9 month old barely eating solids

[Luckyelephant1]

Looking for some advice on whether this is normal. I started weaning my little one at 6 months and she initially took to it pretty well. Ignored finger foods but would happily be spoon-fed home made purees, pouches, chunkier mashed food after a few weeks, etc. Eventually around 7 months started paying more attention to finger foods and absolutely loves cream cheese on toast, broccoli, melty sticks.

However the last few weeks (maybe even a month) things seem to have gone backwards. She's mostly refusing to be fed much at all unless it's yoghurt with fruit puree. Will sometimes take a pouch over my own food but I'm trying to avoid pouches/processed snacks like melty sticks now as I don't want her to refuse everything else. But she's not eating much. It's weird because she'll happily eat a couple of spoons of a meal and seem to like it but then refuses it after that- will turn her head away and make a face. Even with finger foods she previously liked she'll maybe have a bite or two but then just play with it and I feel like her motor skills have actually declined a little bit, she's certainly dropping more than she used to. And she's developing a habit of crying when sat in the highchair for more than a few minutes when nothing is wrong. I don't really know what to do because I don't want to pander to these tantrums but equally I don't want mealtimes to become associated with a bad experience. I'm doing all the right things, eating at the same time as her, leaving her to it (obv staying close to her in case of choking etc but not hovering over her too much), singing songs and playing music/doing peekaboo to keep her happy. But it's not really working.

I thought it might just be a phase as she was teething/had a cold but the same thing has been happening for nearly a month now. I know at this age its more about discovering flavours/textures rather than eating a lot but at this rate even that isn't happening. She still happily breastfeeds and isn't losing any weight. Any tips?

When are you breastfeeding her?

@Fivemoreminutes1 her main longer feeds are first thing in the morning (around 6am) and then just before bed (between 7-7.30pm). Her feeds in the day tend to be very short, 5 minutes or less (it was like that even before weaning, but just more frequent). I've never had a set feeding schedule but maybe roughly every 4 hours? And I try to leave at least an hour between a breastfeed and a meal.

Is she eating when you eat approximately the same foods you are eating?

@RedWingBoots

Is she eating when you eat approximately the same foods you are eating?

About 50% of the time as we eat a lot of spicy foods. But I'll always serve myself some of what she's having and let her watch me eat it and exaggerate how delicious I find it.

Today's dinner was slightly better, she ate some rice and vegetables- I pretended it was mine and I was eating it first and then 'asked her' if she wanted some and she allowed me to feed her a fair few spoonfuls. But the crying tantrum thing still happened after about 10 minutes.

Hopeful bump

My DD is 8mo, we've done BLW but also offered pre-loaded spoons if we're eating something she can't pick up with her hands. Last week she suddenly seemed to understand that food was for eating, she was eating loads at all 3 meals. This week she's barely eaten anything at breakfast and only a few mouthfuls at lunch and dinner. It's annoying but I'm not worried too much because she's still breastfeeding frequently and that's their main source of nutrition until they're one anyway. Maybe she could sit on your lap if you're able to eat one-handed, might make her feel a bit more comfortable and relaxed than in the high-chair?

My daughter was similar. I allowed her to try our mildly spiced food. She loved it. As a adult she doesn’t eat bland foods and prefers flavoursome dishes. What about trying a little dhal and rice? At nine months I’d give her the same as you. Once she is crawling, walking, she will eat more. Also milk is very satisfying.
Try 5 small meals instead of three.
Good luck.

My son was the same. I spent so much time worrying and googling and stressing over the fact that he just didn't seem interested in solids. In fact he barely ate solids until he was 12 months.

He's 4 now and eats like a horse and eats almost everything.
So if I could go back in time I'd tell myself not to worry as they all get there in their own time!

I found what worked was to try and focus on breakfast and build up from there.

So get up in the morning, go straight for breakfast rather than giving a bottle/breastfeed. I'd give him something like porridge or a weetabix and milk. Or toast fingers.
Once we had breakfast established the other foods/meals all followed naturally.

Just keep offering little bits. Food before 1 is just for fun! The main thing is they are exploring texture and tastes. Babies main nutrition under 12 months comes from milk not solids.

So don't worry, just keep trying and if they eat then great and if they don't just try again another time.

Mine is the same. Was doing well during month seven and now (nothing else has changed in our lives) has gone back to playing with it mostly occasionally eating banana and cucumber! I have read up on it and am not concerned as she's still quite happy on the boob and getting multivitamins.

Thank you all for the reassurance. Funnily enough she gobbled down her breakfast and was happy in the high chair today so who knows! I suppose I was more concerned with the tantrums and refusal to even try anything rather than the quantity consumed but maybe it's something I should expect from time to time.

My DS started well with weaning and then went through a phase about 9-11m where most of the food ended up on the floor rather than in his mouth. I just let him play with it, feel textures etc. He is now 18m and eats really well. I won’t lie the clean up was tedious and I started to dread mealtimes after a while, but at 11m he just turned a corner overnight.

At 9 months she is not having tantrums. Crying is her communicating that's she is unhappy - tired, bored, uncomfortable, doesn't like what she's been given etc. At that age dropping/throwing food is developmental, not bad behaviour.

They've still got very small stomachs and can't physically eat much. Also, I wouldn't expect much more than 10 minutes for a meal at that age.

Keep trying - offer lots of different things, continue with a mix of feeding her and letting her feed herself. Try not to make a fuss if she doesn't want to eat or doesn't eat much. Just take her from the chair and clear up. She's still taking her milk well so won't starve.

Yea I agree tantrums was probably the wrong word to use, I know it's not a display of bad behaviour, it's just the only way I knew how to describe what's happening I suppose.

My daughter wouldn’t tolerate food until she was nearly 2. I tried EVERYTHING! ….She’s now 9 years old and eats me out of house and home and I regret how much time I wasted worrying when she was young. She’s not a fussy eater in the slightest and is always keen to try new foods, so it did her no harm.