Hoping for reassurance with weaning

[silvergoldstars]

I have posted about this before but I am worried about my nearly seven month old and food.

I started weaning him a week before he turned six months. He tipped it up. Fine … expected this.

He turns seven months a week today and he just has not really engaged with food (or drink - am encouraging water) at all. I can’t honestly say he’s eaten anything apart from a lick or taste.

I did the NCT course and so I ‘know’ five other babies born within a week of him who are tucking into porridge and veg and scrambled eggs and all sorts and I really am concerned.

if he's healthy, happy, gaining weight and progressing otherwise I wouldn't worry.

what type of things have you tried?
also are you trying baby rice, pureed food etc or school of BLW?
if the latter I can't advise as I've never tried that.
but happy to suggest a great book for the former approach

I was hoping to do BLW but he doesn’t really know what to do so tired purées. These have been similarly unsuccessful though!

What are his nappies like? Think I was pretty much convinced with both of mine that they were hardly eating but their poo definitely had changed, so something was going in

For a long while all my dd had was Weetabix (and not much of it) and her usual milk. She didn't like anything else . She eventually started liking porridge and then she slowly started expanding the range of food she liked. Your DS is only 7 months, he'll get there. At this age, as long as they get their milk and they are healthy they'll be fine. Try not to worry x

Not pooing much and they are solid and harder than they were. Plenty of wet nappies though. I’m just a bit worried he gets so upset in his high chair.

I remember always being told 'food is for fun, before the age of one'.

If he's upset in the high chair, can you put him on your knee while you eat? My DD hated the high chair for periods but would quote happily sit on my knee and help herself from my plate.

I know cafe but I’m not sure … he should be having a bit of solid food before his first birthday, surely? Like I say, babies his age are tucking into a range of foods so it is a bit of a worry.

He will grab food out of your hand but then doesn’t eat it, unless it’s chocolate or something which is another worry.

Of course he doesn't know what to do OP, he hasn't been here before. He will get it eventually just keep offering. He's only been trying it for a month.
When you say he "tipped up" do you mean tipped the bowl?

My dd doesn't like the highchair either. She eats in her Bouncer.

I’m not meaning to sound contentious but plenty of babies do know what to do - I mean yes, they might not eat much or make a horrific mess but they do eat some!

Yes, for his first attempt. That didn’t matter: I was expecting that. I thought he’d tip up the bowl, put his hands in it, grab it, explore the textures and try to eat it. But he doesn’t. It’s really strange as literally everything else goes straight into his mouth.

Neither of my DSs ate anything of any note until about 9 months. We had a lovely panic with DS2 as until a week before I went back to work he was refusing anything except breastfeeding. And then suddenly he decided that food was fine. And both are healthy and decent eaters (although that appears to be luck rather than anything we’ve done) at 8 and 5. Don’t panic!!

I hear what you're saying but I really wouldn't be worried. I went through exactly this and I think my DD was more 10/11 months before she really ate like she wanted to.

I know cafe but I’m not sure … he should be having a bit of solid food before his first birthday, surely?

He is only six months though, twelve months is a long way away in terms of development, it's almost twice the age he is now.

I'd keep offering, like others have said, try different places like the bouncer/bumbo or just sit him on your knee whilst you eat lunch, like a tuna mayo sandwich and some halved cherry tomatoes.

DS was similar to yours in that everything went in the mouth except food. He was suspicious of the food I gave him tbh! He ate very little and I did decide to spoon feed to give him the opportunity to get those first tastes. I can't remember when it clicked for him but it did and it will with yours.

You're right in that some children seem to just 'get' it. DD ate everything and anything almost straightaway although interestingly she did go on a bit of a food strike around 11 months which DS hasn't done.

Thanks, I think this is what I need to hear. It’s just worrying me and I’m concerned I’ve put him off food somehow.

My DD 10 months wasn't keen on food and would expel most things from her mouth after having a taste. What got her going was mashed banana, I used to hold the spoon by her mouth and she'd slurp it off. Also not recommending force here but my mum had a go at feeding her in the early days and was a bit more assertive than me at putting the spoon into her mouth, I was kind of trying to wipe the food on her lips. She eats everything now. But I have a friend who's baby is the same age and will only eat about 2 spoons of pureed fruit a day so I don't think its uncommon.

My 8 mo has only started eating in the last 2 weeks - until then everything was either spat out or chucked round the kitchen. It just takes a bit of time for some of them. He only eats tiny amounts, my eldest was eating adult size portions by this stage when he was weaning!

Thanks, I guess they are just all different. It’s never been easy feeding him, he could only have small amounts of milk for ages because of reflux and then when that seemed to get sorted everyone moved onto solids and now he’s being left behind again! I just keep worrying it will effect his development - daft, I know.

Mine was similarly unimpressed by literally any kind of food until he was about eight months. He'd either very determinedly throw each bit on the floor until his tray was clear, or take a microscopic nibble and then throw up. He used to turn his head away from spoons, so I couldn't really get anywhere with purées, either. I tried every conceivable texture, I made all kinds of enticing things... nope.

What cracked it for us (much, I'm sure, to the pearl-clutching ire of certain sections of Mumsnet) was pouches and melty puffs. Pouches, because he was used to sucking to get food, do that made sense to him. Melty puffs because they went from solid to not-solid very easily - which really offended him at first but helped him to get the idea of what he was actually supposed to be doing with food. I decided, on balance, that him having those - and therefore actually starting to get to grips with different tastes and textures, and with swallowing food (even if it was very non-challenging) was better than the literally nothing he was eating before that. And, as much as people say 'food before one is just for fun' there's a window of time during which babies do need to learn about chewing and swallowing, so much as I wasn't stressing about his food intake I did want to explore different ways of getting him towards that point.

Once he got to bring able to cope with those, he progressed quite quickly and now eats quite competently. You can, incidentally, get empty refillable pouches if you fancy trying them but don't want to use processed foods. But don't worry, they'll get there one way or another!

The obly handy advice I xan give is don’t compare him to others. I tried to start my breastfed baby on purees and a bit of BLW at 6 months. She really wasn’t interested, it caused me a lot of stress (as we had an incident where she choked) so we actually gave up until 7 1/2 months, when she seemed more ready. Although most of it went on the floor at that age anyway. We toiled on until around 9 months when all of a sudden overnight she really wanted to hold and put all her food in her mouth herself. We then sort of did the BLW from then on. Now she is 19 months and loves food, feeds herself and eats pretty much everything we put in front of her! She was full term and could sit in the high chair herself at 6 months, just took her a bit longer to grasp the eating than other babies. I did find it helped if I sat at the table with her and ate something too as she would want to try my food from my plate. Good luck and try not to stress about it too much if possible.

What cracked it for us (much, I'm sure, to the pearl-clutching ire of certain sections of Mumsnet) was pouches and melty puffs.

No Pearl clutching here. I could absolutely not get my DS to have anything other than super smooth purées. Eventually cracked it by giving him chocolate on the advice of the HV. Perhaps not the most conventional method but it worked

Funnily enough I did give him a melty puff the other day to keep him quiet in a traffic jam and he ate it. Bizarre!

I tried giving him what we eat as recommended but it was a non starter. Puréed veg has been the go to but he isn’t too bothered. I’ve given him frozen sticks of mango and melon to help with teething but he wasn’t impressed and scrambled egg which just ended up on his bib!

I’ve read that he should be having his milk from a cup as soon as possible and so I’m trying to get him used to this but he isn’t very skilled at drinking from it. I’m expecting too much, aren’t I!?

DC2 just wasn't interested in food for the first few weeks of weaning at 6 months. Sonetime in the 7th month he started to get it but it was slow going for a bit there. Big contrast to DC1 who was a rabid eater the minute we started! I didn't do anything differently with the two of them.

Seriously, you will drive yourself mad comparing to what other babies are doing at any given age. It's just not worth it.

Milk from a cup at 1, you've got ages yet for that.