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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

HV has concerns about my 7 mth old baby's development-please help

30 replies

PCPlumIsMyHomeboy · 09/12/2009 10:58

DS is 7 months, and is having real issues with solids. Anything on a spoon he pushes straight out again with his tongue, though if I hold a banana/piece of tangerine he sucks on it. He will also hold a rice cake and gum it certain death.

I had the HV come and see him last week, because I was concerned that he's still barely eating any food, and she has now suggested that he has problems with coordination, and that his small motor skill are not right for his age.

So, he's rolling (has been for 3 months), can nearly sit unsupported, babbling 'da-da-da', can support some weight on his little legs, and laughing and smiling all day long. He gets upset if he drops a toys/if I leave the room to go to the loo/kitchen etc and leave him in his chair. In terms of coordination, though, he will make a grab for a toy on his high-chair tray etc, or reach out for something in my hand, but it's not very precise, and he's certainly not passing a toy from one hand to the other, using a pincer grasp etc.

So, what can your 7 months old do? I am beside myself with worry, and don't even know what ths may be a sign of.

Thanks

OP posts:

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TheGoatofChristmasPast · 09/12/2009 11:02

he sounds fantastic, honestly she is a loon.
lots of babies can't roll over or sit up at 7 months.
stick with finger foods. dd didn't really eat much at this age.

CMOTdibbler · 09/12/2009 11:07

Maybe he doesn't like being spoon fed ? Can he pick up a big chip - if so, he could prob just feed himself.

They don't normally get a pincer grip till 9 months or so, I thought ? Certainly DS was still using whole hand grip to eat at 7 months

mistletoeandjuan · 09/12/2009 11:08

I don't think pincer grip is supposed to come until 9 months so I wouldn't worry about that. And lots of babies don't eat much in the first few months of weaning.

All the other things sound excellent for 7 months. DD is the same age and has only just learnt to roll over.

If he can hold a rice cake he's not doing too bad! Can you try him with other finger foods? I've found that this has really improved DD's coordination - food is quite a big motivator for her!

Allets · 09/12/2009 11:09

He sounds gorgeous. My DD could roll from 4 months old, but she didn't crawl until 11 months and didn't walk until 16 months. They all develop at a different pace. She is now fast approaching three, she's a sure-footed and very confident child who has great gross and fine motor coordination.

One thing I have found with HCP's is that if you are anxious about a potential a problem then they feel compelled to look as if they are taking you seriously and all of a sudden it has life. I'd bet a fair few dollars on the fact that if you hadn't mentioned the problem to the HV she would never have mentioned it.

If you are truly worried, see your GP and ask for a referral to a paediatrician, I am fairly certain that he will tell you to stop worrying. But rather be safe than sorry and all of that.

chocolaterabbit · 09/12/2009 11:09

I really wouldn't worry (easy to say I know). Can you try giving him finger foods and see how he gets on? Certainly pincer grip I thought came quite a bit later - 9 months or so.

TaurielTest · 09/12/2009 11:10

I am not an expert, but that all sounds quite normal to me. My DS when that age also pushed food with tongue, didn't get pincer grip until 9 months or so, and nobody ever suggested there was a problem. I wonder if your HV realises how much anxiety she's caused you? Can you maybe call the HV office to ask her or one of her colleagues for more information?
I found a useful tactic (not for this but for something else that the HV kept umming and ahing about) was to say "if you're really concerned about this, please refer me to a paediatrician, otherwise please drop it". In that case, we were referred, the paed said he was absolutely fine, and turned out to be right...
This is perhaps not the place, but I'd also say that maybe you don't need to worry about a 7 mo who's getting plenty of milk not eating that much food. I did BLW from 6 months with my DS and I don't think much actually got swallowed for the first couple of months, he just played with it. He got the hang of it in the end and was noshing away by 9 mo, no ill effects.

Good luck, hope you get some reassurance from the professionals.

TaurielTest · 09/12/2009 11:11

ha, x-posted with everyone above while writing my long waffle

TulipsAndTinsel · 09/12/2009 11:13

ds2 wasn't even doing as well as that on solids at 7 months... he couldn't keep anything in his mouth and wasn't getting any food.... just before he hit 9 months he suddenly got it and can now plough his way through pretty much anything at 10 months (today!)

some babies just take longer, he really threw me as both my older two were self feeding and loving food before they even hit 6 months so it was a bit worrying but it honestly hasn't done him a scrap of harm to go without much solid food for so long

Jojay · 09/12/2009 11:15

He sounds perfectly normal to me.

Continue offering finger foods if he's not keen on spoon feeding - look up Baby Led Weaning for ideas - and as long as he's capable of having a go, then he's on the right track.

At this age I'd only be worried if he really could not pick up something like a chip. I'd expect him to scrabble about for it a bit and pick it up in his fist rather than between his finger and thumb. If he starts eating like this, you'll probably find that for a while he can't get at the food inside his fist, just the part that pokes out IYSWIM.

It's very normal for him to fumble with it and drop it etc, but eating this way is also a great way to get him to practice those fine motor skills, and takes the pressure off you to monitor every mouthful. Just milk feed on demand and he should do just fine.

If you are really worried, ask for a second opinion, but he sounds fine to me.

(I'm in no way qualified btw, but I've got kids who were that age not so long ago.)

PotPourri · 09/12/2009 11:16

He sounds fine to me. My DD2 and DS1 would not eat puree AT ALL. DD2 pinched her sisters sandwich and ate it with no problem at 5 months. So I didn't puree ever for her.

If he likes rice cakes, try smearing the edge wtih puree, or let him dip - DS1 loves dipping anything into something.

Personally I would recommend ignoring HV - but that's just me as I'm an old veteran now!

gorionine · 09/12/2009 11:16

I think for physical developpement my dcs all did things at very different times and in a different order and it did not really worry me but WRT to eating I did struggle a lot with DS3 as they were simply not inteested in food. Ds3 refused anything solid until he was about 9 months and DD4 did the same to the exception of fruits that she was happy munching on as soon as her first teeth appeared (6 month).

I always wondered why the difference was so big between the first 2 and the last 2. The only difference I can remember WRT weaning them was that DD1 and Ds2 were weaned at 4 months (according to guidlines at the time) and the other at 6 months but am not convinced the timing had much influence.

They are now 5 and 3 and are not fussy eaters although they still have a smaller appetite than their older sibblings had at the same age.

Maybe you should ask your HV exactly what are her worries (if any0 and the implications of them so you will know if there is something you can do or if it is just something that will sort itself out? I would also have a try at GP if HV not too helpful.

llareggub · 09/12/2009 11:16

He sounds just like my 7 month old, only mine has only just started rolling.

ArthurPewty · 09/12/2009 11:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Ithaca · 09/12/2009 11:27

Sounds totally fine to me, HVs - gah.

My DD is 7 and a half months and not really eating more than a few specks of what she can get in her mouth, especially since she had a cold which meant she was off solids altogether for a week. I just think she's going to take a few months to get the hang of this eating lark and keep giving her milk as often as she wants.

She rolls over about once a week.

duchesse · 09/12/2009 11:28

HV sounds loopy. We let our children choose for themselves when to start on solids (gauged by when they started to swipe things off our plates and put them in their mouths). First one (who was a 1/2 lb a week weight putter onner) started at 5.5 months (back when they told you to start them at 4 months). Child 2 started properly at about 7.5 months (although had had fruitless few weeks beforehand being freaked out by HV into starting her on gloop without success- she did exactly the same as your DS). Child 3 was nearly 9 months when she started on solids and has not looked back since... Child 4 already eyeing up my food at 3 months but thankfully lacks the coordination to do anything about it yet... Babies can live on milk indefinitely if needs be- it's food not drink.

Oh, and in case I didn't already say it, your HV is a fruitcake.

MrsMattie · 09/12/2009 11:33

He sounds completely normal. At seven months he should only just be starting out on this whole solids thing. Lots of babies show no interest in food and no real ability to eat independently until a year old or beyond.

EldritchCleaver · 09/12/2009 11:38

He sounds to be at exactly the stage my DS was last month.

Perhaps he just hates spoons? Sounds daft, but my 8 mth DS does. He will be fed from my finger but not a spoon a lot of the time, unless he's so ravenous he just wants the food quickly. He much prefers being able to feed himself (but not with a spoon).

Beware over-imaginative HVs. One told my sister she thought my 10 month old niece was diabetic because she was 'overweight'. Cue great anxiety until doctor's appt, when the rather cross doctor pointed out if she were diabetic she'd be UNDER weight. A relief, but it doesn't give you back your horrific weekend of health anxiety. does it?

HVs can over-react, and I can understand they'd rather do that than miss something serious, but still. It means we have to take what they tell us very much in that light.

TulipsAndTinsel · 09/12/2009 11:39

one thing that really reassured me when going through this with ds2 was a report i found online written about 50 years ago about the breastfeeding/weaning habits of sub equatorian countries.

a huge percentage of 12-18 month old babies in lots of countries were still exclusively breast/milk fed with no solids whatsoever!

in many countries it was the norm to simply wait until the child was able to walk over to the food and help themselves.

now i know it can be argued that in some cases at least this was related to food scarcity but the point is that these kids survived and grew just fine and got there eventually despite a slow start.

fabhead · 09/12/2009 11:40

This all sounds normal to me too - 7m is still v little. I think some babies do prefer to do things themeselves in their own time so try just putting a little bit of soggy, buttered toast, or some mushy stuff on his highchair tray or table in front of him for awhile and i am sure he will start to show more interest. No harm in getting medical people to check him for peace of mind but, honestly, 7m is very little - he should really have only been exposed to solids 4/5 weeks ago never mind rice cakes so it all sounds fine.

Interestingly, I have 2 dc and I more or less did spoon feeding with the first and baby led weaning with the second (= just left him to get on with it, grabbing stuff he fancies as was too busy with his older borther LOL) and he definitely developed a better pincer grip earlier and had and still has better fine motor skills. Maybe try him with different finger foods for awhile.

fabhead · 09/12/2009 11:43

Oh and for what it's worth, I don't ever remember seeing ds1 roll over before the age of about 2 and he is a rugby-playing massive great 5y old now!

mummyrex · 09/12/2009 11:45

I didn't try solids with my youngest until she was 6 months and she had zero interest for several months after that (pushing food out with tongue etc. She must have been at least 10 months before she started eating some solids (still much less than other babies her age). At 20 months she is still happy and thriving, walking talking and loves to feed herself.

None of mine have been interested before 6 months even though you were told to start feeding at 4 months when the older ones were born. It varies so much.

I am afraid I have come across some really clueless HVs in my time, some fab ones too but really, several were utter ignorant plonkers.

sweetnitanitro · 09/12/2009 11:50

Your HV is a mentalist. I took my 14 month old DD to baby clinic yesterday and my HV is not even remotely worried that she's still not interested in solids and she is twice your DS's age. Your DS sounds perfectly normal, happy and healthy to me

MintyCandyCane · 09/12/2009 11:51

I haven't read all of this but my dds nver really ate solids prperly until they were older than one. They are all huge these days and fine

GhoulsAreLoud · 09/12/2009 11:54

They are all so different, he sounds perfectly fine.

My DD was the opposite - fine motor skills were great - pincer grip by 6 months, but gross motor skills were MUCH slower.

She honestly didn't really roll til 10 months! Crawled at nearly 12 mo.

smileyboy · 09/12/2009 12:22

Agree with everyone else, sounds normal to me. My ds never liked spoon feeding and only really started eating meals around 10 months. He could soit unaided at 6 months and could roll but had no cordination with his hands, no pincer grip til at least 8 months.

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