Not interested

[Romily]

My gorgeous boy is 6 and a half months now and for the last few weeks we have been popping him in his high chair twice a day at meal times and giving him food on his tray but he is showing no interest at all.

He is not distressed or unhappy just reasonably oblivious to the food and is happy to gaze at me while I eat.

I had hoped to BLW but he isn't even playing with the food let alone putting it to his mouth. We did offer food on a spoon and again he wasn't interested.

My plan is to just persevere and offer food however I wondered if anyone else had had this experience and what you did?

Don't worry, it's still really early days. If 6 months is the average age for babies to be ready for solids, then it makes sense that some won't be ready till a bit later. You're already doing BLW, btw, by making the food available for him and letting him decide what to do with it. I wouldn't conclude that BLW doesn't work for him just because he didn't immediately start eating. All you can do is keep offering and leave him to it, especially as he isn't interested in being spoonfed.

DS ate very little indeed before 7 months. We just put a few bits from our meal in front of him and left him to it. He figured it out in his own time and became a human dustbin!

Does he see you eating? I suspect BLW may work best if you eat something alongside him and he gets the idea from you.

I agree that it's nothing to worry about though - give it time.

It's very very early days - please don't worry! We started BLW at 6 months and it was probably just before 8 months that I started feeling as though my boy was getting any actual nutrition from his meals. Even then he wasn't always very serious about eating and was often more interested in playing, but that's BLW for you :)

A baby's main source of nutrition should be milk until the age of one anyway, so it's really nothing to worry about. Having said that I do know it can be frustrating in the first few months - it's a question of holding your nerve!

FWIW at ten months my boys is now an extremely enthusiastic eater (most if the time) and can hoover up a portion of lasagne like nobody's business. BLW has worked really well for us, but it's not for the faint-hearted.

Thank you for that reassurance

At the moment he sits down to eat with us for at least two meals a day so he has some of the same food as us on his tray and he watches us eat so it sounds as if it is just a matter or waiting until he gets it!

We are not much further forward. Now he will take things from a spoon however he will not pick up any foods to try them.

Beginning to think that I might have to go down the spoon feeding route instead of BLW.

it's really not a big deal if you spoon feed him for a bit. You can always keep trying finger foods alongside, and if he takes to it one day you can switch to pure blw if you want. There's no magic about BLW.

Have you tried putting the food in his hand, ive found this makes dd notice it, and then realise its fun to play with/chew and then if she drops it she will try to pick it up

Romily Hi, We are at the same point and lo is not interested.

He'll take the spoon preloaded if offered but usually puts his other hand in the mush. Some goes in and I can spoon feed him a couple of mouthfuls but he's not begging for it and when we stop he's not bothered!!

I too am just going to preserve.

My lo has started ebf more at night 'yawn' but after his 5am feed, he sleeps to 7ish but won't want bf till about 11!!!!!!!!

Some babies take longer to need/want solids. Some have naturally smaller appetites and it might be that your baby is getting enough milk to be completely satisfied.

To satisfy your concerns I'd offer spoons and finger food but otherwise please don't fret and definitely don't let the HV make you feel like every other baby is eating 3 2-course meals and 2 snacks straight away from 6 months!

"don't let the HV make you feel like every other baby is eating 3 2-course meals and 2 snacks straight away from 6 months!"

This is very sensible advice! I don't think I've met met anyone doing pure BLW (which we've done) whose babies were eating the same amount in the first few months as babies that were being spoonfed. However, those who've stuck at it all have babies with perfectly normal appetites now, which is to say, sometimes ravenous and very eager and involved in what you out in front of them, and sometimes completely uninterested and seemingly not at all hungry, occasionally for days on end!

Just keep reminding yourself that milk should be the main source of nutrition up til the age of one, and try not to fret too much - I know it's easier said than done! Have you read Gill Rapley's book on BLW? If you want to stick with it then it might be worth getting it from your library or borrowing from La Leche or similar. It's interesting that all the photos in there of babies having a jolly time eating chicken drumsticks and the like are all from around 10 mths onwards!

We started BLW at 6 months and, while my DD did play with the food, she is now 8.5 months and has only just started eating enough that she's dropped a milk feed. They all get there at different times, just keep offering food on a tray (preferably while you're eating). My approach was just to let her get on with it and not try and figure out how much she was eating etc. It will click eventually!