Weaning woes

[Lochie]

I am about a month into weaning my daughter onto solids (she is nearly 7 months old) and she is just not interested in food. Every time I feed her with a spoon she uses her tongue to push it out. I have tried home made purees, ellas kitchen pouches, whole bits of broccoli, banana, carrots etc so she can feed herself. It's as if she doesn't know what to do with food when it is in her mouth. I really don't remember it being this frustratingly difficult with my son. Does anyone have any tips? Or is it normal at this stage to literally eat only a spoonful of food a day?! Or if there is a thread on this already anyone know where it is? Thanks in advance :-)

[Jo'sEnglish]

Have you read the Baby-led weaning book? Even if you don't want to go down that route it is quite reassuring I think. It really doesn't matter if they aren't eating at this stage I don't think, they are still getting all their nutrition from food. I would just sit her with you while you eat so she sees you eating and keep offering her food and eventually it will click, I'm sure it will! Just don't go to too much effort to make her stuff that she rejects as that will get frustrating, just offer her a bit of whatever you are having that is soft (avocado, banana, etc).

She'll be fine! Good luck :)

[Pickle]

She sounds exactly like my 2nd child, who wasn't interested at all, until she got to around 8/9 months (at which point she started eating whatever the rest of us ate). My oldest child used to sit with his mouth open and eat everything he was given, so it came as a shock to find it difficult second time around. At 4 she is a great little eater, so try not to worry.

The key is to keep offering her a range of foods, try not to get stressed as it makes things worse, and in my opinion don't go to too much effort making special things for her. I'm sure my daughter just wanted what she could see me and her brother eating right from the outset.

My 3rd child is 8 months and on solids now too, but my approach has been so much more relaxed and it's been far less stressful. She eats a mixture of our food, chunks of things and pouches of food. In the last few weeks there's been a massive improvement in her ability to feed herself, which I'm sure you will find too.

[Lochie]

Oh thank you both. Bit more reassuring. Yes pickle my son would sit with mouth open waiting for food within a few days of weaning which is probably why I worried a bit this time round as my daughter is the biggest fusspot. I'll try and be a bit more patient ;-)

[Pickle]

To be honest, I think my son would happily still sit with his mouth open and have me feed him, and he's 5.5!

[Fuschia]

If you think that at 6m the gut is still immature and the body only just gearing up to digest foreign proteins, makes sense that a 6-7m old, if left to self feed, is probably still at the 'waving about and mashing into heir hair' stage of eating ... I agree with the others, it hee in hee chair to join in mealtimes with some things to experiment with, an it will come, with reasonable competence and enthusiasm by 14-15m IME

[jennypops]

I agree with the others, I had a similar thing with my 9 month old who has never been overly interested in food. It was becoming incredibly frustrating and boring trying to get any food down him, so eventually I decided to stop stressing myself about it - if he didn't want to eat then I would just give him a bottle instead. Only in the last week has he started to show more appetite and I have been able to shovel it down which is great! But probably things will change again next week!

[mima08]

Hiya, I've read the phrase "under one, food's for fun" many a times while weaning my LO (now 20months). We did go down a baby lead weaning -ish route, but it was that phrase that kept me sane :)

How about offering a bit of finger food (I seem to remember a thread on here about some babies liking it more) as well as other food?

I know it's easy to say & hard to live by (I'm still struggling) - try not to worry!

mx

[Lochie]

Thanks mima. I have gone back to baby rice now at HVs advice. I have tried finger food but she doesn't have the motor skills to get it anywhere near her mouth! I am a bit more relaxed about it now as weigh in this week showed she was 90th centile so I'll just plough on as per above advice and let it happen slowly. hopefully she won't be a fusspot forever! ;-)