7 months and refusing...mostly everything!

[naturemum]

I began weaning DS at 6 months. I didn't use baby rice - went straight into purees and mashed banana/avocados.

He never seemed particularly keen on purees but was accepting the spoon and loved banana and avocados! Also pureed dried apricot he loved but its too sweet to live on! I was getting him into having 3 v. small meals a day (5/6 spoonfuls0 and thought it was going ok.

Beginning of last week he caught a D&V virus and was quite poorly for a couple of days but has seemingly bounced back. However solid food has pretty much gone out the window - or in the bin! - every meal time. I don't want to force the spoon into his mouth.

I'm breastfeeding him and I know that he will be ok for a while longer but would really like for him to be as food loving as his ma and pa!

Any advise...

He will be more than Ok with the bm as long as he is fed on demand. We didnt start solids with ds until he was just shy of 7 months & even then he didnt have anything until nearer 8-9 months. Maybe just put out some finger foods for him to feed himself with instead (steamed veg sticks or fruit edges for example) to save you all that work for nothing & save you some of the stress of having your purees refused! He will start eating solids again - just go with the flow for now.

feed him with your fingers instead of a spoon, see if he takes the food then.

I give millet and banana together, also oats are good and is sticky enough to put on the finger! Pear is also nice.

piece of crust from bread is a good finger food.

Try some finger foods. My DS eats mainly finger food as he's not too happy about things on a spoon. Unless they are puddings of course. He is willful and wants to be independent. He is also sure that whatever is on the spoon is horrid and I'm trying to trick him...! Once he's dunked a finger in and tasted it himself he seems happier to take food off a spoon.

Were you giving him any medicine when he was poorly? It's just that we think our DS is bad about spoon food as he remembers the calpol spoon coming at him!

My dd (nearly 7 months) would only eat pear and apple but my HV told me that we were creating a fussy eater!!
Now I give her everything mixed in with Baby rice and milk because I think she found the tastes too much and the baby rice makes it more bland

My ds has gone off banana, having loved it at first. He's 9mo and started weaning at around 5ms. I find if he is refusing food sometimes he is thirsty and needs water first (Although he is ff...) Also, I was suprised (thought he was too young!) but the whole 'spoon is a choo choo train/aeroplane/galloping horse' trick really works! We have had whole meals eaten based purely on each spoonful making a different animal sound!

My dd is seven months too and has just started refusing everything that is mushed up. So I am giving her finger food such as fruit (she likes pears, blueberries, grapes, melon in particular), vegetables, toast and hummus.

She also wants to eat pretty much anything we are eating so can munch through spaghetti (she likes sucking it in), potatoes in many forms (baked, mashed, new), little bits of chicken or fish etc.

It's actually a lot easier giving her bits of whatever is around than having to mush up food for her. Perhaps your ds will like feeling more grown up too and enjoy eating what you are having. It's amazing what they can manage without teeth!

Hi there all - thank you for all your advise. Have started feeding him with my fingers and the idea of giving him little bits of what we are having would suit me much better. We have a healthy diet so can't see how it would cause any problems. Also steamed some veggies in baton shape for him to "play" with.

I also have used the aeroplane tricks with the spoon and most of the time it works! What trickery!

Have decided that the best thing to do is relax and go with it. He is by no means starving and I have seen him chewing and swallowing foods without any trouble.

Thanks again!

Just to say i had exactly the same problem with my DTs (6 months), after two weeks of taking everything, they started refusing everything!

I started mixing pureed food with more formula to make the consistency much thinner and they are taking it again.

My little chap is 8.5 months and up until recently was doing so brilliantly on solids, I felt quite 'smug'! What a different story now! We have regressed to his milk, waking up at night again and all the hard work preparing healthy food is sadly gone into the bin. He is quite able to eat but asserts his authority over his eating very strongly. Apart from breadsticks, which he loves.

Have tried the aeroplane tricks, finger feeding, self-feeding, eating with everyone...still not making any difference. I haven't tried making the food more liquid again though, so may try that. Fingers crossed!

Yes, I keep telling myself, he's fine, still gaining weight, so obviously not starving - but I worry anyway because that's what Mums do!

I know what you mean cej, my DS is 7.5months, weaned at 5 months, was eating great until 4 weeks ago. Not wanting much food, he went from 3 meals a day to about 2 daily now. Not having breakfast at all, milk feeds decreased. Still gaining weight but very little (maybe about 1oz). I am really worried... but there is nothing I can do to make him eat more or drink more milk. It is driving me to tears...Everytime I go out with other mums and see their babies opening their mouths before the next spoonful of food comes along. I really wished that mine would do the same. But all I get is a pursed set of lips and head moving from side to side...He is not chubby like other babies and I'd really like him to be chubby. I am learning to accept that he will not be chubby as he is just not eating enough. :(