My fruitarian boy

[FreddieEden]

Hello,

DS is six months now.  I started him on solids just to get used to the idea of the spoon at five months and he has been eating them properly for the last two or three weeks.  My problem is that I can't get him to eat anything other than fruit.  I don't know how a baby even knows the difference between a fruit and a vegetable but he certainly does.  If he had his way he would live off pear and banana.  I used to be able to get a bit down him but as he has got better with the spoon he has also got better at clamping his mouth shut, spitting food out and blowing raspberries!  At the moment I'm giving him fruit for breakfast.  At lunch, I'm trying to get him to eat a few spoons of veggies (sometimes mixed with fruit) and then giving him fruit after he has taken a bit.  The idea is that he shouldn't start associating feeding with misery.  But, to be honest, I think he is just learning that if he holds out then he gets what he wants eventually.

Any other fruitarian babies out there and any advice?

Thanks
Freddie

[alex and danny]

Which veggies have you tried?  I know that my lo hated carrots but loves pear, apple....any fruit.  I tried sweet peas and sweet potato and WOW, he really took to them; and lately he has tried corn ..yumm!  I usually offer the peas or potato first and end with the fruit.  I also noticed, depending on the day and his teething that he will sometimes prefer them cold - and sometimes warm...    Hang in there...  Alex

[cwolff]

Have you tried cereal at all?  I am a firm believer that if you want to introduce something to the baby, mix it with something they like.  So if you want him to eat cereal, mix it with a fruit.  If you want to try him on yogurt, them mix fruit with that.  And there are a lot of sweet veggies as well, as it seems like your son has a sweet tooth.  Carrots are sweet, sweet potatoes (obviously), even peas.  Mix them with a fruit, then gradually start putting less and less fruit in it until you've got the plain veggie.  It may take some time, but if you are consistent he will most likely find some veggies he likes.

[FreddieEden]

I started him off on rice cereal.  He was never keen but he did eat it.  Now that he has discovered the joy of fruit, he only eats rice cereal mixed with fruit.  I have tried carrot, potato, carrot and potato mixed together, carrot mixed with rice cereal, sweet potato, parsnip mixed with apple, butternut squash and butternut squash mixed with pear.  How he does depends partly on how tired he is and how the teething is going.  I think he genuinely loathes carrot, though I have one more cube in the freezer so I will try one more time.  He does eat some sweet potato (though it makes him fart a lot!) and he took some of the butternut squash mixed with pear yesterday.  I think I might concentrate on butternut and sweet potato for the time being, rather than keeping on bombarding him with new tastes.  It took him a while to get used even to pear which he now loves so I think he needs time to adapt.

Freddie

[ella&jack'smum]

I'd definitely go for mixing the fruit and veg together, and gradually down the amount of fruit and up the veg - at this age they don't need to see them as seperate 'courses'.

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

I used to give ds all his cereal with fruit. His favourite fruit was prunes so i would boil up a few and then puree it, put in ice-cube trays and freeze. I steamed my own fruit and put them in trays to freeze also. He loved his fruit too.

I used to give him  Ready brek, porridge and weetabix for a cereal.

just keep trying him with the vegetables and he will soon learn to like them.
Fruit is so sweet and all babies naturally have a sweet tooth, thats why he enjoys it so much more. BUt keep mixing fruit and veg and whittle out the fruit a little at a time.

You'll get there.

[Kate A]

I read somewhere that it takes 10-15 tries before baby develops a true like or dislike. hopefully this will turn into a like of veggies

[Jesse]

Hi there,

I'd just like to say that I'm having the same problem with my lo. She'll eat any fruit I give her, but vegetables no! I've tried them all, carrots, potato, sweet potato, parsnip, turnip, brocolli, swede, sweetcorn. I have been mixing the fruit with some vegetables, and it seems that as long as she can't taste it she'll eat it. It's a hard slog. Now she's seven months I have to start her on meat. Sometimes I wonder will it ever get better? I'd be great to know if things are getting better for you.

[colenliam]

hi,
Just wanted to add that my lo will not take any veg at all, not having any of it.
So I started to put veg on the spoon and fruit on top, KWIM?
He took them well like that.
I did that for 1 week and then the next week I would always start the meals with veg alone on the spoon, if he wouldn't take it then i would go back to the veg and fruit on spoon.  did that for a couple days then, I just started putting little less fruit on spoon at each meal, now he will take his veg without the fruit.  Unless hes craby
I geuss when i was a baby I wouldn't eat anything unless there was apple sauce on the spoon
HTH

[teezee]

i do the same as the above poster - put veggies on the spoon and then top it off with fruit - when she has her fussy veggie days. at first she gave me a dirty look (seriously - very nasty look) but she ended up eating it all anytime i have tried.

[FreddieEden]

Hi,

Didn't look at this for a while.  Doesn't that thing at the top telling you exactly how much time you have wasted on the site put you off?  Anyway, just to say we are doing quite a bit better.  DS has got a lot more enthusiastic about solids more generally and we have gone to three meals.  Now that we have three meals, I decided only to offer veg at lunchtime and to offer only one breast before lunch and give the other afterwards.  He has been hungrier and consented to eat a couple of cubes of veggies, though not with any real enthusiasm.  So, we are getting there, I think.

Freddie

[teezee]

good for you guys!! 

[teezee]

...oops that was supposed to be a grin  lol