Struggling with weaning (slow and fussy)

[crankyotter]

I'm been making very slow progress with weaning over the past couple of months. She didn't like being spoon fed veg purées and spat most of them out.

I've since taken a baby lead approach and give her finger foods like toast and cream cheese, banana and strawberry but she is generally very picky and seems to prefer sweet things. She has rejected root veggies like potato and carrot.

Does anyone have a similar experience how do I get her to eat a wider variety of foods?

Does she eat with you as a family? Can you not just give her normal meals? My DS eats best when sat at the table with us, eating the same food, but largely ignored and left to get on with it.

Just keep on trucking! Try to keep it casual. Remember your job is to provide food. That’s it! They get to decide to eat or not. I think it can take 8+ tastes to get used to a new food. They all wean at different rates and there will be many ups and downs with teething and illness.

@TinyMystery yes we eat together but have been advised to introduce new things day by day in case of allergies. It's very frustrating watching her spit things out. Is it normal for some babies to be quite fussy eaters at this early stage?

Who gave you the allergy advice? Does she have allergies or a family history of allergies? Allergies usual don’t appear on the first exposure and generally you are encouraged to introduce the main allergens promptly to reduce the risk of developing allergies.

@hormonesorDHbeingadick No but she has eczema and do have eczema/hayfever in the family so being a bit cautious. I'm aware I need to introduce potential allergens early on.Allergy advice was NCT.

TBF I prefer sweet things too, milk is sweet so that's what they are used to. You just have to give a wide range of food and accept not all of it will be eaten. I found giving "pudding" (so fruit or plain yogurt) at the same time as the main helped as my DS would pick between the two rather than seeing the sweet option as a treat.

Re eczema, we were advised by 2 different GPs and the HV just to offer all foods as we had no history of severe allergies. DS has had eczema since he was three months old, both me and DH had it as children but outgrew it. The extra washing created by BLW is a bit of a problem but we use emollient in the bath and as a cream which keeps it largely in check.

My DSs were semi BLW (red rag to a bull, but shorthand for no purées but I spoon yoghurt into an open mouth).

Neither ate much at all until about 10 months. Then it was like a switch and they ate well (they’re much fussier now at 6 and 3). My lovely DMIL bit her tongue I know as she felt they were playing with food rather than eating but it worked in the end.

Both of mine were like this. They are still not fussed about food at 2 or 4 years. They like food little and often and not much. I just keep offering a variety of foods but try not to worry how much they eat. They won't starve themselves.

Sorry but "llittle and often and not much" I mean they eat small amounts of food at regular intervals throughout the day.

DS we did puree at 5 months and he took to food great, DD1 we did BLW at 6months and she was great...DD2 we tried BLW at 6 months and she wouldn't put any food in her mouth (ironically she would put anything but food in her mouth!). We tried purée, we tried sweeter foods (sweet potato, parsnip, fruit) no joy. After a month she finally ate a breadstick!! After another month she finally took to food and decided she would eat everything and anything!

What I want you to take from this is that they really all take to food at their own pace. I thought at baby number 3 I'd got it sussed, but realized that they really do follow their own timetable on these things, regardless of what we do. Keep on offering food, but remember the mantra is "food before 1 is just for fun" (yes it's nice when they eat, but before 1 they can get what they need from milk)

Good luck xxx

Mine is coming up to 1 and only eats certain things (no vegetables or meat). She won't even put vegetables or meat to her mouth to try let alone spit it out! I do worry she isn't getting fish as everywhere says it's essential for brain development, although the only essential vitamins advised by NHS are vitamins A, C and D so maybe it isn't essential?

I read somewhere that food before one is just for fun. My dd was quite a fussy eater, and would mainly reject the ‘main course’ (relying on her twin brother to eat it for them both!) and hold out for pudding which was sweet which she liked.

Once we switched to finger foods she got a little more adventurous, and moved on to eating only beige coloured food. I worried for ages, tried to get her to try new food, she rejected nearly all of it. They’re now 18 months, and it’s only in the last couple of weeks that she’s mainly rejected her diet of beige, and is positively enthusiastic about trying anything and everything.

Turns out she had a mild egg allergy which surprise surprise, we discovered about a month ago. Now all her food is obviously egg free, it’s like she’s now keen to try it becuase its safe.

I feel awful about not knowing she was allergic, but we thought it was something else she was allergic to, and had been avoiding the wrong thing.