picky baby. Normal?

[justice'smom]

I am making my sons baby food and at first he ate anything I gave him. Now he has become very picky and will only eat sweet potatoes, cheerios, bread, banannas, avacados, carrots and breastmilk. I guess I should add that he also seems to be in some sort of pain recently and is not sleeping well at all. He screams all night long and when I try to feed him anything besides bm he takes a few bites, makes a face, and then puts his hands out and screams. Teething maybe? Is all of this normal?

[claras_mom]

Teething or maybe gas?

How old is your baby? In your position, I'd be inclined to back off the solids entirely for a week or so and see if that helps. If you don't want to do that, you could also try only feeding solids earlier in the day, so that if it is some kind of gastrointestinal upset, it won't be happening at night.

[Llyra]

Sounds like teething to me. All my kids went off their food whenever they were getting teeth.

FWIW, though, the pickiness is really normal, and it gets worse (much worse, for some kids) before it gets better. Some toddlers, like between 18 months and 3, will get so picky that you might start to think they're going to starve to death. But somehow they keep on growing and thriving. I remember one stage where DD1 ate nothing but sliced peaches and yogurt, for months and months.

Don't worry about it. Before about a year old, the breastmilk is really all they need anyway. And later, you can rest assured that if you offer good food several times a day, they'll eat just exactly what they need to be healthy and grow into the size they're meant to be genetically.

But it does drive you crazy, sometimes, especially if you've taken a lot of time with the preparation of the food.

You might try offering stuff besides purees, like chunks of soft fruits or cooked vegetables, for instance. Some babies just get to a point where they want to eat real FOOD instead of baby food. My kids were all basically done with the pureed stuff almost as soon as we started it. They ate stuff like chunks of ripe banana, or tiny pieces of cheese, or well-cooked peas.

[philosoikou]

I would suggest offering a variety of foods, preferably from the family's table (i.e. not special "baby" foods), and not worrying about whether he eats them or not, or how much. The important thing, IMO, is not that he ingest XYZ amount of food, but that he becomes integrated into the family's food culture.

The other important thing is to avoid drawing any conclusions about what your baby likes or doesn't like. Even if he rejects a certain food, for example chicken, over and over again, don't think or say, "Oh, ds doesn't like chicken. Simply keep offering the foods your family eats, and don't say a word about what he eats or doesn't eat.

The children I know who have been raised this way (quite a few, including my own) do not have the restricted food choices/"pickiness" that we think of as normal for toddlers/preschoolers. Yes, they may have preferences (which come and go), but they eat at the table with their families and enjoy their food.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking you need to offer only the foods he "likes." This very quickly becomes a pattern. Remember, it's not actually important that he take in any set amount of food. That's the beauty of nursing!