baby eating problems

Hello, my son is a little over 10 months old, and his appetite
seems to be very small. Sometimes he will eat lots at lunch and
supper, but barely will ever eat in the morning. I am trying to get him
off of the bottle but its just not happening for more than 1 oe 2 meals
a day. (sometimes he will just have a cup at 1 meal or if im lucky 2) I

Sidheag McCormack...

I don't quite understand what you're trying to do here - when you say "get
him off of the bottle" do you just mean you want him to drink from a sippy
cup instead, or do you mean you don't want him to drink formula any more? I
think personally I wouldn't worry about eliminating bottles at 10 months -
if he's sometimes using a cup, that's fine for now, isn't it? Many babies
have a strong need to suck, so that may be why he likes the bottle better.
And you should definitely not be trying to stop him drinking formula,
assuming he's not breastfeeding. Milk (breast or formula) should be most of
the diet until 1 year old, with solids being mostly for fun.

try many different things in the mornings but some days he wont eat
anything, and all he will take is a bottle. what should i do? Also, i

enigma...

there's a huge difference between 10 months & 3 years old!
you've got plenty of time to wean him off the bottle before
he's 3 :) if the bottle really bugs you, put his formula in a
sippy cup, or teach him to drink from a regular cup. my notes
say Boo was starting to use a sippy cup around 9 months (but
he was drinking water from sport top bottles at 6 months).

enigma...

what you are feeding him sounds fine. i'm not sure what to
say about the highchair, because Boo hated his & mostly sat on
my lap and helped himself to whatever was on my plate (wear a
raincoat if you make spaghetti). Boo was 7pounds, 11 ounces at
birth & weighed 16 pounds at a year. some babies are just
lean. at 5 years, Boo has just hit 36 pounds. he has a 3 year
old cousin that weighs 48 pounds, but the cousin has an
entirely different body type. all babies are different.
while it might, in theory, be good for a 10 month old to eat
solids first & then have his bottle, babies don't read those
parenting books & they have thier own opinions :). it really
sounds to me like you & your son are doing just fine.
lee

have to feed him in his exasaoucer, as he hates his highchair and will
not eat in it for more than 3 min. Sometimes I even have to feed him
while hes walking around.... Sometimes I feel that I havwe to force him
to eat, but I dont want to because I wouldnt want to be forced to
eat....Please someonehelp me!

Sidheag McCormack...

I'd say relax, let him drink from a bottle, and let him take solids when he
wants to. Definitely don't feed him while he's walking around. There's no
particular reason why he should take any particular amount of solids right
now, and you're in danger of putting him off eating by coercing him, which
is the opposite of what you're trying to achieve.

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

Ericka Kammerer...

Are you sure your expectations of how much he should
eat are not unreasonable? And why are you in such a rush to
get rid of his bottle? Until babies are a year old, most
will still be taking a bottle (or the breast) and they'll
still be getting the majority of their nutrition from breastmilk
or formula. It is far more important that he get decent
nutrition than that he give up a bottle at only 10 months old!

Best wishes,
Ericka

enigma...

first, relax.
now look at your son's fist. see how small it is? that's
about how big his tummy is, too. you *can't* expect him to eat
much at one time. also, 10 months is too young to be
completely off formula, although you can try shifting him to a
sippy cup instead of a bottle. he does still need the
nutrition in formula until he's eating a larger amount of big
people foods.
also, what foods are you offering him? that might be part of
the problem. do you give him only jarred foods or do you give
him bits of what you are eating?
but again, little guys like your son are so busy learning new
things that eating isn't high on thier list of things to do :)
lee

chelsy

Stephanie...

From your first post, I would say don't try so hard to GET him to eat. For
most kids, this will backfire. Offer. Offering nutricious food is your
responsibility. Eating it is his.

What does your ped say about his size? Is it appropriate for HIM? What other
kids weigh is not much of an indication of anything.

toto...

At 18 to 19 lbs at 10 months he is doing fine. The rule is for babies
to triple their birth weight by 12 months. My ds was 6 lbs even and
was 18 lbs at 12 months.

I would not worry at this point. As most here have said, at 10
months, most of his nutrition is from formula or breast milk, not
solids. As for the teeth issue, unless you are giving him the
bottle in his bed, he is not likely to *rot his teeth.* And, you can
wean him from the bottle gradually by putting formula in a sippy
cup so he gets used to that.