's not hungry (is 14 months old but was similar when younger too)

My baby is like this too, I was about to put my own thread but saw this. She's 10.5m, never been a great eater and at the first sign of illness/teething she goes right off her food. For the last 10 days she has eaten nothing but weetabix and fromage frais at home. We tried some jelly and ice cream at a birthday party the other day and she ate it and chocolate mousse (a tiny bit) at someone else's house and she liked that. If I can get her to open up for "proper" food she sticks her tongue out with the food sitting on the middle of it and she cries. She has been ill and still has a cough but now I think she is just being fussy as she will eat the stuff she fancies.

Some days I am hungrier than others, I always assume my daughter will be the same. She is!
I give a meal and leave her to it eating mine at the same time and helping out when needed. I can't be bothered to make 2 meals so eat the same as her.
If she doesn't want much breakfast that's fine, I'm sure she'll eat more later. If she doesn't want much dinner that's fine too she's probably eaten well earlier.
The key is for nothing to be a big deal, don't watch too hard and eat together. Do you want to make 3 alternatives every meal and then settle for yoghurt? I wouldn't, but if I was offered it and then knew I could fill up on chocolate I'd refuse everything til I got chocolate! Children aren't silly, they're just like us, they just want yoghurt not chocolate!
Oh, Liz79, my daughter refused spoon fed food around 9 months - is it the food she's refusing or does she just want to do it herself?

My ds has just been through this to and he has just turned 10 months, he had an ear infection so i wasnt to concerned about the lack of interest in food, but 2 weeks after when he was right as rain he still was refusing food from a spoon, and started to refuse finger foods aswell, even though eating yoghurt and fruit and what ever is on my plate when i eat no problem.

Eventually i decided to put him in his bouncy chair in front of the tv and we slowly got him to take off a spoon, even though it would poss take 45 mins to finish a meal. But low and behold a couple of days later he cut a tooth!!!
Now 2 weeks on he is eating like before with no probs!!!