1yo suddenly not interested in eating

[♥ms.pacman♥]

my son has always had a very good appetite. he would eat 6-8oz pureed food plus some table food/crackers/puffs, 4x a day. however within the last couple days he seems like he's lost interest in eating. we try to give him food and at first he eats it, but then after a few bites he scrunches up his nose, closes his eyes and turns away. we try to encourage him but he just gets upset. today at dinner he started crying his head off just by being placed in the high chair.

he has been walking a ton recently and sometimes it seems like the only way we can get him to eat a decent amount is if we let him walk (more like, run) around the room and walk over to us every now and then, where he takes a bite of food, then runs off eating it, comes back, takes another nibble, etc. of course this takes *forever* and not really practical to do 3-4x a day.

anyway, i dont' think it's a huge deal but my DH is worried that he's not eating and thinks something is wrong, since he always was such a good eater. he keeps saying that it makes "no sense" that he is more and more active now with all the walking but then is actually eating much less. but to me, it just seems that he's just distracted by his new ability to walk around and he's just too "excited" to eat. does that make sense? any suggestions?

[WolfpackMom]

We go through this every other week it seems. Right now hes not into eating unless its yogurt which I assume is because its sweet, or spaghetti. Everything else is thrown on the floor and then he screams and flails around in his chair trying to get out. Another couple weeks from now and I bet he will eat again. We have seriously been doing this for months, dr just says its totally normal especially with teething, colds, new milestones etc. I wouldnt be too worried unless it goes on for extended periods, especially since he will eat when he is up and moving.

ETA, since Claki mentioned it. We havent done purees in quite awhile outside of yogurt or applesauce/pear sauce. He wants to feed himself so you might try just giving him whatever you are eating, that works best for us - he sees us eating and he wants to eat too.

[Claki]

At that age my son completely stopped eating purees and we switched entirely to table foods. He would try his head if we tried to spoon feed.

[Dr C]

This is normal. He probably is too excited by his new trick of walking, but it is also important to know that he is not growing as fast as he was 6 months ago so he does not actually need as much food. Most kids this age go through spurts--for a few days they eat everything in sight, and then for a few days they eat very little. Try to think about toddler nutrition in terms of what they eat in a week, not at one meal (or even in one day). Kids around this age notoriously get a bit more picky as well--this too is normal--it's a control thing, and he may do better with finger foods rather than purees. In any case, try not to worry too much. If he really doesn't seem to be eating much for a few weeks, bring him into the ped and make sure his weight is ok.

[twowhat?]

This is normal. He probably is too excited by his new trick of walking, but it is also important to know that he is not growing as fast as he was 6 months ago so he does not actually need as much food. Most kids this age go through spurts--for a few days they eat everything in sight, and then for a few days they eat very little. Try to think about toddler nutrition in terms of what they eat in a week, not at one meal (or even in one day). Kids around this age notoriously get a bit more picky as well--this too is normal--it's a control thing, and he may do better with finger foods rather than purees. In any case, try not to worry too much. If he really doesn't seem to be eating much for a few weeks, bring him into the ped and make sure his weight is ok.

This. Once the novelty of walking wears off, he'll start eating his usual amount (and maybe more!) again.

[AnnieW625]

We went through this with DD1 when she was teething. It's irritating when it happens, but then like the others have said it's back to normal soon.

[fedoragirl]

Gosh! It seems like that around one they turn into different children! I don't have issues with eating...yet, but the sleeping has become challenging. We think DD is getting her molars.
I really hope everything goes back to "normal." I always follow your posts ms.pacman because my DD is about the same age as yours. It's very helpful to know RLE about what other babies are facing at this age.

[llama8]

My DD is 13 months and she is one of the best eaters I have ever seen and she began to do that around 11 months. it was her way of saying no to purees and yes to table food. Try feeding your child real table food and see what the reaction is. My DD won't touch purees now, but she will down table food.

If he is still not interested in food, it could be teething.