How much are babies actually meant to eat?

[Tee20x]

DD almost 7 months old & started weaning a few weeks ago. Started on puréed singular veg e.g. broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus etc then moved on to more complex things such as mix of veg or protein such as chicken and veg (you get the picture).

Over the last week or so, she has mostly been refusing food or having just a few spoonfuls however I still make a continuous effort to offer it so that she understands the routine of mealtimes, even if I can't guarantee she will eat any of it.

Have attempted to give her finger foods alongside purées but this doesn't seem to have made a difference. If fruit is offered she will be more keen to try these so will happily suck on strawberries, blueberries, nectarines and so on but when it comes to food she clamps shut!

I haven't dropped any of her milk feeds so wondering if she may be too full to eat and that's why she is refusing and that I may have to alter the times I am offering food?

Began by introducing dinner only so she was trying one meal a day and now am doing breakfast and dinner, and then plan on moving to introducing lunch too.

She watches me eat & can imitate chewing which is positive at least.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)

Have you tried only giving finger foods and no purée? I used do a combo but after while my DD would refuse the spoon and the finger foods because she was already angry from me trying to spoon feed her, so I stopped the purée and gave only finger foods and she started eating with no issues.

Oh and if it helps at 7 months I was doing the following. She was on 2 meals by this time as I started weaning at 5 months due to reflux.

7: milk
8: breakfast
11: milk
12: lunch
3: milk
4: (was catnapping here but when she dropped it I added dinner)
6:30: milk before bed

@Vicky1989x that's interesting. Ds2 seems to get pissed off being spoon fed. Maybe I'll just stop.

@Vicky1989x I haven't tried just finger foods so that might be an idea to try. Thanks for providing your routine. Mine is a bit of a shambles at the moment & have fallen into a pattern of late bedtimes and late waking ups as well as horrific sleep & associations I want to kick e.g. feeding and rocking to sleep.

What kind of stuff are you giving as finger foods for dinner? I have tried her with the odd bit of shredded chicken breast alongside a purée on occasion but she will just spit it out so wondering what to give to make it a wholesome meal.

Some of them are more interested in smearing themselves in it than shoving it in their gob. I wouldn't worry.

I don't think ds1 swallowed much food at all before 1. He happily gummed at it, but would usually dribble out again. I just left him to play with it. He wouldn't let me spoon feed, so anything like wheetabix or yoghurt that he fed himself went everywhere!

All of mine barely ate before 1. They just mushed it around their plate, practiced their throwing skills or wiped it across their foreheads. I still offered them each meal and gave them milk afterwards. My youngest is 11 months now and is now starting to eat at least half of what's offered. Mine have all turned their nose up at purées too, had to be finger foods. Have a look at whatmummymakes on Instagram for some ideas

@shouldistop worth a try! These babies can be fusspots!

@Tee20x I had no routine up until 6 months but she was a constant over tired mess so that’s when I started that routine. It does mean you’re constantly feeding but it gets easier when they drop to 2 naps and drop a bottle. My DD dropped to 3 bottles at 8.5 months.

Food wise my DD is older now, 14 months but I gave her chicken, mash, steamed vegetables (really soft), fruit, toast, cottage pie, etc. She didn’t have any teeth until just after she turned 1 and done well with most things. She might play with it, throw it, gag on it, cough etc but that’s all normal. Choking is when they don’t make any sounds and go red in the face so don’t worry if she gags a bit - it’ll get better the more she tries.

With things like weetabix I put it front of her (she won’t eat it otherwise) so she can see it, touch it etc and I load a spoon for her and leave it on the tray so she can take it herself. It’s very messy but helps them learn to use a spoon themselves too.

Thanks all! Feeling a lot better about it all and glad that I seem to be on the right track with continuing to offer meals.

@Vicky1989x thanks for the food ideas :)