Until recently Claire ate her solid food (stage 2) with gusto. Twice in the last three weeks, though, she has refused most solid food (she’ll take a tablespoon or two of cereal and fruit in the a.m.) in favor of milk. Previously she was eating 3 tablespoons of cereal and a 4-ounce jar of fruit for breakfast, then a 4-ounce jar of veggie for lunch and another for dinner; her daily milk intake was 19-21 ounces. The first time it happened for about five days, and she returned to eating solids again for nearly a week. This latest boycott began on Monday. She’s drinking good amounts of milk (actually increased her intake). She’s otherwise happy and healthy. She’s napping a bit more often and longer as well; this morning she took a two-hour nap. Possibly is this a growth spurt? Or maybe she’s getting tired of semi-liquid solid food and it’s time to offer small bits of our regular meals? (Though she has refused bananas when offered, and it’s her very very favorite food.) Maybe babies instinctively know what they need. She is very clear when she’s hungry and doesn’t want the fare I offer. My question is: has anyone else encountered this? If you have, I’d be interested in knowing your experience.
A Mindful Life / Kathryn Harper
express : discover : renew : create
Yes yes yes and yes. It never ends. They go in stages. For example, for lunch Zoe had about six grapes, a couple tablespoons of chocolate pudding and one and a half chicken nuggets. Holden had all of his grapes and half a nugget. Both drank their milk.
I remember when Zoe first started shunning food. I worried about it too but Hawk said that all parents come in and mention it to the doc. And it’s normal that kids do it.
Wait until you order a $5 kids meal that goes untouched 😉
yup, happened with both my kids too. her body may know that she needs more calcium or something. maybe she is PREPARING for a growth spurt!
i remember being HORRIFIED the first time my son grabbed a piece of potato off my plate and popped it in his mouth. up til then i had barely even given him baby food but ka-BOOM! he was ready. in a panic i called the doctor (of course) who said, “give the kid what he wants. he’s obviously ready for people food.”
isn’t it amazing that intuitive eating starts when they are so tiny?
so don’t worry. really, her body knows what it wants. there’s wisdom there and it will turn out well!!!
kcd
Kathryn, you have written that she is teething? right? babies salivate more when teething, sometimes they don’t feel very well because of this, plus their mouth hurts. Remember what it felt like when you had your braces tightened?
My husband is in the believe that babies instinctively know what their body needs. In fact, he thinks we all start out that way, we just let other things get in the way (emotional eating, etc) and we stop listening to our bodies.
Banana used to be Orion’s favorite food too but he turned on it and now he would only eat a couple of bites and stop. I would have to mush it and put it with yogurt or something. I think babies just change. Just because he isn’t crazy about banana like he used to, I am hoping he would like banana again in the future.
It was great seeing you last night. Too bad we didn’t get to chat and catch up more. We should get a play date going for Orion and Claire.