Baby-led Non-weaning - anyone else out there whose DC just wasn't interested in food?

[ChunkyMonkeyToo]

We've been trying BLW with our 7 month old now for over a month. She loves sitting up at the table with us in her Tripp Trapp and is very happy to play with her food, but is absolutely not interested in letting any morsel of the stuff pass her lips. We gave in and tried the traditional spoon and puree route, but she wasn't having any of that either! We're back to BLW but seriously, nothing yet has gone in her mouth although anything non-edible is in there in a shot. She has a sixth sense for divining what is food - regardless of where we offer it to her, and how relaxed. We've tried small bits and large, putting little bits of yogurt/mash whatever on her spoon and letting her pick it up, encouraging her to eat, completely ignoring her and everything inbetween. She just presses her lips shut and does full body flips away from whatever we're offering (if we're trying the 'encouraging' route). She won't even suck on a rice cake!

She's happy, alert and active, though small for her age, and still loves BF. So I'm not too worried on the nutritional side (though, needless to say, our HV is - keeps talking about a 'window' we're going to 'miss' and low iron), but would really like some reassurance that she is going to eat at some stage! Anyone else out there who can tell me that their LO didn't eat a scrap until they were 10 months or whatever and then suddenly started eating roast dinners?!!

not quite the same but dd2 only eat 3 savoury flavours of dried food until she was 10 months old - we of course had to spoon feed her. She used to gag and allsorts!

then one day we were out for the day and she stole a chip and ate it and then started eating solids from that day on.........(not chips I hasten to add!)

"Anyone else out there who can tell me that their LO didn't eat a scrap until they were 10 months or whatever and then suddenly started eating roast dinners"

DS wasn't really bothered by solids at all until he really started going at 10 months, honest . We did mostly BLW, did try a spoon in a panic every so often, but he wasn't that keen - too fond of the boob. He's 16 months now and eats loads (most days) and occasionally not much (like today). But he is chunky and happy (still has a few bf a day too) so I don't worry too much,

And I got all the same stuff about 'weaning window' and 'iron levels'. Sounds like you're approaching it in exactly the right way, 7 months is still v little!

I have to say it is a standing joke that dd2s main focus in life is now food, she is a skinny lanky 5 year old who's phrases are what's next, I'm a little bit hungry, what's for pudding etc etc etc

In hindsight I think she couldn't handle food until she was 10 months old she didn't have the co-ordination to chew and swallow before that. My younger 2 were like vulchers from 6 months old!

DS1 wasn't remotely interested in solids at eight months (again, too fond of breastmilk) - I remember asking the GP about it at the eight-month check, and he told me not to worry and just be guided by the baby. Two months later he was gorging himself on all sorts (DS1 that is, can't tell you what the GP was eating).

Try not to stress about it, she'll be fine.

Tell your HV to sod off out of that 'window'. Silly mare.

It really doesn't matter you know, she will get there in her own time. Just continue to offer and don't stress about it. My DD would have eaten the table as well as the food on it, but plenty of kids spend a while playing with food before it occurs to them to put it anywhere in their mouth.

Do you eat in front of her? DD was very keen on nicking whatever I was eating - much more so than eating prescribed 'good foods' hence her diet including such delights as chicken jalfrezi

My dd didn't want to eat either, she pursed her lips at anything offered, and didn't try and munch on anything either. She'd eat a mouthful of apple or pear puree at most for ages, then 1 day she actually ate some carrots and peas, refused it ever after, but suddenly started liking potato, so I think for quite some time she ate potato with various vegetable added to it. But she too was a keen bf-der, so although it was stressful and I would find it quite frustrating that she wouldn't even try a mouthful, it did gradually happen. I can't remember exactly how old she was when things got easier, but somewhere around 8 months I think.

Thanks, it's reassuring to know I won't be sending her to college with a flask of breastmilk! You try and stay relaxed about these things, but it's hard with HV giving you scare stories. I shall repeat 'when she's ready' and 'she's still little' like a mantra while wiping up all the not-touched-a-drop leftovers!

Not quite 10m, but it took ds2 a couple of months to go from utter revulsion (there's a pic of his "food face" on my profile - he pulled this if food came anywhere near him) to eating his entire body weight in one sitting and still asking for more. I got the whole "window" thing - apparently, because I'd followed the guidelines and waited until a week off 6m before starting weaning, it was my fault he didn't like food .

ChunkyMonkeyToo i went through exactly the same with my DD. We started off with puree's and then she refused to be fed with a spoon and took us on the BLW route at about 7 and a half months (she's now 8 months and 1 week). I was frustrated and anxious to start with because i would put the food out in front of her and she would completely ignore it, or just play with it and what ever she did pick up ended up down the side of her chair, on the floor (where the dogs picked it up- they adore BLW!)and very very very little went in to her mouth, i was so close to tears. Then one day at a friends house i gave her Tesco's dried apricot which is really soft and mushy and she could pull off bits in to her mouth and she ate the whole apricot and then another. That night she started to pick up the food i put in front of her and i noticed she was picking and choosing things dropping what she'd tried and picking up what she liked, rolling it around in her tongue. She's been okay ever since, some days she eats a lot of what i give her and others she doesn't. I can't say i did anything in particular except persevere, she just did it one day. I worried about her weight, but have had her weighed this week and she is still between the 91st and 75th centile and in height she is on the 98th centile so it hasn't affected her weight eating very little somedays - although like you i have kept her milk intake up. I notice she eats more of the things that don't require too much biting and just break off in to her mouth, i've been most successful with:

• soft cooked baby carrot
• Soft Avocado cut in to halves, then quarters then eighths so they are like fingers
• soft cooked baby sweetcorn
• Tesco organic cheese for children (M&S do it too) comes in a little net bag in sticks - her favourite and very easy for her to hold and bite bits off
• pear cut in to quarters and boiled to soften
• banana cut in half and then quarters so they are like fingers
• soft dried apricots
• fish fingers
• homemade chips
• soft cooked sugar snap peas

Okay so i know this may not be the best diet, i know people have had great success with pasta, and giving their babies shepherds pie and things and i know some wouldn't bother cutting things in to fingers. But i was really struggling to get my DD to eat and these things seemed to work. I add new things everyday like a piece of chicken or fishcakes. I tell myself i am building her confidence in food (after she seemed to hate and distrust food after the puree) and what is important is the way i see her learning to eat i.e. picking things up, chewing, rolling it around in her mouth, picking small pieces up in her fingers and putting it in to her mouth. And once she's mastered it i can start giving her the more adventurous stuff, after all we've only been doing this a few weeks. I was in the same boat as you, i still have good days and bad days, just hang in there, she'll suddenly get it!

chunkymonkey -- My ds ate a negligible amount until about 10.5 months, when things began to pick up a bit. I think it had to do with better coordination and some new teeth. He still doesn't eat anything approacing a whole roast dinner, but he now will sometime eat what I (although certainly not my MIL) consider to be an adequate-sized meal for a baby.

I'd say to keep experimenting with different foods asampras' list includes most of the things that i had success with and try to keep it all as stress-free as possible for both you and the baby. I think doing so will pay off in the long run.

I'm pleased (and reassured) to see this thread. DD is 8 months and hardly eats anything. She will only have solids at 5pm and then only a few mouthfuls of babyfood before she is turning her head away. We've tried all sorts of finger foods but no go there either, except Nice and Malted Milk biscuits which she would eat by the packet!!

Don't worry everyone, I have a very healthy big 14 month old who was untrustworthy of food for a very long time, but slowly it picked up (getting more adventurous from 10 months onwards). However, she is still constantly going through phases, sometimes eating lots, sometimes very little, always changing what she likes/dislikes! She is still BF and I think this contributes, but she is very tall and healthy for her age, robust, and her weight has never suffered even though she may only eat a bit of cucumber or bit of bread on some days. just be relaxed and go slow, they are still so young and milk is the staple diet until 12 months, and I reckon plus, as my 14 month old still relies heavily on milk. Don't push them, they will get there in their own time xxx

mine wasn't at all interested until well over 12mo, he is now 22mo and eats really well, probably as much as his 5yo brother.

Hi there. Dd2 who was 7 months last week, is only just becoming interested in eating. Before then, she just wouldn't open her mouth! She doesn't eat huge amounts still, as she seems to get bored/v distracted by other things. She has no idea about BLW - I have tried giving her some toast, but she just thinks it is something to play with!