Weaning help! 6 month doesn’t get it

[KinderEggg]

Hi. My 6 month started weaning a week ago but doesn’t seem to know what to do. She just stares at her plate.
Even if I put abit in her mouth, she kind of just spits it out. If I put it in her hand, she just lets go. She doesn’t know how to work the straw cup either.

she literally puts everything else in her mouth!
Is this normal and what do I do?

It's all new to her so no she doesn't know what to do. That's ok. Some babies take to it quicker than others. Some take their time - mine did! Just keep offering stuff and modelling eating in front of her and one day it'll click.

When did it click for your baby?

She might just not be ready yet. Babies all develop at their own rate. Some aren’t ready for solids at 6 months.

Id suggest taking the pressure off. Have her in a high chair during meals so she can see you eat, perhaps have some bits for her to explore as well.

At this point she is able to get all her nutritional needs met with milk.

Sounds very normal! Could you share some food so she can see how you eat it?

In the early weaning days I used to just eat in front of DS and he would gesture towards me and i'd give him a bit of whatever it was to touch and taste (that was safe for him). By about 9 months old he was starting to actually eat food in small amounts.

Of course she doesn't know what to do, she's never done it before!
Eat with her and model how to pick things up and chew with exaggerated motions. Charlotte Sterling Reed's blog / Instagram has lots of useful advice!

Sounds very familiar! Remember that the setting will be unusual to her - high chair, bib, plate etc.

You could try sitting her on your lap and feeding her from your plate

Food is just for fun until she’s one.

Let her just play with it, spit it out, rub it in her hair. She’ll get there in the end.

Does she eat with you so she can see what you’re doing? That’s how they learn best. You could also make some purees for her and give her some of that alongside giving her finger food.

I assume you are doing baby led weaning and only baby led weaning. I personally chose to do a mix of that with homemade purees i spooned in. I found this helped my son learn some of the initial skill sets faster (tasting, swallowing, what food is) and then did more BLW as he got older and had more control over his hands. Maybe consider a mix. Nursery always tell me he's an amazing eater (willingness to eat almost anything and try new things).

Around this time my daughter actively started to try to grab food off me when I was eating. But at 5 months we started showing her food to sniff or lick (orange peel, or strawberry), and she'd been sitting with us during our meals for a few weeks, so she was actively interested.

Don't be afraid to try smooth purees and well - yummy fruit. I think if someone told me to have my first foods as bitter veg, I'd stick with nice (sweet) milk too! A surprisingly large number of parents will also admit that their child's first food was chips...

Ultimately, stay zen about it. I don't quite think "food before one is just for fun" captures it, but milk will still be her main nutrition for a while.

Yeah my second was just past one before they’d eat food properly. Still a hit and miss eater. It’ll be fine

Don’t worry it can take many weeks for baby to get the hang of it.

just keep putting food on her tray. It will get played with. Dropped. Rubbed o. Her hair. Then eventually it will go in her mouth.

Thank you all. I should lay off TikTok. I see all those plates babies seem to be “eating” at 6 months.
She has been staring at our food for a while. I will get her to sit with us when we are eating too.

I have done abit of both. Finger and puree as she just didn’t get the baby led so will come back to it when she is able to.
She always leans forward or slumps to the side when she’s in the high chair so not sure if she’s actually ready but her dad has a nut allergy so don’t want leave it either.

Are you eating at the same time as her? That helps, High chair pulled up to the table.

Imagine trying to eat for the first time ever, She doesn't know what food is yet :) do you eat with her and in front of her? She'll learn everything by watching you. Try different things, puree and finger foods. She'll soon get the hang of it but don't put any pressure on you or baby. There's no rush and plenty of time

If she’s slumping/leaning in highchair then she’s probably not ready, she needs to be able to sit unassisted to be ready for weaning.

All babies are different and there is no secret switch that flicks at 6 months.

Sit together for meals so she can watch you eat, offer her some of whatever you’re eating (obviously prepared in a safe way for her), just let her take her time and develop an interest. My daughter is 13 months now and will literally eat anything and everything and we just followed this very relaxed approach. If one day at 6 months she didn’t bother with food (which happened lots) it was never a drama, just keep offering, keep demonstrating, keep patient.

If you eat in front of her, make really exaggerated noises of enjoyment, and chew with your mouth open. You'll feel ridiculous, but it helps them understand!

I thought my baby would go for solids straight away, but I think babies who want to suck on strips of steak right away are the exception rather than the rule. Keep offering a mix of whatever you're having that's baby-safe (saves on cooking special stuff that ends on the floor...). Don't be afraid to offer a mix of finger food and purées/mashed food.

Same as the poster above! I had to sit and show him biting and chewing with my mouth open. Saying yum and all gone when I ate it.
Definitely felt a bit odd but he wasn't getting it all all before I did that. 😂

There are nutritional reasons why ‘food before one is fun’ isn’t correct but being relaxed is key.

you've only just started so give it time.

I suggest following Charlotte Sterling Reed on Instagram or facebook just search SR nutrition

Yup - Tiktok expectation fail !

At 6 months a lick, nibble or something going in the mouth and being swallowed is successful "eating". Definitely don't bother wasting energy "preparing" a special baby meal!

Just pick out a few bits of baby safe stuff from what you cooked for herself and don't get depressed when it's thrown away (potentially via the floor, table, or highchair)...

I found weaning quite fun, but I definitely stuck clear of any "advice" other than the basics on the NHS website.

The advice is to start solids around 6 months. It doesn’t have to be 6 months on the dot. I honestly wouldn’t worry at all at this stage. All babies are different. My first was very motivated to eat from just over 5 months. My second wasn’t bothered till over 7 months.

My daughter didn't eat a single mouthful of food for the first two weeks of weaning and then it was only if there was spinach in it!
She was slow to wean and was 13 months before she ate a meal.
Stay of social media, keep offering food, share food. Make use of frozen veggies and fruit or more of the food you are making yourself.....there was absolutely an inverse correlation between the amount of effort I put in food and her engagement with it. She's nearly 5 and that's definitely still the case!

She shouldn’t be slumping sideways or forwards when eating, can she sit up properly? If not she probably isn’t ready, it’s a choking risk.

No she can’t sit up. She does sit still upright when I feed her but when she starts slumping forward etc, I stop. I have a cushioned minimiser seat.

I assumed she’s 6 months old so I should start weaning and the I don't want to leave the testing of allergens later than I should?

I’ll concentrate on puree rather than BLW until she can sit properly.

Do not feed at all until she can sit independently OP- it’s a huge choking risk. She isn’t ready.