What should my 10 month old be eating and how much?
Answer:
Deja vu! My son did the same thing, ate and drank fine almost the same MO as your daughter between 6-81/2 months, then slowly he began eating less and less and then just cheerios. Then he absolutely refused all baby food in a jar. He also did not want to hold his own bottle and I had to hold it for him especially since I was so concerned he was eating less and less.
Here's what worked for me:
Variety variety variety!
I know it wastes food but it is important that she isn't stuck on just baby food which is uninteresting and flavorless and boring in texture.
For breakfast:
Try making your oatmeal different consistencies, lumpier, thicker, thinner, etc
Try baby yogurt (don't worry if you think it has too much sugar - if she like it she will eat it, then you can gradually dilute it with more nutritious and less sweet stuff like oatmeal, rice, barley or fruit)
Soak your puffs in formula for more nutrition, better yet, dip it in stuff before giving it to her - like thickened oatmeal, rice, barley or fruit or yogurt
My son's disinterest was caused by his desire to pick stuff up to put in his mouth - mostly hard stuff (thus his love of cheerios and maybe your daughter's love of puffs) - cut up bite-sized pieces of banana, or try Gerber Graduates soft diced peaches or pears.
He also wanted to try what I was eating so I put cut up pieces of food in my bowl for him to fish around in - if you are not comfortable with adult food cut up, put baby food in there (yes it is messy but my pediatrician says feeding will now be an 'adventure' and I should have a sense of humor about it. Now is the time that parents come in with stories of babies throwing, playing, spiting food, etc)
Cut up pieces of fried or hard-boiled egg yolk. My pedi said no egg whites til at least after 1 years old.
Lunch
ripped up pieces of fortified cheese
snack-sized ricecakes (if she likes it, later try dipping them in baby food for nutrition - the ideas is to have her eat and not just drink her nutrition- the crunch was very important to my son during this picky eating time - a combination of teething and favorite texture)
Steamed veggies supersoft and cut up into tiny baby bite-sized pieces or Gerber Graduates bite sized carrot pieces and really soft whole string beans
Soft blackbeans for her to pick up and feed herself
Rice steamed super soft, then for nutrition (regular rice has zero nutrition!) mixed with thick baby rice (try adding a tbsp or 2 of fat-free, no sodium chicken broth)
Make baby rice thicker than usual, so it sticks to the spoon when you give the spoon to her to play with, er, I mean, chew on, eat.
Try putting thick food on both ends of the spoon.
Try feeding her food from different utensils, chopsticks, adult plastic spoons, etc.
Bottle training
I tried adding 1/2 - 1 ounce of full-strength juice to formula only at meals. I put formula mixed with juice in my nuby sippy cups with handles. I fed him a sip and put it down. He eventually got the association that it tastes better when he feeds himself than when I feed him.
I originally tried 7 different sippy cups but the above worked for me after like 6-8 tries.
Eventually he was able to use all 7 kinds of sippy cups (11 1/4 months), it wasn't the cup, it was the willingness/readiness to feed himself.
Dinner:
Give her stuff that you eat rinsed in some water to get rid of all that extra sodium your kid doesn't need. No hard food though like corn. Try gumming all your food first to make sure it can be done!
Teething biscuits that dissolve the slowest and is the hardest (I used Earth's Best because it lasts the longest and is impossible to bite off) for her to "teethe" on and while she is preoccupied with the biscuit, you can get lots of food spooned into her, especially since her mouth will be wide open.
Distraction, distraction, distraction - if you distract her with something to do while she is eating, she will eat - don't undestimate this little fact.
Other points:
At 10 months, she's still getting most of his nutrition from formula so don't fret.
Also realize that it just takes longer now to feed your 10 month old than it took to feed her when she was 6 months. Food is no longer her primary concern. At my 9 month visit my pedi warned me that it could be more interesting (read "difficult") to feed the baby starting at this age with more food phases (how about the time my son didn't drink anything for 4 days!!! I was beside myself and rushed him to the Doctor several times)
I hope I have provided you with the best answer!
For how long is this happenning?
Maybe your baby is teething or she is tired of the same food. Try some fruits, fresh or in can, it works. If she is drinking formule, he is receiving iron in that, so is not so bad. There is a multivitamin supplement that you can buy at any store or drug store, it can increasse the appetite. Is this doesn't work, call the doctor. They have some advices that may help you. Good luck!
She should be eating what you eat... just cut really small. The veggie/fruit puffs are a snack... not a meal.
For breakfast, try giving her oatmeal with pureed fruit mixed in (apricots are good for extra iron), or a slice of whole grain toast with some yogurt or applesauce.
For lunch, try cooking small pasta (orzo is good) mix it with tomoto sauce and pureed brocolli.
For dinner, serve her whatever you are having... chicken, veggies, potatoes, etc.
(my daughter loves various pasta dishes, blueberry applesauce, mashed bananas and toast)
Remember... their stomachs are tiny still... a few tablespoons of food is a meal. Try giving her a bottle between meals.
I'm sure the only reason she's not holding her own bottle is laziness... try a bottle with handles. Nuby makes bottles with handles, and a soft "sippy cup" nipple to go on it.
Here's a picture of them... you should be able to get them from Walmart...
http://www.nuby.platformtwo.com/index.ph...
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