6 month old won't try food

[cbee79]

Hi, in need of some help or advice. So I started weaning my LO (she's 6 1/2 months old) about 2 wks ago and so far I'm having little success with it. I've tried purée and BLW and she literally clamps her mouth shut every time I try. I've also tried at different times of the day, before and after her normal formula feed and so far she's resisting. I've also tried a weaning net as well with no success. Has anybody got any ideas on how I could get her to try food or has experienced the same thing?. I don't know what else to try other than to keep trying .

Will she take anything from your finger? What foods have you tried first?

Have you tried putting foods on her tray and just letting her play with them? Does she pick anything up at all? My DC started by smushing soft foods around and licking their fingers (then scraping dirty hands through their hair!)

Maybe she's not ready? I think 6 months is the recommended age but some kids want/need food earlier or later. Maybe leave it a week or so and try again. I started with pear purée which both mine loved

I'd just give her another few weeks then try again. My first was 5 months and my second 7.5 months. Completely not interested before that. I wouldn't worry

I'd just put stuff on her tray and see what she does, you eat as well so she's not being stared at. Any messy play groups locally? My DS always tried to eat whatever the activity was!

She's just not ready, could be a few months before she's interested yet!!!

She won't really take from my finger unless I was to force it in her mouth but obviously I don't want to do that as that could associate bad eating habits. I've tried all sorts really but mainly vegetables such as sweet potato, carrots, parsnip broccoli not really tried any fruit other than banana.

What my friend did with hers was put her in a high chair at the table when they ate - she put a small amount of what they were having on the tray and then just got on with eating without trying to take much notice of what DD was/wasn't doing.

After a while her DD started to play with the food and eventually started to put things in her mouth. She was about 8 months before she ate anything of any consequence. But watching the rest of the family eat seemed to spark some interest in playing with food which led to eating. If she tried to feed her on her own she wasn't interested.

My DD would absolutely not be spoon fed. She also hated being in the high chair. In the end I draped an oil cloth over the sofa, sat her in the corner gave her finger foods to play with. Eventually some went in her mouth! She never really got into eating properly til about 9mo but now at 2 is a great little eater. Easy for me to say but try to relax and let her do it in her own time - I had in my head that on the dot of 6mo she would happily start eating solids but it was more of a slow transition IYSWIM.

As above just sit her in her chair each time you eat and pop a little bit on her tray and let her get on with it without making any fuss. It’s very early days and she will eventually eat so relax for now.

Have you tried giving your little one a baby-safe spoon to mess with while you feed with another spoon?

Food is for "fun" and experience rather than nutrition at this age.

i agree , either let her eat by herself ( will mostly just make a mess whilst maybe tasting a few bits) but if she doesn't eat then its not the end of the world , my 8 month old started with carrot puffs (crisp like things) and that got him interested and then we gave him bread and cucumber sticks and a satsuma . He now eats more than me :S he likes yogurts with fruit and also Barley husks ( cookie like things that they can feed themselves)

Honestly just keep trying with different things and let them experience food for themselves and be patient, a baby doesnt neeeeeed to eat before a year old if they dont feel the need to, just keep trying.

Thanks everyone I know it's early days so I'll just keep trying and not make a fuss.

Agree with PPs, just put baby in high chair at table if awake while you're eating and give them a few morsels, then let them crack on and more or less ignore them. Baby will play, maybe taste, and eventually start eating. See 'mealtimes' as play times where the goal is for baby to have fun feeling and smelling new things, not eating. Lots of babies just aren't ready or interested in solids at 6mo and it's very common for BLW babies not to really 'get' food or start eating in any meaningful way until 9mo (which is when my first got it and his milk consumption dropped - until then he was tasting but drinking just as much BM as before).

Does she sit st the table with you? She needs to see you eat at each meal really.

Yes she sits at the table with me probably not for evening meal but i try and eat breakfast and lunch with her.