7 month old just won't eat solids - what to do?

[RachelTW]

My LO is now 7 months old. I started trying to give her solids about 6 weeks ago. She started taking them, bit by bit, - pureed veggies, as recommended, but then after about 3 weeks just started refusing them. Then I tried baby rice and baby porridge (plain and with fruit); she ate them for a few meals, and then refused those.

I have tried all sorts since then, home-made and commercial, including; pureed fruits, with and without baby rice and oatmeal, rice cakes, soft teething biscuits, fruit smoothies with yoghurt, just giving her cooked sticks of carrot, bean, broccoli ...  the only thing she will eat consistently is banana, but 'man cannot live by banana alone' ...

I have also tried her in lots of different places, i.e. high chair, on my lap at the table, in a bouncy chair that she's very used to. Nothing seems to make a difference. I have also tried feeing her with a spoon, letting her feed herself with the spoon, using my finger ... ditto.

In terms of refusing, she clamps her mouth shut, moves her head away, bats away the spoon / food with her arms quite firmly, protests but doesn't outright scream. I don't want her to associate food / eating with a battle and bad feelings.

She is on breastmilk morning and evening and formula during the day. She does seem to be getting hungrier too.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas? Just stop for a while and re-start, keep persisting, seek professional help?

[mini me]

First of all ... don't stress!! If she's medically ok then don't stress too much, I know it's easier said than done, but please, "food is for fun" at this early stage and no you don't want to make any problems for the future with association probs.
I had exactly the same thing going on with DD, and she finally started eating very slowly when I returned to UK for a holiday when she was 8mths old, and bought loads of baby jars (I think I was also getting extremely stressed with her as I was making all her food and just throwing it away day after day, month after month) so it took the pressure off me to cook, and alson gave her the flexibility to eat wth no stress. She started very slowly with lumpy foods (as she'd been fine on pureed and mushed food at 6months for a few weeks nefore refusal started. She was supposed to eat a whole jar plus a dessert, but would have 1/3 at the most and a spoon of dessert. She built up gradually and by the middle of the next month was eating so much better and her formula gradually decreased (but she was still getting the correct volume for her age) just not filling up on it.
I put it down to her being lazy (always has been in certain things!! ) and in hindsight I worried far too much when I needn't have ... as I was told at the time "you don't see many 5 year olds still only having milk and no food!!!"
HTH

[*Liz*]

My DS is just the same at 8.5 mths - he just doesn't eat.

I think this all started due to reflux but now there are food association difficulties. I'm off to see the dietician and feeding team next week so hoping to get some tips there.

A couple of things do help.

Feeding him off my plate - I put a bit of the puree on my plate and eat at the same time as him. My Dad once got half a weetabix into him by 'sharing' with him.

Offering finger foods before the spoon. DS is funny about finger foods - he won't put anything slimy to his mouth. Just picks them up and flings them on the floor. If it is dry he tries to eat it. So breadsticks, fingers of toast, rice cakes. Once he is in the rhythm he seems to the try a spoonful or two. I NEVER sneak spoonfuls in between his attempts to self feed though. Doesn't seem fair, and if he has a big bit in his mouth it wouldn't be safe.

Holding the spoon so he can reach out and touch the puree and see if he feels like a bit. Resisting the urge to pop it it when he is trying to talk to me instead.

Let him make a mess. He seems to like to eat with puree squelching in his hands.

J refused everything apart from pear puree at 7 mths. He now seems willing to at least open his mouth once or twice to try things before refusing.

I wouldn't stop completely - I'd just keep trying different things as you have been doing. What about a mesh feeder so she can taste them herself? Sometimes try a puree, other times just a finger food. Let her eat lots of banana. Will she accept it is you slowly mix something else in with it?

How many times a day do you offer? I'd perhaps do it twice only for now.

[Mimi 2]

I agree with the ladies.  I know it's hard but do try to relax.  Keep offering and eventually she will eat.  DD was the same way with solids.  She hardly ate any food.  We even went to several feeding clinic sessions to see if there is anything medically wrong with her.  Turns out she was just not interested in eating anything.  When she was closer to 12 mos, she started to eat with gusto. 

With the warm weather, maybe you could try letting her eat outside or have a picnic.  Sometimes a change in scenery will get her interested in trying the food placed on her tray/plate.

HTH

[mandamamba]

I am having exactly the same problem! Also she doesn't seem to be putting on much weight which is a worry. She's on formula now and doesn't have a problem with that but you just wonder whether that's enough to sustain the growth needed. I am thinking of putting some cerial into a bottle just to get some substance down her - it all says don't feed from a bottle so would I be doing the wrong thing???

[*Liz*]

It is a choking hazard given from a bottle, and really rice cereal has no substance to it at all. Milk is so much more nutitious oz for oz. We intoroduce solids to get them used to it ready for when they are older and NEED them for growth.

I know it is a worry when they are not gaining well - my DS still eats nothing at 9 mths old.

I just don't think adding cereal to the bottle will gain you anything.

How old is your lo?

[mmom]

Regarding what Liz said about textures, my LO would only eat dry things too.  We would make whole wheat pancakes and add fruit purees to them.  Also, something we still do is mix turkey and a vegetable and put it on toast.  It is like an open sandwhich, but it is dry so my LO would pick it up.  I know these tips apply more to finger foods, but maybe you can try them.  Even adding fruit puree to toast, softens the bread enough for them to eat.

[mandamamba]

She's coming up to 8 months and has been teething on top of it all, but they seem to be through now. Ok so I shall just relax and see what happens. She def is not interested in anything other than fruit as everything else just makes her wretch - and it's only on the odd occasion I'm able to get a couple of mouthfuls of fruit in her. Its good to hear that it's normal thanks!
I'll give the dry foods a try - mind you she looked like I had given her the most disgusting thing in the world when I gave her a cold carrot for teething  haha so we'll see how it goes!

[suchss]

Hi my DS also 7 months and is exactly same as RachelTW . Please let me know how things are now & what you did to improve things. I'm going razy with all this worrying..

[*Kara*]

Stop worrying about it... he just isn't ready yet... he will be in time.  Maybe stop offering for a bit and eat in front of him - he might become interested if he sees you eating