Baby just not interested in weaning

[lavenderandwisteria]

Hopefully someone can reassure me.

My baby is six months and we’ve been trying little bits of solid food since he was 5 and a half months.

He has had porridge and broccoli, carrot, courgette, peas, avocado and a little bit of salmon.

But in all honesty he’s had the tiniest amounts, I mean maybe less than a teaspoon at a time. Is this normal? I can’t do baby led weaning with him because he just isn’t interested.

He’s dropped a centile so the reason we tried him on solids a little earlier than six months was to get his weight up. Can anyone reassure me?

My reluctant weaner didn't entertain solids until he was 11 months then one day he just went for it. He is now 14 months and eats almost anything so long as he can finger feed himself, he still doesn't like spoons. He also dropped centiles because he had undiagnosed dysphagia so milk was difficult for him. Six months old is just a guideline, keep offering food and try not to worry.

Broccoli and carrots are what I’d eat if I was on a diet, not if I was trying to gain weight so I wouldn’t worry about weaning in terms of baby dropping a centile. At this age, food doesn’t really help babies gain weight.

It sounds really normal in terms of eating. Food should be all about exploring at this age. Don’t stress yourself out about it as baby will pick up on that.

Mine both loved milk so much and didn’t really start showing an interest in food till 10 and 8 months respectively. So 4 months of me making food and then rejecting it and me despairing. Hate the weaning stage. But by 1 years old they were both eating so light at the end of the tunnel.

That’s really good to know, thanks.

All the books I’ve read recommend starting them on veg.

He’s had banana and mango too but just not interested.

My 6 month old really isnt bothered either. She's my third though so I know from experience of the first two that she'll let me know when she's ready. In the meantime I am grateful to get a few extra weeks of less laundry and washing up, a delay to the stinky nappies 😁

I had a reluctant weaner with a very strong tongue poke reflex (I forget the proper name!). She was at least 8 months before she ate any kind of solid food and nearer a year old before she was really ready to wean with a mixture of finger food and puree. My health visitor and her nursery weren't unduly concerned but speak to your health visitor if you are worried. we had the opposite problem with DC3 who was willing to eat everything and anything at 6 months but just threw it all back up so we had to delay his weaning too and limit him to very small amounts of food!

Just keep offering on his plate/tray, let him play and explore! Doesn't need to eat anything if you're still dd or bf. They don't eat much at all at first. We started by having dd with us in the high chair every meal time and just offered her bite to play with. Then when she was chewing/gumming on this more reliably, I'd do one meal for her.

What mummy makes is a great weaning recipe book. Join some Facebook BLW weaning groups there's so much resource and advice out there!

But yes totally normal, it's a very slow process! Before you know it he'll be chowing down 3 x a day and demanding more

Food before 1 is just for fun.
Don't worry op until she is 12 months. Mine actually didn't eat until he was closer to two. (He was very unusual though)

As long as you give her the option and allow her to explore at this stage
6 months is very early days, it might take her a while before she actually shows any interest.

Thanks gin but BLW is a no go. He just isn’t interested in food at all

Thanks everyone. I’m wondering whether to just stop trying for a while.

Pop him on your lap or in his high chair while you are eating and let him be part of the meal experience. Give him something from your plate. It doesn't matter whether he eats it or not. He'll get the hang of it. My DC1 was 10 months before they ate any meaningful amount whereas DC2 was eating everything and self feeding by 6 months , those were the days when one started with purées at 3-4 months.

yikes it doesn’t really work - we can’t eat at a table as that’s now DH office so any food has to be eaten in the lounge. Plus I’m dieting so I don’t eat much.

Weaning at 6 months won't get his weight up - milk is the most calorie dense thing he'll be consuming, weaning is about getting him used to tastes and textures and learning to chew and swallow solids during the most opportune developmental window.

Obviously just as there's a bit of variation in the age at which children sit/ crawl/ walk there is variation in the time they're actually properly ready to wean, but in an ideal world you'd seek medical advice (health visitor if yours is contactable/ any good) if he's not eating by nine months. Six months is just little tastes and exploring, not nutrition really, but keep offering just because it is harder if you miss the window!

My older two were easy to wean according to their preferences - baby led weaning was perfect for dc1, while dc2 was impatient and I combined baby led weaning type foods on the highchair tray with some spoon feeding. However my dc3 was like yours and not interested in solids - in all honesty he wanted to breastfeed pretty much hourly through the night and a bit in the day and wasn't interested in food. I night weaned at 11 months and that was when he went down the centiles, which was worrying. He was eating but not much, and I had to give him more milk in the day while continuing to offer food every meal time plus snacks. In all honesty he turned out to have some sensory issues, which probably explains it, but he's tall and a healthy weight now at ten, and whilst there are still things he won't touch (pasta being the big one because other parents assume all children eat pasta so its served a lot) he eats well!

Good luck, but don't worry about the nutritional side at 6 months - even a baby who loves solid food should be getting most of their calories from milk at 6-9 months.

lavenderandwisteria that last update won't help - it would be useful if he saw you eat with him. Why not steam carrots or similar vegetables (suitable for baby led weaning for the entire process of eating, plus vitamins, fibre and virtually no calories for you) and eat those while you sit with him!

I was surprised when the HV said that, but she must have been assuming he’d actually eat some food! All the veg has been mixed with milk.

It’s also really hard finding a window to offer him solids when he isn’t tired or too hungry but hungry enough he might try. I’ve read so much about baby led weaning it’s hard when you’ve got one with no interest in it at all!

There’s nowhere I could sit where he could see me eat, though. And in any case he doesn’t show any interest in what we are eating.

Honestly nowhere? Carpet picnic? Just put a mat on the living room floor!

Does he pick up and mouth toys? How is his development generally? Is he sitting unsupported? Those things are all interrelated.

I’m not trying to be difficult here but ds can’t sit independently properly so I’m not sure if that would be possible, really.

Anyway, I’m already feeling like it’s my fault so I’m probably a bit over sensitive to perceived criticism. Sorry.

He is picking up and eating toys and to be honest tries to eat everything except food!

OP you've been given some good advice but it feels as though you're pushing back on every suggestion. How can you expect your child to be interested in food if you and DH are not and your baby never sees you eat? Children mimic. If you can't sit at a table then find another solution. If you're dieting then eat suitable food with your child. No one is criticising you, people are trying to help.

Well, you say people aren’t criticising me but you are, really - and I’m not being horrible there, I’m just pointing out that there is a criticism.

It’s a hard one. On balance I feel it’s probably more important that I’m healthy for him, so I’m reluctant to break the diet I’ve tried so hard to stick to because of something that may or may not happen. In any event, when he has seen one of us eating he still doesn’t really show any interest.

He’s never been the best feeder. He was only able to take tiny amounts of milk until recently and even now he has less than babies his age should be having. He’s very healthy though so it’s not really damaged him. It’s just really difficult getting it right. I don’t really want to go down the road of pouches with him (and in any case he still isn’t really bothered - just pushes it back out with his tongue.)

I have to remind myself he’s only been six months for a week

The tongue thrust reflex is his way of telling you he's not quite ready for weaning yet.

Hmm - so is it worth just holding on for another couple of weeks?

I expected my children to be excited about food and weaning to be fun but nope! They just loved milk. Both much preferred when they were old enough to pick bits up themselves, neither appreciated my veggie or fruit purées. Have you tried baby porridge? I had some small success there. Both mine are good eaters now even though they weren’t quick to wean if that is reassuring at all.

Food is for fun until they are 1, calories come from milk. Just keep offering, one of mine was reluctant but did well with snack bowls dotted about the room rather than sitting for a formal meal (obviously supervised)