8 month old not enjoying solid foods

[marvmaise]

PLEASE HELP My 8 month old has be weaned since 6m, we tried introducing him to textured food from purée for a while now and everytime there is the slightest lump/thickness he gags and is sick/ chokes, he is so hard to feed, he went through months not taking a bottle without a big upset which no health proff could give an answer too, and he barely opens his mouth for spoon feeding now days, I’ve tried letting him take control. I don’t know I feel like I’m going all wrong here, what can I do? I see babies his age eating picking up food eating solid veg and fruit like it’s nothing, I just feel like I’m torturing him every time I try a little texture in his food l

Try not to worry. My DC1 was the same, didn't each much at all until a year old and then all of a sudden it just clicked.

Just keep offering different foods and they will soon get it and as they get older they will be able to self feed with finger food etc.

@tiredmummy198

Try not to worry. My DC1 was the same, didn't each much at all until a year old and then all of a sudden it just clicked.

Just keep offering different foods and they will soon get it and as they get older they will be able to self feed with finger food etc.

Should I keep purée different foods or keep offering textured food? I even tried to do veg before fruit and all he really likes is the fruit pouches you can get in shops everything else he pulls funny faces or seals his lips shut. I do feel like I'm over thinking this whole weaning stage but he's my first so I always think I'm doing wrong

There is no wrong way! 😊

I felt just the same when I was in the thick of it but they all get there eventually. I rang the HV at the time as I was worried and she said "food is fun until they are one" and that most of their nutrients should come from milk until then.

I would keep offering purée but offer finger food as well (soft cooked vegetables are good to start with), as they get older can move to breadsticks, toast, rusks etc. Scrambled egg or omelette became a firm favourite, I used to grate broccoli in to sneak in some vegetables.

Mine would never be spoon fed, so they didn't eat much at all until they fed themselves.

We found when they started nursery this really helped as well as they copy other people.

Honestly, don’t worry. My DS was exactly the same - refused to eat anything and then at 8/9 months suddenly started eating loads.

The thing my DS liked most was fruit. Try just putting a chunk of melon or half a strawberry in front of him and let him push it around for a bit and hopefully he’ll have a little chew on it.

Don’t get to worried about how much of it he actually eats, just try to keep it fun and stress free for him.

Following as I'm in the same situation. DD 9m is just not interested in solid food/puré at home, she'll only have breast, or bottle at a real push. She does have some puré at nursery. I'm worried she's not being able to experiment with tastes and textures and it's going to be too late for her to pick up good habits. All the other babies I know her age will happily munch on a banana or a chunk of bread.

Sorry that's not helpful OP. Hopefully someone will come along with a miracle solution...

@tiredmummy198

There is no wrong way! 😊

I felt just the same when I was in the thick of it but they all get there eventually. I rang the HV at the time as I was worried and she said "food is fun until they are one" and that most of their nutrients should come from milk until then.

I would keep offering purée but offer finger food as well (soft cooked vegetables are good to start with), as they get older can move to breadsticks, toast, rusks etc. Scrambled egg or omelette became a firm favourite, I used to grate broccoli in to sneak in some vegetables.

Mine would never be spoon fed, so they didn't eat much at all until they fed themselves.

We found when they started nursery this really helped as well as they copy other people.

Definitely not every baby is different, but I see my sisters baby a lot and he's always eating chunks of food off the table and he's only a couple weeks older I'm just like how lol okay I'll keep offering the purée and finger foods and be persistent, i was actually going to ring the hv today but even through his bottle aversion she told me just keep being persistent! I do try and eat with him and mimic things been doing that for a while, I've got a massive anxiety about all of this it's really depressing me actually; I just hope I'm doing the right things and not doing anything wrong that will effect him growing up :(

@JemimaTiggywinkle

Honestly, don’t worry. My DS was exactly the same - refused to eat anything and then at 8/9 months suddenly started eating loads.

The thing my DS liked most was fruit. Try just putting a chunk of melon or half a strawberry in front of him and let him push it around for a bit and hopefully he’ll have a little chew on it.

Don’t get to worried about how much of it he actually eats, just try to keep it fun and stress free for him.

He absolutely loves fruit pouches lol even though I tried the veg before fruit it normally ends up in him having a fruit. I'll give it a go see what happens. I do have a massive anxiety about choking as he choked on a tiny lump before :( but my partner does a lot of weaning himself so I know it's not my anxiety getting in the way if that makes any sense

I know it’s scary, my DS did a lot of gagging when he first started, but unfortunately practice is the only way they’ll learn to control their chewing and swallowing.

At least if he’s holding something like a strawberry he knows what he’s putting in his mouth and is expecting it, whereas with a lumpy purée or something on a spoon the lumps can be a bit of a surprise so can be harder for them to swallow. That’s what I found with my DS anyway.

Just make sure you can get him out of the high chair quickly if you need to, if he does start choking.

It’s so frustrating isn’t it! My son had an oral aversion and we worked with a speech therapist. I would offer both and try and make mealtimes as relaxed/pressure free as you can - the worst thing you can do is force so if he only wants to eat puréed fruit you should let him but if you don’t offer the more textured things you’ll never know if he’ll accept them. Maybe try a fruit purée in a smooth and slightly textured form plus a piece of the actual fruit snd just let him choose? If you’re really worried speak to your HV and see whether a refer to SLT is possible.

Yes our speech therapist also said “food is fun until they are one”. The ones you see eating are not actually consuming a great deal of food, they’re mostly just making a mess!

Ice cream with peas in it. Just a little ice cream.