How to get your eight or nine month old baby to eat?

Baby Center's newsletter for my 8 month old, fourth week read --

Fussy-eater prevention plan
Get ready! At eight or nine months, many babies start getting extra choosy about what they eat. But short of altering your baby's taste buds, what can you do? One answer is to keep up the variety in your baby's diet. He may not feel like carrots this week but he might eat cauliflower, peas or broccoli. He may not fancy an apple but he will have banana, pear or some avocado. Aim to offer him different foods so that over the course of a week (not every day) he has all the nutrients he needs to go on growing. And remember that it's easy to overestimate the amounts a baby this age can eat — when he starts squeezing his fingers through the mashed potato or turning his face away, accept that he has had enough. Keep mealtimes relaxed: knowing that if he doesn't like the taste of something he won't be forced to eat it all, can help his confidence in trying new foods.

Why can't they send me every newsletter a month in advance so that moms like me can be better prepared? I have been living through hell trying to feed LG for the past 3 weeks. Some techniques work, some don't. Baby Center is like a child rearing instruction manual for me. I stick to every advice of theirs and it usually works. Just when i had given up, I called my friends who have children older than me and they reassured it was normal for kids around eight or nine months to get fussy about food. Variety is one thing that generally works. And it did!

If your child is approaching that age, then be prepared and don't be in for a surprise if suddenly one night he refuses to eat. From eating two bananas in one sitting at 6 months, LG went on to refuse even a spoonful of carrot for dinner and the sight of banana had him crawling away to the farthest corner from me.

Here are some tips that might work:

1. If you can afford to invest in a high chair, then please do so. It has been one of the best buys of all the things I have got for LG. It gives him limited scope to move around during feeding time and makes him less distracted. Kids this age want to do everything at the same time - crawling, playing, turning around to see what that sound was etc etc


2. Stick to the routine. It may vary from month to month a little bit.


3. the toughest part is acknowledging that your kid is growing up and doesn't need to be fed at the same intervals as before. Even the quantity is determined by the baby.


4. Be prepared that there will be times, even days when you have to throw away the food. Force feeding doesn't help


5. Stock in vegetables and fruits so that you have an alternative if he doesn't like what you prepared.


6. Experiment with variety such as carrots, tomatoes, beets, beans, peas, dal rice, curd, apples, cherries, pears etc. Don't overdo it if he likes it on one day. He will soon lose the taste for the same.


7. Give water in between instead of stuffing your baby with food at one go.


8. Talk to him , sing to him. Create an environment that works best for you.


9. Massage your baby regularly. I found LG's appetite increasing as I started massaging him after the rains stopped.


10. If you sense indigestion, then try giving him omam (ajwain) water.