8 Month Old Won't Eat Veg Anymore

[VixenAndCub]

My partner and I started weaning my DS when he was about 6 months due to milk just not filling him up anymore. We seeked advice from health advisor and started with simple 1-ingredient purees.

It took a little while - as I'm sure it does - but we quickly found he had favourites. He loved pureed carrots, banana, rusks, fruit porridge, broccoli/cauliflower cheese, pureed Sunday dinners, Bolognese etc. All home made! I wanted to start him off on the best foods possible so I knew what he was eating.

He pulls faces with new foods but I was told to push through with positive enthusiasm.

But one weekend when he was 7 months with his grandmother while my boyfriend and I went on a trip I came back expecting the same happy boy eating his usuals. But nope!

I gave her his usual favs but it seems she added some things. Biscuits, white chocolate, soft crisps, custard and so on. I'm not against giving him sugars/fats as long as it's not ALL he eats.

Now he won't eat anything else!! I made beef stew and pureed it to chunky (he demolished it last time I made it) but he made a face and despite sitting there for half an hour trying he locked his jaws and just kept looking away.
I even left it a couple of hours but same result.
But when I brought out a banana custard pot? Gone. In minutes.

Now he just won't have what he used to. Closest thing to fresh veg he had was my roast parsnips and carrots from my Christmas dinner. Didn't want his boiled version. So the next day I spent a good hour or so roasting carrots sticks for finger food - naturally with no salt, pepper etc. But nope! Didn't want that either!!

I can't keep feeding him biscuits and crisps... But he just WONT keep anything else in his mouth.

Naturally his main food source is still milk, he still has his daily amount with no problems. So his weight is perfectly fine but I don't want this continuing.

Any tips?

I'm not sure I'd eat beef stew if I pulled a face and got pudding instead OP.

Just keep offering the savoury, if he doesn't eat it, he's simply not hungry so doesn't need an alternative

It's your job to offer the food, it's up to him if he chooses to eat it or not.

When my dd stopped eating her main meal at about the same age to get to her yogurt it was the last yogurt she saw for about three years.😂

He's your baby and you started him off brilliantly. Someone has thrown a spanner in the works but just do what you were doing before and he will soon realise that he isn't going to get what his grandmother gave him.

I'd cut out all the custards, biscuits, crisps etc, just feed him what you want him to eat. He's still very young and he'll get back into a good pattern of eating. If he's still getting a good amount of milk he won't starve in the meantime.
If you are cooking beef stew I wouldn't bother blending it. Keep the veg and meat fairly chunky so he can pick it up easily and feed himself and eat together as a family - seeing you eating and enjoying the same food as him and having meals as a sociable, enjoyable occasion is so important.

Just stop feeding him crap. You’re giving him the choice to choose the rubbish you’re feeding him

I also have an 8 month old and he is really suffering at the moment with teeth coming through. He is only really wanting cold or sloppy foods because his gums are so sore. Do you think it could be this? Maybe offering melon and cucumber sticks for him to gnaw or plain yoghurt straight from the fridge. He may also enjoy feeding himself rather than being spoon fed? Just keep offering the healthy stuff and be will come back to it, I'm sure 🙂

When my dd stopped eating her main meal at about the same age to get to her yogurt it was the last yogurt she saw for about three years

And that's exactly how you deal with it

Just to clarify: this was a month ago when I discovered he wanted sweet things only. I have not given him any 'crap' since then. Only the things he had before. So for the last couple of weeks he's only having his milk because he turns his face up at his veggies.

I got told off by my health advisor when I asked her, she said I shouldn't "starve" him. If he doesn't eat his veggies, she said I still had to give him something.
"A biscuit won't harm him"

So yeah... Been told I'm starving him if he turns his nose up at good food and I don't give him rubbish

Will he eat things that you eat? Have you tried him with something like smoother nut butter on toast, a banana, porridge fingers or a buttered crumpet for lbreakfast?

I took little to no notice of my HV after she told me to grate cheese on top of everything I gave my dd2 as she was below the red line. There is no need to doubt yourself as you were doing a good job before so just go back to what you were doing before biscuit-gate.

It might be purées that he is not happy with. What does he do when you give finger food?

@JiltedJohnsJulie
He does, he loved my roasted carrots/parsnips on Xmas day but they had salt/pepper/mixed herbs on so I only gave him tiny bits. So I prepared his especially with nothing on and pretended it was mine but he spat them out then. Really don't want to add flavourings on until he's much older.
Breakfast has finally gone back to normal luckily. He likes his Banana porridge, and likes toast fingers (I tried the nut butter like you said and he enjoys that, even if most of it ends up on him rather than in him 😆). It's just dinner times.

@Selfsettling3
He loves finger foods so I try and make anything I can edible that way. Like roasted veg into sticks, fruit pieces, whole pieces of broccoli etc. But since Biscuit Gate he'll just mash it in his hands and drop it, or spit them out.

Playing with food when weaning is normal and fine.

Absolutely do not give him any more crisps or chocolate. An 8 month old doesn't need any of that, they've only been weaned a couple of months!

He'll eventually go back to eating the right stuff when he forgets about the junk! He's so little, he won't retain much memory of it if you just completely cut it out.

I used to get so annoyed when people gave my DD chocolates and biscuits. She's now 2.5 and much more aware of what a treat is but that's how I want to keep it - a treat not the norm.

I think you may have to add some flavourings if he likes them. There is nothing wrong with a few herbs and spices at this age.

If you have a look MN recipes sections there are a few recipes he might enjoy

@JiltedJohnsJulie
Might have to. Hopefully just a little bit. I always joked that because he was born days after Gordon Ramsay's baby, and I always ate strong flavoured foods while pregnant that he'd have a good palette but...damn 😆

I definitely will, thanks!

No reason why he shouldn’t enjoy some herbs and spices! Just avoid the pre mix ones and blend your own as you and he like! Italian mixed herbs are just herbs and handy to use in Italian sauces anyway if no luck