Newbie here with a question

Jason's Papa wrote: Greetings! I've lurked for a while and finally joined.

Ok, here is my first question. Jason is 11 months old, and has always been a good eater. Recently he's started to refuse his dinner. Here's the way the feeding schedule breaks down:

6:30 am 8 ozs formula
8:30 am oatmeal and fruit
12:00 noon 2 small jars of 3rd stage veggies, followed by some healthy snacks.
3:30 pm 8 ozs formula
5:30 pm 1 1/2 large jars of 3rd stage dinners, followed by small jar of fruit for 'dessert'.
7:30 pm 8 ozs formula

He used to wolf down dinner w/o a problem. We've also fed him some of the things my wife and i eat for dinner, he seems to like most things, chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes, etc. Lately he's been refusing all forms of food for dinner. We've tried all kinds of varieties, with no luck. He will , however, still eat the fruit if offered. One night we gave him oatmeal and he ate that. So we don't think it's because he's full. But he's constantly refusing dinner and he's becoming crabby as the night progresses. Any advice?? We're at a loss!!

BTW, here's a pic of the little guy:

Bee_Kay replied: I don't have any advice, but wanted to jump in and tell you that you have a gorgeous little boy there!!!!

mckayleesmom replied: Open his mouth and check and see if his back molars are comming in.....That is the only thing I can think of. Those teeth really hurt when they come in and both my babies refused to eat at the time....Just make sure he is drinking lots of fluids and maybe buy some ensure or something to give him for extra vitamins. My daughter would eat one week and refuse for the next week, whenever they were bothering her. You can give him Hylands teething tabs too..those really help.

Jason's Papa replied:
Thanks!!

Jason's Papa replied:
That's interesting, thanks for the advice! He has his two bottom teeth and just got the first top one, we hadn't even considered the molars.

So even though he'll take his bottles and his oatmeal and fruit, you still think it could be the pain? Meaning that because he's in pain, he'll still eat what he really enjoys, but won't tolerate some of the things that he doesn't find quite as tasty?

mckayleesmom replied:
Maybe he is just not in that much pain at the time you are giving him the fruit and stuff. Or it might not be his teeth at all, maybe he is just wanting his favorite foods...Kids are tricky. Maybe you can squeeze in a few bites of regular food when hes eating his fruit...catch him offguard.

Jason's Papa replied:
My wife and i actually tossed around the idea of both sitting down, each w/ a spoon, and alternating dinner and fruit to see if that would work. Thanks so much for the advice!

mckayleesmom replied: Also...do you put salt in the food that he won't eat? Maybe if he has a tooth comming in and breaking the gums...perhaps the salt stings.....The fruit probably doesn't sting and oatmeal is pretty bland....Just trying to think of reasons.

Halo42101 replied: Hi, welcome to the PC! I am sorry I don't have any advice to give as I am not a Mom yet but also just want to say how cute your little boy is. That's a great pic. of him in your signature. Tfs.

Jason's Papa replied:
Nope, no seasonings at all. It's just Gerber or Beech Nut 3rd stage dinners right out of the jar.

Let me ask you this: Is it possible that he already knows that he gets his 'dessert' (fruit) after the dinner, and is wanting to skip the dinner to get to the fruit?

Jason's Papa replied:
Thanks for the warm welcome!

mckayleesmom replied:
Of course that is possible too.....Babies are creatures of habit and if they catch on to the fact that yummier things come after dinner...then he very well might be manipulating the situation....

Jason's Papa replied:
That's what i'm afraid of! If he's doing this at 11 months i may be in trouble!

Boo&BugsMom replied: Since he's already 11 months, I would start him on more solid foods. Some kids just don't like the jar stuff for too long. Ours was one of those. He was on all solids by 10 months after he got a taste of some real chicken. It's also possible he's filling up too much on formula as well. Not saying that is bad, since it has more nutrients anyway, but that could be one reason. Just tossing around some possibilities for you! He's ADORABLE! Good luck!

Oh, I also agree he could know that his dessert is coming. Kids are smart, even little guys!

Jason's Papa replied:
Thanks! Those are all reasonable explanations. We had discussed eliminating that 3:30 bottle, or perhaps moving it back to 2:30. I mean, he's only got one more month of the formula left to go anyway. Probably a good time to start weening him i suppose.

Also, we've given him solid food periodically when we're eating something that he can handle. He's usually up for it. And we bought a bunch of those 'lil entrees' and things like that, where the food is a lot more solid. He didn't want any parts of it. It's probably a variety of reasons, that's why it's so frustrating!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Sorry to hear that! I'm always afraid our next one is going to be picky. Our first one has been very easy when it comes to eating. Just be consistant, if that helps at all. If you switch, start to ween, or whatever, just be consistant with it. Going back will tell him "hey, I'm still getting what I want" and he'll keep holding out for what he wants if he knows he'll keep getting it. It's hard to keep it up sometimes, but persistence does pay off in the long run. Have you tried the Gerber snacks at all? They melt in their mouths so there is no choking hazzard. Plus, it really helps with their grasping for food (small motor control). Good luck again! Having done these things with many daycare children, I know it can be frustrating.

kit_kats_mom replied: welcome. It could also be that if his molars are coming in, the cooler foods (fruit) are more soothing than the warmer ones.

My2Beauties replied: I would say definitely check the teeth, my daughter refused to eat anything when those things were coming in. Also, again he could be just wanting the fruits and desserts over the dinner because well, those are just yummier. I agree with Tannerbugsmom, you may want to try a couple more solid foods during dinner to get his taste buds going. My daughter didn't want anything to do with jarred foods at that age neither, she took to solid foods very quick! Again make sure it's mushy enough so his little teeth can chew it up good. Oh and welcome to PC

redplaydoh replied: Have you tried one of those Baby Safe Feeders? With my two it always helped to give them something to gnaw on without having a choking hazard even when they weren't teething. But BEWARE bananas are almost impossible to clean out of one of these.

Otherwise it sounds like he's getting enough nourishment during the day so don't worry about him skipping the night time meal. Bryan is a VERY picky eater and I have to be careful about texture and temperature with him and he's 2 1/2 still. Maybe that could be a problem...?

I have to add he's absolutely ADORABLE... and I LOVE his shirt!

PrairieMom replied: could it be that he is just showing a prefrence to one food over another? it could be a control thing.

Jason's Papa replied: Thank you all for the warm welcome and sound advice! It's so tough to figure him out, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to why he'll eat dinner some times and not others.

Last night we waited an extra hour before feeding him dinner, and he ate well. So that's a plus! We'll see how it goes tonight.

And Jason thanks you all for your compliments on his picture! He told me to tell you that he thinks he gets his good looks from his Papa!

holley79 replied: No advice here but your little boy is precious. Welcome to PC