7.5 mo baby still not taking solids!

[newmum22]

Hi there. This is my 4th baby. Each one is so different. My little DD doesn't take ANY solid food. I am BF so her whole diet is from my milk.

When I first started I mixed some water with rice cereal and she ate some but 2 hours late threw up EVERYTHING--all the breastmilk she had afterwards as well. Poor thing! I never saw such  violent reaction. I waited a couple days and did the same thing and she had the same reaction. We went to the doctor right away. I told the doctor that it seems she is unable to tolerate rice cereal and the doctor said that was unusual, but I could try something else. I've tried different kinds of purees (sweet potato, apples, dates, ground veggies, yogurt etc./), and in different ways (completely smooth/ or with small chunks) and my little DD takes none of it. She makes a face like she hates it and then gags. Today I just tried her holding and sucking on a banana. Didn't like it.  Not even a banana?! All my other kids when they were babies would gobble them up. I just can't get her to take anything. She'll be 8 months soon.

She's a very happy and peaceful baby. But she wakes up around 3am for a night feed and I'm wondering whether she needs to be getting more calories from the solids.

[creations]

Hi there. So many of us worry about our LOs eating solids but try to reassure yourself that she is getting all she needs from your milk and any solids are in addition to that.  I've known some LOs take barely a mouthful of anything until more like 9 months old and then suddenly around 9-10 months start eating lots and lots.
From what I've read it's quite normal for a BF LO to still take a night feed at this age so I wouldn't worry about that either.

Mine could not eat rice.  I had no intention of using rice cereal (had chosen BLW route with no purees or baby rice) but my mum brought some over one day so I though might as well try it out as we have it - DS vomited.  I tried maybe once more and he vomited again. Also those hard cracker type rice cakes he vomited and when offered rice as a finger food he seemed to know he didn't really want it.  Rice pudding (made into a firm cake type finger food with formula milk as I was trying to get him to have more milk), this he ate and I think he did not vomit but he refused to ever eat it again.  So I do think some do not react well to rice.
Mine also seemed to dislike banana for a while, he did not vomit but did not seem to really like it until he had been offered quite a few times and he was a bit older (where as other foods he gobbled down).  Later banana became a favourite and he has loved them ever since.  He is 5yo now and still can't eat rice, he *says* he eats it (eg at school or restaurant) but actually he eats about half a teaspoon of it to be polite even though I've told him he does not need to eat it (he does not vomit on that half teaspoon).  His body appears to know not to eat it.
Your LO is not alone then - which may help ease your concerns.

Have you tried some finger foods (other than banana)?  How about some wedges of sweet potato or wedges of apple?  You can steam or oven bake either, steamed is easier but baked gives a dry outside which is easier for LO to hold, with a soft inside to suck and gum at.  it may be that she is not keen on the textures of the foods.  How about trying something drier such as a finger of toast/pitta/naan? Or a hunk of meat? some fingers of eggy bread? little american pancakes?
It may be a texture thing that she just doesn't like the wetness or puree/lumpy foods, it may be that you've come across all the foods she just doesn't like, or it could be she just doesn't feel ready to get going fully on the solids yet but will in a month or so.

I would keep offering things (not rice) at least a couple of times per day even if she doesn't eat them or eat much of them.
hope this helps x

[~*Nicole*~]

Sounds like she isn't quite interested in the all the new textures and flavors....yet. Plus, swallowing food compared to swallowing liquid is such a different experience. Some LOs jump right in and others kind of step back and analyze and are overly cautious. What is her personality like about other things? New people? Trying new skills? Also, sometimes experiencing foods is a new sensory experience and some LOs don't like the feeling and the sensation or have trouble swallowing. If it were me, I'd probably allow her to manipulate and play with foods on a high chair tray so she can feel them, mash them, gum them, pinch them, etc. and get used to how they feel. Then if she decides to try something....that's great. If not, at least it's not foreign. Especially if it is food she has seen you eat. A puree may look different than what she sees mommy eat.

A friend of mine, her son didn't want to eat as a baby and she worried over him until a OT friend of hers asked how he did with crunchy/harder type foods like crackers and she hadn't ever tried that type of food because he was a baby and she thought it needed to be soft, gummy, mushy, etc. She gave him a different texture and he liked it! Then she worked on incorporating other foods slowly and he did great!

As creations mentioned, she's getting enough nutrients from your milk. Food before 1 is only for fun! For fun and practice mostly.

My DS couldn't handle foods right away with his reflux and it was slow going for us for awhile. And DD2, though she ate foods readily, still breastfed overnight for a long time. Probably until about 10 months and now only occasionally for comfort and not food any longer.

You are right. They are all different! She'll get there, in her own time!

[newmum22]

Thank you both for the reassurance and support! I will try experimenting with the finger foods you suggested and just be more peaceful about it. She'll get there when she's ready!

[creations]

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