Weaning help - baby doesn't seem to want to eat?

[Gigi89x]

DS is almost 7 months, we started weaning at 6 months with porridge and homemade veg purees.

He at the start was opening his mouth accepting the porridge i gave him, a few days later he has become very distracted and just looks around the room and not at the spoon and wont eat and spits it all out.

I have spoon fed him and also let him hold his spoon and feed himself, he still spits most out and just likes chewing on the spoon.

Is this normal? Do i keep trying with the purees or should i try some finger foods instead? Any advice would be appreciated :-)

There is no harm with trying finger foods at all. I have a 7 month old and we do a combination of spoon foods and finger foods. He probably prefers feeding himself, but that isn’t always practical.

Keep offering the food to him. If you are eating then offer him a bit too he might be willing to give it a go if he has seen you eat it.

Its early stages yet.

My DD2 didn't eat hardly anything until about 9mo - we did a combo of finger food and spoon feeding and she wasn't fussed on either. Once she got the hang of it she turned into a great eater, I think some of them take a bit of time to get used to it.

My daughter was entirely breast fed until 8 months.. she just wouldn't eat anything. I tried at 6 months and every now and again.Then l decided to Squire breast milk on her food ( mashed cauliflower with breast milk... ready brek with breast milk.. mashed banana with breast milk) and off we went from there.
Finger food came next .. and all was well.

It was a slow burn with DS too, it wasn’t until 9-10 months he’d reliably take anything. It was a bit of a worry as his older sister took to food like a duck to water!

Try not to worry too much; offer a variety of textures and flavours and keep an eye on growth centiles but otherwise just keep it light. DS is nearly 18 months now and still not a big eater but he’s a normal height and weight so can only assume that’s just how he is! (DD on the other hand is a snack monster… but also normal height and weight so!)

I basically tattooed ‘food is for fun before one’ on my hand at one point 😂

If he's chewing on the spoon then definitely give him some finger foods. Weaning is about learning to chew, move food around in the mouth, swallow and spit (a life saving skill) and he's trying to practice that skill on the spoon.

Solid Starts (website & Instagram) is an excellent resource on this

Very normal. Is he teething? when mine were teething they wouldn't go for anything soft if there was a spoon to chew instead. Cold finger foods were more of a winner with mine. It's also pretty hot weather - they have a lot less interest in food when it's hot.

@Gigi89x

how did this work out? Have u had more luck with weaning ? We are 8 months in no interest feeling hopeless x

I’d offer some finger foods. But also, don’t worry if he has days where he’s not interested in eating.

My youngest barely ate more than a mouthful of food until he was 10 months, then started to slowly improve. I used to hate it when people said ‘food before one is just for fun’ but it’s true… as long as he’s having enough breast or formula, he’ll be fine.

My LO started eating properly just before his first birthday and is now a fantastic eater (his older brother weaned really quickly and is a super fussy preschooler now!).

I’ve been offering family meal bits modified, toast strips, boiled veg, noodles, rice balls pasta, fish pieces which he can grab along with fruit… I find it a gruelling process… I rang the HV service today and the lady said if u keep
giving him milk it’s never gna change so I did say he becomes increasingly distressed in his chair and I don’t feel right starving him…

they’re going to come and do a weight. I’m guessing nursery in May will also help I just feel helpless maybe this is a me problem… I don’t know…

were u worried when they didnt eat? X

@Seeema2902 DS is now 11 months, i felt exactly like you, it really got me down. How much oz and feeds is your baby having per day?

cutting down the milk helped massively and now DS eats very well

Typically,

0600-0700 6oz
1.5 hours later or 1 hour later attempt breakfast (I’ve tried to spoon feed hates it at best 3-5 spoons and then purses mouth shut and flings porridge or food around)
08:45-10ish nap 1-1.5 hours
09:45-1000 6oz
11:30-12:00 lunch attempted (usually very distressed in chair cries to come out)
13:30 might have an extra ounce or 2ounces and nap time
13:30 - 1530 nap usually lasts 1.5 hours or 2 if am nap hasn’t been great
1500-1530 3oz on waking never drinks more refuses
1630-1700 dinner attempt again very mood dependent usually flung about
18:00-1830 6-7oz

I don’t think he’s drinking a massive amount he’s dropped his night feed only requires it or little something when teething with some medicine

feel so overwhelmed and confused, everyone says it just clicks I’m waiting for the click. I’ve offered a wide range of food tomorrow for dinner I will do rice balls with chicken as we have prepped curry and rice maybe some cucumber and yogurt on the side, breakfast was thinking of pancakes

I don’t know what to do anymore

I’ve tried going straight to food and he seemed very agitated, I’ve tried halving the milk feed too. I don’t know at what point u make the switch around

Do not withhold milk without GP advice - if milk is their primary source of nutrition they need the calories, fats and nutrition to grow.

I would give a grazing plate for every meal - a wide range of foods - and just see what they like to eat.

Offer food multiple times per day - there is no law they have to eat three times per day.

How old is he? I would be wary of getting too much HV advice as they canbe very outdated (not all of them!) and the GP will be able to help you check if he is fundamentally healthy which is the first priority.

@LightSwerve I haven’t withheld any milk..

but it does concern me at what point do you switch the milk for solid first rather than vice versa? … ans potentially use the milk for after? …

at nursery they will follow our routine for 2 weeks then stick to theirs which is always solids first and then milk the truth is somehow I live in the hope this will help because he won’t starve and they will help him navigate it..