Help with solids ????

[Michaela's Mom]

My dd will be 8 months old next week.

I have been reading through the routines of other moms regarding solids and cannot believe what their babies are eating!! I feel like i'm from the dark ages!! My daughter won't eat half the things that these babies are eating. Dd's routine is as follows (approx. times) :

5.30 - 6.00am  :  200ml formula with porridge.
8.00 - 9.00am  :  Yoghurt or mashed fruit
10.00 - 11.00am  :  200ml formula
12.00 - 13.00pm  :  small bottle purity
14.00 - 15.00pm  :  200ml formula
17.00 - 18.00pm  :  small bottle purity
18.00 - 19.00pm  :  200ml formual with porridge

She seems to be thriving on just this - she weighs 10.3kg. I have tried introducing meat, but she only gags and refuses to eat. I have tried finger foods, which she refuses. She will eat biltong (i suppose you would call this beef jerky???) which she loves and Boudoir (finger) biscuits, but nothing else. Everything else i try just makes her gag or she turns up her nose at it !!!  She won't even take teething biscuits as these make her gag too!

I see moms who give their babies toast and all kinds - how did they get their babies used to this kind of food? What are the best things to start baby with?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Sharon

[rosie and joe's mummy]

what's purity?  i am not familiar with that?

[tylersmommy]

Babies do everything in their own time, and she'll eat different types of food when she's ready. When Tyler was that age, he would only eat super smooth, beginner's consistency purees. No interest in finger foods, no interest in lumps. Around 9 mo, he suddenly refused to eat from a spoon and only wanted finger foods for months. And meat? Forget it. Wouldn't go near it until he was almost 2!

Keep offering different foods, but don't worry if she isn't eating the same things as other babies. Good finger foods to start with are ones that dissolve easily, like small bits of toast, cheerios, or crackers, but she'll only eat them when she's ready! If she's happy, healthy, and thriving, then you're doing a great job!

[Mum-of-Two]

I have had similar thoughts when I see posts about giving finger foods to a 6 month old.  My LO is not even remotely ready.

My Pedi said meats can start around 8-9 months.  I intend to give her the pureed kind first.

Also, I hear a lot of Mom's trying slices of avocado and banana as first finger foods to introduce the concept.  Maybe try those to start and then a biskit.  Just an idea.

My LO is 6 months and has only had baby cereals and pureed veggies.

[Marisa's Mom]

I have been reading through the routines of other moms regarding solids and cannot believe what their babies are eating!! I feel like i'm from the dark ages!! My daughter won't eat half the things that these babies are eating. Dd's routine is as follows (approx. times) :

Don't worry about this. All babies start eating solids at their own pace, some earlier, some later. Mine was a late bloomer, and only showed interest around 10 or 11 months, and didn't really transition totally into solids until after she turned 1 yr old (when she decided to self-wean from the breast). And it was a gradual process, working from more "watery" cereals/etc (or level 1 & 2 baby jar food consistency) and gradually thicker cereals/etc (or level 3 baby jar food consistency). We gradually (over weeks, not days) increased the "thickness" of her baby cereal, and then moved towards the easy-to-dissolve cereals (like Gerber veggie puffs, then eventually cheerio/corn flake type cereal).  For protein, we would give her pureed meats.

Baby food jars can be expensive. I found it more cost effective to puree our own food using a mini food processor. At first, adding some liquid to get the right "watery" consistency, then gradually lessening the amount of liquid, and eventually not adding liquid at all. I think it's good to let baby eat the same foods you eat. We did this with our dinner dishes. Anything not in small enough pieces or are "hard" get chopped up into smaller pieces and/or run through the food processor to make a consistency that is appropriate. As DD learned to eat solids, they got chopped up into larger pieces and/or run through the food processor to make a "coarser" less pureed texture.


I don't know what Purity is, but I see you are already giving your LO yogurt & mashed fruit. We started out with mashed banana. Another thing you might try is soft ripe avocado.

I recently posted a list of some finger foods I give DD, you might find something in the list that you can adapt for your LO.
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64858.0

Try cooking some veggies (like carrots), and pureeing them yourself befoe giving to your LO. The later on, cook them soft, and offer them non-pureed, cut into very small cubes.

Try cooking some pasta very soft, letting it cool before cutting it up into smaller pieces. Melt cheese on it. Or mix with pasta sauce. Add soft cooked chopped veggies in the mix. You can even add tofu for protein. I gave DD a lot of tofu as a meat substitute, since tofu was soft & easy for her to eat.

I have more to say, but it'll have to wait. Sorry this is all so disjointed. DD is impaintenly waiting the attention of her faithful servant...

[andibig]

DD still will not eat meat! DH is worried thats shes going to be a vegetarian!! Like pp said don't worry too much. some LOs take longer with solids and textures. DD was very relunctant to take anything but purees for ages. Now she won't touch them.