7 month old not interested in solids - help!

[kimi190]

My daughter has just turned 7 months old and we started weaning her when she turned 6 months. But ever since we started she hasnt shown any interest at all! When she doesn't clamp her mouth shut or turn away, she will push any food out with her tongue.

We started on baby rice and then tried aptimal porridge (she is ff) and have tried varous pureed fruit and veg but she isn't interested in anything. She isn't demanding any more bottles than normal - she tends to have about 5 6oz bottles a day. She sleeps through the night from about 7.30pm till 6.30am. She sits up well by herself now and does show interest when me or DP is eating.

Is she just not ready for solids yet? Should i be concerned?

Dd Hated puréed and only did chunks and bits eg bread, well done pasta etc. just stick it in front of her and let her try it. Also, 7 months is very young yet to be really into solids, mine both took longer. I wouldn't waste. Only on special baby stuff just give her some stuff to try but never leave her alone when eating.

Have you tried finger foods (she might feed herself) or changing the time she eats? How long between milk and solids?
In my experience, many 7 month olds don't have a proper appetite so a couple of mouthfuls count as a successful meal.

2 out of 3 of my kids hated bland food like porridge. Have you tried something more exciting? Ds1 was eating food like chicken korma at that age while dd loved plain food like fruit and porridge. Ds2 would feed himself plain Cheerios and used to just squish chunks of broccoli etc on hos hand. He developed a good appetite at 9months ish.

I would suggest trying finger food too. My DD never ever showed any interests in baby rice, pureed veg or fruit. She just clamped her mouth shut on everything. Or turned her head away. After 2 weeks of trying, with all sorts that my mummy friends swore all babies love, I switched to finger foods only. You won't believe how fast she could stuff food into her mouth! We have a video of her putting food into her mouth faster than my DH can unload them with a spoon onto her highchair tray.

Have a look at the following website if you want more infomration.
www.babyledweaning.com

Another one here suggesting finger food instead. My Ds is just coming up to 7 months and no way will he open his mouth if a spoon comes near him!! But he will eat finger food well (if in quite an uncoordinated way!) and sometimes he wants me to pop the food in his mouth for him and he'll happily munch away! Don't worry how much he is eating at 7 months though- he is still very little. Good luck.

DD2 wasn't interested in solids at all when we tried to start weaning her at 6 months. I ended up giving up completely for a few weeks then trying again. Eventually at 8 months something changed and suddenly she started eating everything! We skipped purees completely and just gave finger foods / family food. So much easier and she became a great eater who literally liked everything (has got a bit fussier now aged 2.5!)

Thanks for all your help. I have been trying her on purees about 30 mins ish before her bottle is due, sometimes at lunchtime or dinnertime. I have tried when she is really hungry but she just gets upset and still wont even try anything.

The last couple of days i have tried some finger foods. The brocolli and carrot she wouldnt even put in her mouth. She did suck on a rusk but when a bit of it came off in her mouth she gagged a bit and then was sick!

I think she has learned that when she is in her highchair it is food time and she she is now just shutting her mouth to anything and everything!! i have tried toast and she put it in her mouth but then pulled a funny face and dropped it.

Do you think i should just leave it for a while? How often should i be attempting finger food at the moment?

Are you eating with her? You can try just giving her something you are eating everytime you or anyone in your family have food. It doens't matter if she's just playing with the food, or staring at you eating. What I'm trying to say is to make it not a stressful experience for both your LO and you. This is easier if you are eating with someone else, so you can chat with other people at the dinner table, instead of watching your LO's every move. But even if it's just you and her, try to concentrate on eating your food.

At the same time, you can wait another week to give her some purees again.