decreasing interest in solids

[LHcj2008]

My 10 mo. DS seems less and less interested in solids instead of the other way around. He seems to be going through different phases involving solids: when we started him at 6 mos., he ate a TON of whatever it was that I was giving him (chunky purees). We're talking half an avocado, 3/4 of a banana, etc., that he would eat in a sitting. Then somewhere around 8 mos, he decided he was done being spoon-fed and would only eat finger foods that he could feed to himself.

Now he is taking a few nibbles of things and dropping the rest on the floor (or throwing it over his shoulder...I find pasta pieces and sweet potato fries in my plants...). The only thing he absolutely LOVES, regretfully, are puffs. I swear they are baby crack. They definitely have a time and a place (when I want him to sit and entertain himself so I can get something done), but I don't want them to be the only thing he eats. And despite me telling my MIL (who takes care of him) that puffs are only a snack, b/c he willingly eats them, she gives them to him at all his meals, but that's a whole separate issue...

He still seems very interested in food that DH and I eat, and I will give him nibbles of that if it is baby-appropriate. But, in general, it seems he just gets bored very quickly with food these days.

What's my next step here? I'm still BFing on demand when I'm home and when I'm at work F/T he will drink my expressed milk from a bottle, so I'm not super worried about nutrition, but I thought his interest in solids was supposed to increase as he gets older, not decrease (i.e., food is supposed to slowly become the majority of his diet, and milk less so).

Also, if anyone has any other food ideas that I may be able to try with him to switch things up a bit, I'm all ears!

[journeymom]

Puffs: is this puffed rice or cheesy corn puffs, or what are they? How long has he been doing this?

I think this is another variation on normal. Throwing food around is pretty darned fun.  You might stop with the puffs altogether.  I know it's convenient, and I'd be reluctant to give something up that I know works to occupy my kid.  But if it's not there, he can't eat it. You'll just need to get MIL on board. Oy.

My youngest is 12 years old, so it's been a while. ;-)  But my vague memory of my kids at that age is that they liked foods serially.  A food would be a favorite for a week, a month or a few months, and then something else would come along and be the new favorite. 

[LHcj2008]

The puffs I'm talking about are these organic ones that are basically puffed rice and oats with a little apple juice to sweeten them a bit. Pretty much an equivalent to Cheerios, but they dissolve really quickly in babies' mouths so they don't have to gum them down forever. I bought them for him around the time he started wanting to only feed himself finger-foods, and they really helped to develop his pincer grasp (he has an awesome one now). So they have their benefits I suppose. They have very little nutritional value so I'm not thrilled with them becoming a main staple in my son's daily meals, but at the same time, they aren't really harmful, plus like I said, I'm still BFing so he is getting adequate nutrition. 

I think my MIL gives them to him constantly because it is a guarantee that at least he will eat something, and she figures whatever works, but I really have been trying to get her to realize that they are just for snacking or for when he needs occupied, and that she needs to try and get him to eat something more substantial in place of the handful of puffs + a few nibbles of veggies, which seems to be her method of feeding him. She claims that she tries and that he does just what he does with me- eats a few bites and then pushes the spoon or her hand away, or, if he is feeding himself pieces of something, eats a bit and then starts dropping them on the floor (or smearing the food around on his tray- forgot to mention that one).

The thing is that my son isn't a picky eater when it comes to one food vs. the other. He will eat pretty much anything. I've just noticed a major decline in the quantity of food that he is willing to consume these days. A few bites and he's over it.

[anjsmama]

Have you tried Ella's Organic Kitchen or Happy Baby Organics Purees? They're like pureed baby food but a bit thicker and babe can more or less suck them like a smoothie/pouch instead of spoon feeding. Have you tried allowing babe to spoon feed himself? My DD is 9 months and rarely eats baby food, but when she does it's the pouches which she can easily manage herself, or a chunky puree and she spoon feeds herself. She's never really allowed me to feed her (which makes sense since we're taking BLW approach). She also likes her puffs (and as long as you're going with happy baby or plum organics or similar, they're not harmful) but yes, we keep them to a limit since they don't offer a ton nutritionally. DD likes colors - she likes her veggies all mixed together - yellows, greens, reds. She likes to have a whole plate to choose from, if you know what I mean. And yes, she makes a mess sometimes but it's fun for her and that keeps the interest up. 

At least your babe is drinking BM when you're gone, you don't have any nutritional concerns. I work 5 hours at night and DD doesn't drink anything but water from an open cup when I'm gone. Despite our best efforts, she will not drink milk in any fashion but from the tap!

[TheDivineMrsM]

LOL  - "puffs are baby crack." 

She's 11 months old and has been eating table foods for quite awhile. DD is also famous for tossing her food around. I think she 1) discovered that she can do it and 2) think's it's a game. I just have a dustpan on hand and sweep up after her. 

Favorite foods are yogurt (officially the only food she'll allow me to spoon-feed her), whole-grain waffles, clementines, spinach omelets, bananas, shelled edemame, chickpeas, and breaded chicken cutlets. Try some new foods out with him, and see if that changes his attitude. Is it possible he's bored with what he's eating? If that doesn't work, don't worry - a baby won't starve themselves.