6 month old not interested in solids, should I be worried that she is not getting nutrients she needs?

[crazybusy]

My DD has not really shown any signs of being interested in food but when she turned 6 months old at the beginning of this month I thought I'd better start trying to wean her.

I have tried her with plain baby rice, baby rice mixed with apple or pear, various flavours of baby porridge but she only takes a few spoonfulls then clamps her mouth shut.

The only thing she opens her mouth wide for is Calpol! not good. If I could find some food that tastes like that she would wolf it down! Great, looks like another one that is going to love sweeties like my DS!

I am going to have a go with BLW to see if she will try a bit of bread & cheese spread or soft cooked veg like Brocolli / Cauliflower. I also bought some baby yoghurts to try.

At what point should I be worried that she is not getting the nutrients she needs?

crazy she won't be missing out on her nutrients provided you are giving her 20oz of formula a day or still bfing so don't worry too much about getting solids in her. Until she is 12 months solids are more about exploring taste and texture than replacing milk feeds.

I'd ditch the baby rice and baby yogurts too as both are very sweet and you'll probably want her to eat family meals instead? You might also want to read 9 reasons not to give Baby Rice.

We did BLW with DC2 who was a food refuser, I'd get yourself some low salt stock cubes, a cheap shower curtain for the floor, have a look at this website for information and ideas and just give it to her. Please don't stress if she doesn't eat, just eat your meal, chat and relax and she'll soon get the idea .

Thanks, it makes me feel much better that she is still getting what she needs from her formula. She loves her milk and just doesn't seem all that interested in food yet.

She has been the total opposite to my DS who I probably should have given solids earlier than 6 months because he always seemed endlessly hungry. He was my first child and I was too scared to go against the guidelines at the time that they should be 6 months before giving solids.

This time around I was ready to give solids before 6 months if the same happened again but it has been the total opposite.

Thanks for "9 reasons not to give baby rice" I haven't seen any of that info. She doesn't like it anyway so am going to steer clear now.

I would much prefer her to eat family meals which is why I thought I would give the BLW a go. Also hopefully it will be a less pressured environment for her to eat around the table with her family. It is so hard to stay calm when it comes to food issues isn't it? I know how important it is not to make her aware that I am worried or stressed about what she is eating.

Wish me luck!

Think you did everything right with your DS so don't beat yourself up. All a baby needs before 6 months is milk, and if they are hungry more milk. Solids have way less calorific and nutritional value than the milk so you could have just ended up making him more hungry.