9mo DS still doesn't eat

[azazello]

I've been doing blw with DS since 5.5m when he could sit up unsupported. He's never eaten much but everything still seems tp be thrown on the floor. He also wants to bf every 2 hours day or night.

I've tried offering occasional purees instead and he will eat maybe a spoonful and then turn his face away and tightly shut his mouth so I've stopped as there doesn't seem to be any point in fighting about it.

Any tips? I'm feeling a bit demoralised.

I'd continue with the purees, and keep trying. It may be that DS is being a bit lazy and likes the comfort of you feeding and the ease.

Maybe give him some toast to hold/suck while giving him the purees and keep offering. You could also refuse to feed him 2 hours before so that he is def hungry.

Or have a chat with the HV

My DD will be 8mo tomorrow and she has not really taken to solid food. It can be such a pain to make a nice puree or BLW food and then it winds up on the floor or I end up eating it. I keep having to remember that this is hard for her developmentally there is a lot to learn in order to eat. Picking the food up, getting the food in her mouth, taking an appropriate-sized bite, gumming the food, swallowing a solid as opposed to milk. At her 8-month check I mentioned this and was told to keep trying a mix of purees and finger foods and to only offer one or two teaspoons of the purees. I realized I was offering too much and getting discouraged about how little she ate. I was always tempted to keep offering different foods when she wouldn't eat but that just made me more frustrated. Now we do one puree and one finger food per meal, and we do 2-3 meals. If she's eating of course I offer more food but I don't try different foods if she isn't into it.

Are you using a shower curtain on the floor? I do this not so much to save on mess as so that I can give the dropped food back to her. (Shower curtain is clean and we don't walk on it.) Now that it's summer I take her top off so she eats in just her diaper -- that cuts down on the frustration as well.

I didn't intend to give DD rusks or, horrors, biscuits for adults. MIL visited and brought Leibniz biscuits loaded with sugar and salt but quite crumbly. Well, I thought one wouldn't hurt don't want to offend MIL. DD loved it because it was easy to eat. So I allow those things not every day because it's good practice for her. It seems a lot easier than putting brocoli or sweet potatoes in her mouth. If your son doesn't have the hang of all these skills yet, maybe let him try something like this (if you haven't already)?

Are there any foods he seems to enjoy? Maybe stick to those?

I can only sympathise as my ds is 7 months old and won't open his mouth. If I get a little bit in there he sends it out with his tongue.

Maybe I have been offering too much and will try teapot's advice and only offer one or two foods. Also, I'm not giving up on puree and still offering it if only to splash around with his finger foods.

I'll be watching this thread with interest for more advice. It would be good to know if one day these fussy ones will just open their mouth and have a bite? Wishful thinking probably!

DD1 wasn't really interested til 10 months and dd2 was really interested in food, but didn't really want to take much in.

I think they say 'food is fun until they're one' so it's really normal (but hard not to get stressed about)

Just include him in meal times and he'll elt yo know when he's ready

Thanks all. DS is an independant little monster who really wants to be able to do everything for himself so he gets bored of being spoon fed unless he holds the spoon. He sounds very like your DD2, Ninja.

He did have a good go at some broccoli last night so hopefully he's starting to get the hang of things. I think teapot's advice is also very good- I've probably been expecting him to eat too much when he doesn't really want to.

My DD is 8 months and also not keen on eating. What do the rest of you do about milk feeds if they're not eating solids? I've reduced DDs milk feeds to 3 a day(then have solid meals spaced between milk feeds), but she's been really grizzly lately and I'm wondering if it's hunger, as she never eats much at her solid meals. I would be happy just to give her more milk but I'm worried this will make her eat even less solids!! Also how much should I be expecting her to eat at each meal?

Should probably add that although she's 8 months she only weighs about 16 lb (midget!!) - presumably that will affect how much she should be eating?

I have a pre-BLW baby book which says that it's not unusual for some babies to refuse all solids until 9 or even 12 months.

Topcat I'd milk feed on demand and not try to reduce t. I think it often takes them a long time - often till 9 months or so IIRC - until they realise that solid food fills them up. Until then reducing milk will just lead to lack of nutrition.

I'd let her eat as much / little as she wants at meals. I think the BLW book deals with issues like 9 and 10 month olds who aren't particularly interested in food, and it says it's not abnormal, just keep offering solids and give milk feeds on demand.

My DS seems to have gone very suddenly from barely eating, to three full meals and very little milk. At 10 months he really only had breakfast (cereal and fruit), possibly some bread product at lunch and yoghurt at tea - all other offerings were thrown (sometimes quite some distance!). I did start cutting out a bottle as he'd stopped finishing all of them, but even then I was starting to worry what would happen when he turned one. But he suddenly seemed to get the idea and stopped throwing things on the floor and started eating them.

So my advice would be to just hang in there. Keep trying different foods and avoid thinking about the waste and mess - he'll get the hang of it eventually!

My DS's appetite massively increased recently (he's 9.5months). I found he prefers to eat from a normal spoon as he sees me doing it. I give him the spoon and he does it himself. I also don't give him big chunks of food, instead I chop it small and let him take pieces from my hand and eat it that way (e.g. chopped meat, vegetables, pasta etc). He has a pincer grip now so can manage it perfectly fine.

I have noticed that meals only last 15 minutes before he gets bored though!

Thanks AngelDog. I've gone back to giving her 4 milk feeds a day and she's much happier and bizarrely seems to be eating slightly more solids too!!