8 month old won't open her mouth

[Catharine]

Hi,

My dd's started solids at 6 months and we're still on first stage foods because she won't open her mouth to eat anything.

The first month was good; she would open her mouth when the spoon touched her lips. However it has gone down hill since; she loves to put things in her mouth so I now have to sneak it in as she opens her mouth for a toy.

Any ideas on what I can do? Is it normal for babies to loss interest during the 2nd - 3rd month?


Thanks,

Catharine

[Lolly]

Have you tried any finger foods with her? My LO will generally only let me spoon feed him if he has other things to feed himself with. I give him steamed veggies cut into sticks, pasta, bread and butter fingers and anything I can think of that he can pick up by himself. Obviously you have to watch for allergies and that things are appropriate for your LO. Could she be teething? We had a major solids strike for nearly 2 weeks when his 2 bottom teeth came through.

I know we went through a stage where he would pick up food and play, but not open his mouth at all - I would put him down to play and the first toy he picked up would go straight in his mouth

There is a really good thread in the EAT section about baby led weaning which has a lot of good ideas and advice for finger foods, we did start with purees and now do a combination of puree/self feeding.

HTH!
Laura

[Mom2X&F&V]

We are in the same boat here. Almost 8 months and just shuts his mouth, sealed, not a single second with his mouth open. I started at 6 month and we had a very good 1st mont, but now... zero. He will not pick finger foods or eat them just if it is a toy he opens his mouth... Dd at this stage was already with lumpy food, finger food and lots of cookies and cheerios and this lo won´t open his mouth unless it is bottle... oh well... any advice will be appreciated too.

[Freya'sMum]

It can be worrying when los go on food strike, but I really think that they'll be ok, as Laura has posted, it does happen to many babies when they're teething or poorly in any way, or if they're distracted by something more interesting, or too tired to eat.

But also, at 8 months and even older, milk remains the single most important food a baby can have, with solid foods topping them up with nutrients and to stave off hunger, and it's important to trust your babies' instincts when it comes to appetite, they don't tend to starve themselves, it goes against their innate survival mechanisms, so if they don't want it, ok! as long as they're getting their milk!

I'll also second the suggestion to check out the baby-led weaning threads, and the finger foods for young babies thread in the Recipes section, for ideas about how and what to offer these stubborn los when they refuse the spoon!

Ax