Baby just doesn't want food!

[PeazlyPops]

DS is a week off 6 months, abd I've started to wean. I tried purée but he clamps his mouth firmly shut. If any does go in, he gags.

I have tried finger food (such as steamed carrot sticks and broccoli) but he will nibble and pull a face.

Nothing is going in!

He has teeth, so he can bite and chew, but I'm not sure where to go from here.

I bought a book, weaning made easy by Dr Rana Conway, but it's made me feel like a failure. It has rave reviews on Amazon, but it's very pro early weaning, thing veiled as "... But it's your choice." it's also very pro jars of food and gives a massive list of negatives for making your own purée. I think I'll bin the book!

Where am I going wrong? I thought he'd gobble food up!

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Bin the book, sounds awful.

I'd say bin the puree too and just completey leave it for a few weeks.

In about 2 seconds someone will come on here and say you should buy Gill Rapley's BabyLed Weaning - we couldn't do BLW ourselves for various reasons so I can't comment on that particularly, and also I don't think there is intrinsically anything wrong with cooking suitably balanced and mushed up versions of food for babies. But the basic principles of - do they sit up properly, are they showing an interest in food, are they grabbing things off your plate to taste etc are pretty sound. So just taket he pressure off, stick with milk, and give your baby a chance to tell you when he's ready. And then you can give finger food/puree/jar/whatever within reason!

[Flisspaps]

The tasting, pulling a face and not much going in sounds normal to me. Trust your instincts, bin the book if you don't like it, keep doing what you're doing.

Have a look at www.babyledweaning.com, even if you want to wean traditionally using purée and finger food there's still some good advice there. Lots of babies don't really bother with food until later. For now it's about tastes and different textures

[JesusInACabbageVan]

DS1 hardly ate anything until he was 10 months. They're all different and they don't need to eat bang on the dot of six months - it's a gradual process.

DS1 ate yogurt and toast occasionally before then, but it was very much hit and miss. We just kept offering and eventually he got the hang of it.

DS2, on the other hand, weaned himself at 5.5 months by stealing half a jacket potato off my plate!

Try and relax and make it fun, whether you do BLW or purees.

[OneLittleToddlingTerror]

It all sounds normal to me too. Lower your expectations, and keep offering the purees and finger foods. Do not force the purees into his mouth, but wait for him to open it. No one likes being forced fed, do they? Just keep it fun and relax.

And bin the book too. Weaning is just as simple as offering food you eat. If you have a family of food allergies, then try to introduce high allergen food one at a time. Otherwise, just puree up any old veg or even stew, bolognaise, and give him pieces of food from your own lunch/dinner.

This page from the NHS has all you need to know (what to avoid kind of thing)
www.nhs.uk/start4life/Pages/babies-food-variety.aspx

[AyeOopMoose]

I came on here tonight to write exactly this abut DD2 who is the same age!

DD1 began weaning at 6 months and from what I remembered took to it straight away. After reading this, i remember that she didn't actually "eat" much for ages.

We did a mix of BLW (to start with so she'd get interested in food) and then spoon fed some porridge, yoghurt etc at a later stage.

Now I've remembered this I'll throw a bit of broccoli at DD2 tomorrow and let her get on with it at her own pace! Good luck.

[PeazlyPops]

Thanks for the tips. Book has been binned!

I'll keep offering purees and finger food and see what he takes to. We sat him in his highchair and gave him some broccoli florets whilst we ate our food. He had a little nibble, but not sure if he swallowed any.

I'm a vegetarian and we tend to eat a lot of quorn, but I'm going to think of something vegetarian that doesn't have a meat substitute that we can all eat. We also eat lots of spicy food, so will stop with the chilli so we can share it with DS!

[Suchanamateur]

Ah, this thread has cheered me up a bit. DD is 7 months and is pretty uninterested in anything, except perhaps croissant . So unlike DS who was a food monster from 6 months. i need to chill out and keep it fun.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Agree with the others. It all sounds pretty normal especially gave him some broccoli florets whilst we ate our food. He had a little nibble, but not sure if he swallowed any.. This is pretty normal too and sometimes its not until it is coming out of the other end that you realise just how much they must have swallowed .

Like others have said, you are not a failure, just a normal Mum and Lo is doing pretty much what most babies do.

Carry on if you want to. Give it a rest for a week if you prefer, whichever way it won't make much difference in the long run.

Weaning at this age is more about exploring taste and texture than seeing how much you can ram into them. He will be fine .

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

If it's any consolation, DS, who is 1 and has weaned really well, just tefused everything at lunch except bread. Yesteday he ate potato cakes, lentil pasta...

Babies are impossible inconsistent little souls!