7 month old doesn't eat/want food

[Turtlegurl888]

My baby is 7 months old this week and we've been weaning since about 5.5 months, closer to 6. Started with purees and trying finger foods, I'm terrified of choking but that's another story.

The problem is, he doesn't eat anything. I know it is normal at the start for babies to grimace at food and it doesn't mean they don't like it, but he won't even pick vegetables or fruit up. Or if he rarely does, he'll touch a broccoli floret for example to his mouth and make a face and spit it out. Purees are no better. I probably get 1 spoonful ingested and the rest goes down the bib. Porridge, yoghurt, baby rice, pouches, homemade food mashed up thin, he doesn't entertain any of it. He sucks toast then drops it. He just wants to chew the baby spoons.

The only thing he really eats are the baby weaning wands/wafers/melty sticks, but I don't want to feed him them. I do occasionally because I'm getting worried he won't learn how to chew and swallow and that feeds back into my choking fear.

Is it still normal for them to have no interest at this point? I try to think of it more as a sensory activity rather than compulsory meals, because he is still having upwards of 30oz milk in 24 hours, but it is stressing me out.

Also not helped by the fact LO has become a bit of a high needs dragon the last couple of months, I can't put him down to even make food for myself and he wont be in the same place for more than 5 minutes, so when he is in the highchair I'm probably giving off major stressy vibes because I know its only a very short window before a mini tantrum begins.

Be glad of any reassurance because its actually really getting me down, I'm definitely going to see the HV too.

Could he be teething by any chance?

This is all normal. Food for fun before they're one. Don't worry about it and definitely don't put any pressure on him. Appreciate easier said than done, but honestly, try to just relax and let him do what he wants. The book 'my child won't eat' is great.

@Turtlegurl888 how is this going?
we are 8 months and not really eating much or touching much food..: starting to feel a touch worried, because he doesn’t exactly guzzle milk ? Sending love x

Hi sorry for the delay, I've not been on mumsnet for a while.
Tbh it's no better now at 9 months (10 next week). I found out he will eat wotsits and now that is literally all he will eat of his own accord. He will tolerate yoghurt if we spoon feed him. Actually I tell a lie, he will eat the 4 month + fruit pouches too if he is in the mood. I've tried altering feeding times, reducing bottles, ignoring him, encouraging him, eating together, eating in front of the TV. It all makes no difference. Miss Rachel will distract him long enough for me to get a couple of baby spoons of porridge in of a morning before he figures out what I'm trying to do.

To be honest I'm at my wits end with it, feel like health visitors don't care or don't understand the extent of it, I'm fretting about him turning 1 very soon and eating next to nothing. The only consolation is he wants more milk than ever, he has about 5 7oz bottles in 24 hours now.

I'm so very sorry you are going through similar and I hope it improves for you quickly. To reassure you when he was that age he wasn't having more than 5oz in a bottle and was very fussy with milk, so at least that has improved. I remember worrying about that very much! He's only really started having bigger bottles since he turned 9 months.

Maybe our babies just have little appetites. I keep telling myself it will change but I don't really know where to go from here, HV doesn't help, my next step is GP if nothing changes in the next month. Xx

@Turtlegurl888

I completely understand what you mean by the health visitors don’t care. They’re neither use nor ornament. I rang the health visitor on Friday and she turned around and said oh it’ll sort itself out, there’s no cause for concern. So i asked what I do or where I go from
here and she said reset the whole
process? Not sure what she meant by that. But I feel
like I have because I have backed off and leave him
witn his food even tho his time in the chair is very very short lived because he gets so so so unhappy. Even when we migrate to my lap it’s no easier. Im not sure what to do. The other thing she said is if I keek plying him with milk then he’s never gna eat but I find balancing his hunger with no bottles and wake windows really hard. I’ve tried no bottle first and straight to food he just gets very angry and upset.

I can completely relate, my last hope is nursery. Because tbh will only follow my routine for 2 weeks then switch to there’s they seem convinced peer pressure will absolutely help x

Interesting that they've said restart the process as I have had the opposite advice from them, the HV told me on a couple of occasions there's no point doing puree at his age now.

Have you tried him in front of the telly with a few highchair toys? Obviously it's not ideal but at this point I try anything and the TV is what gets the most food in him without a doubt, so I do it. Sod it.
Mine is also not a lap sitter. I hope that when he can walk he will at least graze on food if I hold it for him while he roams, I know a few older babies who do this.
Does your baby crawl yet?

Yes, the advice to reduce milk is in my opinion utter madness. My baby cries for milk because it's basically all he's known for the best part of a year, he's not crying for food, the understanding isn't there yet. And I'm sure you know as well as I do, when a baby cries for milk, you can't not give it to them. Nothing will stop that screech except a bottle (or breast or what have you).

I feel reassured that someone is in exactly the same boat as me to be honest. I do think nursery will help too. Mine is going to a childminder with under 3s so I'm hoping similar. My friend has a 14 month old who eats nothing at home, she was stunned that the nursery said she eats very well there.

@Turtlegurl888

i can totally sympathise… I think it’s so draining to serve up food that literally just basically gets ignored thrown etc… it does not feel like an enjoyable process at all. I can’t wait for the day I pick him at nursery and for them to say we’ve made progress. I try to make sure he sits with my other boys for dinner so he knows he’s been served the same etx. Nothing seems to change.

I’ve tried solids without milk first, half feeds, and even full feeds and solids everything is indifferent if I’m honest which is the oddest thing. He isn’t milk guzzler so I know it’s not that. Itll be interesting when the health visitor comes on Friday she’s going to do a weight.

i Don’t think I’ve wished away time so badly as I have recently because I’m no longer enjoying any of this. It just feels deflating.

the only reassurance I get is most 3 year olds at nursery are not walking about with milk bottles that gives me hope. He starts 3 days in may just before his first birthday and in sept he will be upped to 4 days hope the frequency will help x