Help, baby won't eat. Ideas?

[Dontgiveaschnitzel]

9.5 month old DD has never been a big eater but has been happy to try almost anything offered and eat at least a few spoonfuls. In the last week she has started spitting everything out, even previous favourites like baby porridge with fruit. She enjoys playing with finger foods but very little ends up
In her mouth and things that she did eat, like peas, are being put in the mouth then spat out.

I'm worried that she isn't getting enough nutrients, especially iron and protein as she won't eat meat.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get her to eat? Do I just need to chill out a bit? I offer lots of different finger foods each meal. My heart sinks when I read on here that other people's 7 month olds are eating 3 tablespoons of purée/spag bol for lunch, followed by fruit and yoghurt.

Assuming she is having enough milk I really would stop.worrying they don't need much food at this age.
Could she be teething so Inna bit of pain when eating , you could try giving a cold teething toy / cold wet flannel before meals to.numb her gums a little.

She's cut her milk feeds down and usually has 500-600ml per day. I'm really trying not to worry, it's when I hear about how much other, younger babies seems to eat that it really bothers me! And the weaning book I bought goes on about them needing extra nutrients from 6 months. She won't get much from 6 peas and a bite of cheese (yesterday's lunch..)

Perhaps it's teething, although no other symptoms. I'll try the cold flannel. Cheers

Food before one is just for fun!! Even at 12 months around 75% of nutrition comes from their milk

Easier said than done but yes, chill out and try not to be anxious. It's all still experimentation at this stage, so keep offering different things, but don't panic if she refuses, just clear it away without fuss. You can give them a multivitamin drop if you are worried about nutrients, but most formula has the essentials in it anyway. Try and think of it that the milk is her main source of calories and the food is just a sampling buffet.

I hear that a lot from other mums (especially blwers) but is it really the case? I bought a book, Weaning made Easy by Dr Rana Conway, which states that babies need extra nutrients from 6 months on and milk can no longer meet all of their nutritional needs. She states that over reliance on milk after 6 months can lead to babies becoming anaemic.

Previous reply was to the 'food before one' comment

What exactly do you feed her? She might be overwhelmed with too much choice if her plate/tray is full of different things. A baby will never starve herself and sometimes they just eat less, it's probably just a phase before a growth spurt. Try egg yolks for nutrition and add grass fed butter to foods.

I only put a couple of bits on her tray at a time so as not to overwhelm her. I usually offer veg (sometimes a couple of different kinds), something with protein and some carbs like pasta/rice/bread/potato, then fruit. Today's mostly uneaten lunch was salmon, pasta and peas followed by blueberries. She ended up eating the fruit and a bit of fish mashed in Greek yoghurt so that's something.

She has an egg allergy so doctor advised no eggs til she's 1 then slow introduction. She will lick butter off toast so I suppose that's something!

No real advice from me I'm afraid but just to say that we're in the same boat. My baby has just turned 10mo and is still not really eating much. I've been through periods of angst about it and am now just accepting that this is the way it is for now and that it's rare to meet a milk-only 10 year old! We've had phases of eating well (e.g. a 7mo Ella's Kitchen pouch, a few carrot puffs, and a few spoons of fruit puree for a meal) but the norm is definitely much less than that. For example, lunch today was a fruit puree pot - omelette finger food rejected. He has endless amounts of energy though and doesn't seem to be wasting away so that'll do for now. Best thing is to try to zone out from what other parents say about their babies' voracious appetites - I have a few friends w similar aged babies who 'complain' that their babies are eating them out of house and home! I wish! Let me know if you find a magic cure but in the meantime good luck x

At 9 months my dd was only just starting to try food. She was ebf up to that point. She is nearly two now and has never eaten much, still mostly lives off milk. She's not suffered for it. Basically, try not to worry.

DS1 ate hardly anything until about 15 months old. I was so worried but he was absolutely fine! DS2 at same age was voracious puree gobbler and DD somewhere in the middle. Now DS2 much less of an eater, DD more of one, and original worry-maker DS1 (now 3) eats loads. Conclusion: nothing you do or don't do will really affect how much or how nutritiously they eat. Just keep offering stuff and (certainly before aged one) don't worry too much about vitamins etc. They still need lots of fat, which the milk will provide if nothing else. Good luck! Look at the Infant and Toddler Forum for guidelines too, very helpful and reassuring re portion sizes.

My dd was exactly the same culminating in my sobbing in the hv office. Hv said babies are different like people are different just because 1 baby eats 3 courses for every meal doesn't mean mine must too. She told me to relax offer finger food when I was eating so we eat together, keep it social and fun.
Dd is 10 now. She still isn't the best eater (fussy) but she has a healthy attitude to food. She eats a varied diet and only takes what she needs. She is bright, energetic and slim but healthy.

My DD does this on and off and we usually find its around teething but also when she's got a cold or is she's really tired

Thanks for the replies, I'm glad she's not the only one like this. If I find the magic cure I'll share it. Feel a bit more reassured now.

Today I lovingly made egg free baby meatballs in an attempt to get her to eat meat. She took one bite, spat it out then delicately dropped the rest over the side of the high chair. 6 more portions in the freezer! Discovered that she will eat plain kidney beans though, today at least.

Aww - homemade meatballs sound very dedicated. It's horrible when you go to a load of effort for them to decorate the floor.

Just a thought but have you tried occasional pre-made baby food pouches (Some friends swore by Ellas). DD wouldn't touch them but some babies seem to love them.

Also has anything changed in your DDs nap / milk feed routine? I did have to adjust the timing of DDs meals a few times to fit her - she won't eat within 30 mins of waking up and used to catapult food around if I left it too late and she got overtired. There was a sweet spot inbetween when she'd wolf everything down. And make sure you give milk feeds after and not before meals.

Her morning nap has got a bit earlier now that she's more active but that's it really. Milk is always after meals, generally before her naps and before bed.

We live in Germany so can't get Ella's Kitchen, the only pouches here seem to be fruit ones, but she loves fruit anyway. I try her on baby food jars sometimes, so far the only savoury one she'll eat a few bites of is a carrot, fennel and white fish one. Trying not to worry so much, she's generally happy and active and not wasting away.