My 10mth old foster baby

[MOMMYDEAREST]

Ok ladies I need some help.....I have a 10mth old foster baby & I've had him for 2 mths. I have tried soooo many different foods with him (scrabled eggs, jarred food, boiled carrots & potatoes, fruit etc), and he refuses to eat it. He screams in his highchair for junk food (raisins, graham crackers, cookies, cereal). Not all of that stuff is junk food, but he needs to eat "real food" before I give him snacks. He just sits in his highchair & screams. The problem is his biological mother just gave him all that stuff so he would pretty much "shut up". At this age he should be eating food (maybe not all table food, but a good variety of jarred food). Help........I'm out of ideas!!!

[nodmicks]

Gosh I have no clue. I suppose it is hard to un do the habits he has. Just keep trying? That sounds frustrating.

[MOMMYDEAREST]

Thanks nodmicks Yes it is very frustrating because his 6 year old brother tells me "just give him a cookie & he will stop crying" lol. He's still a baby but I have to break those bad eating habits now.

[nodmicks]

Thanks nodmicks Yes it is very frustrating because his 6 year old brother tells me "just give him a cookie & he will stop crying" lol. He's still a baby but I have to break those bad eating habits now.

I agree 100% that you need to break those habits. The poor little one needs real nutrients from real food. Bless you for taking care of them!

[zakity]

What about feeding him "table" foods? My oldest totally refused to eat jarred baby food about 9 months. Because of the expense, the twins rarely got jarred baby food. It isn't hard to make your own.

[guest002]

Well, I must be a terrible mother. My dd favors mostly carbs. She's 17 mo. old. Granted she's got reflux and we have food issues all around. She won't eat a veggie unless it's a stage 2 jarred one...and then only orange colored ones.

Personally, I'd give it a try at every feeding and then give something remotely healthy that he will eat after your 1st attempt (failed or not).

IME, at 4 y.o. they we eating their veggies. I just fed 'em the best I could of what they would eat and kept trying in the mean time. The one thing you can't do is force a kid to eat.

As long as he's getting vitamins from either formula or a supplement then he'll be fine.

[dianne9106]

This may not be the best - but it may help. Perhaps try some toast with a little butter or margarine on it, maybe add some whipped or mashed potatoes. After you get him going on that - add some mashed carrots or butternut squash to the potato mix Try giving him chunks of bananas, cooked corn kernels, baked some apples with a little brown sugar or substitute cut them into chunks, and other kinds of soft'ish foods he can feed himself. It sounds like maybe he does not want to be fed by someone else. Good luck!!

[YankeeMom]

When my kids were that age, they were still on breastmilk/formula almost exclusively. Any food they got was not for nutritional benefit, but more for practice in eating.

They loved finger foods above all else. I had two that had tactile issues and wouldn't eat anything wet or messy. It was dry, crunchy, non-messy all the time. Cut up apples, whole wheat toast (sometimes I could get a small spread of cream cheese on it, other times they just wanted it plain), multi-grain cheerios, etc.

I would say, try to not make meal times a stressful time. The more you push, the less he will eat. I went through this with my youngest, he was/is by far the pickiest child I have ever met. He went through stages where he would ONLY eat toast and bananas, once he ate TWELVE bananas in a 24-hour period . Or only grilled cheese sandwiches and applesauce. Even now, if allowed he would eat a whole loaf of bread in one day.

Nowadays, I go by the 80/20 rule. If 80% of their food is healthy and nutritious then don't sweat the other 20% that may not be the best nutritional quality.

[favesis37]

is he loosing weight? if not then he is getting enough of something. i would try mixing something he likes with a new food as mentioned above. good luck

[mommy4ever]

my mom had a foster baby like that. Their social worker and her decided to take a tough love approach. They've never seen a baby starve themselves if there is food available. Mom only gave healthy foods. That baby was miserable, but within 24 hours he was eating. But it had to be finger foods. steamed carrots, peas, corn, bread, bananas, pears, peaches, cheese. He became a robust eater. But each time you give in the more willing he will be to hold off until you give in. If you take a firm stance, make sure he has formula, and just keep offering soft finger foods that he can do himself, then he will give in might be a few days.

BTW, I have 4 like that, and I NEVER gave them the snacks! They just hated everything.

[mombottoo]

I know my daughter and niece were both told formula only for the first year...personally I fed mine from the time they came home from the hospital. I do agree so long as he's getting his main nutrients from formula what other food he eats is of little consequence. Raisens are good for him, maybe you could try sliced banana...my granddaughter has always loved bananas.

[McD]

Until babies are about a year old, they rely on formula/breastmilk as their main source of nutrition.

At that age, Wesley loved baby foods---but he was weird. He only liked veggies like squash, but he hated fruits. He only really liked apricots and the exotic fruits like blueberry and hawaiin pineapple.

Finger foods were best--little mini-raviolis, raisins, gerber fruit puffs, biter biscuits, etc.

I know you said that you tried scrambled eggs, and I am not judging you at all, but that may be something you want to watch. Generally, pediatricians do not want kids under the age of 1 (if I remember correctly) to have eggs due to the risk of allergies. I started Wesley on peanut butter earlier than the recommended age but we really watched him for allergic reactions.

Hope that helps!

[Holly]

Put a little baby cereal in his formula
and shake it up. I did this with my son from the time he was 2 weeks old. He was getting something with the milk.
Give him the raisins, make him a hard boiled egg and let him eat that with the raisins,
give him some of those baby biscuits for a cookie.
Dr told a friend of mind it doesn't matter what they put in their mouth as long as its something.

[YankeeMom]

I would caution against the raisins. They are a choke hazard. Putting cereal in babies' bottles isn't recommended anymore either. Especially at age 10 months when they are more than capable of trying "real" food.

Avoiding foods that could cause allergic reactions (like eggs, nuts/nut butters, strawberries, etc) is a very good idea. Especially since you don't know his complete family history....if he has any family members who has/had food allergies and to what.

[brainyblonde]

My suggestions would be:

kids' yogurt (doesn't have the bite or tang of regular yogurt)
cottage cheese
applesauce or other fruit sauces
pudding
hot cereals - oatmeal or cream of wheat
Cheerios or Kix
Carnation instant breakfast if he is drinking milk
cooked ground beef with instant potatoes