8 month old will barely eat any solids

[ERH22]

My little one is 8 months old and will barely eat any form of solid food.

She eats some purée but at most it will be half an Ella's kitchen pouch (and that's rare), usually she would only eat a few baby spoons (whether it's pouch/jar/something I've made blended up) then she will refuse and start crying and turning away from it..

I have also tried finger food but she's mainly had no interest in it except to throw it or shake like a rattle! We had one attempt at putting a cooked carrot stick in her mouth but she nibbled a little bit off, gagged and started crying and yelling and is yet to put anything like that near her mouth again!

She's on 2 meals a day but eats minimal in those meals (only ate 2 baby spoons of porridge today and about 6g of baby pasta in a tomato sauce today) and I feel like she should be on more food by now but she just doesn't want to eat hardly anything!

Any tips/advice?

Thank you all

How much milk is she having, and are you offering milk or food first?

If she is full of milk she is unlikely to be interested in food.

Hi OP, food at this age is about fun and exploring textures as baby will be getting nearly all of their nutrition through their milk. I would just let her explore and definitely don’t force or stress as it could create aversions.

We did finger foods as DS wasn’t interested in puree. Most of it ended up on the floor until DS was about 10months, he is a toddler now and eats 3 normal meals a day and snacks.

She has around 25oz a day sometimes a bit more sometimes a bit less!

I try to do a bottle and then offer solids around an hour to an hour and a half later - is that too close/far away do you think?

Oh really? I had thought they were supposed to be on 3 meals a day at 9 months!
I guess I'm maybe pushing too hard for her at this age then ..

Try offering the solids before the bottle but don't worry too much as long as she's is having a little bit.

You could definitely drop some milk, they need around 20oz at that age.

I'd probably do milk on waking, breakfast, lunch, milk mid afternoon, tea, milk before bed at that age.
Or you could have smaller bottles or cups of milk mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Some children take longer to get interested in food. The important thing is to keep offering a range of things, perhaps something you’re having anyway, or a version of it, so you don’t get dispirited making special things that get rejected. But I have friends whose children were 1 or so before they were having what you’d think of as a solid three meals a day.

@ERH22 - I was told 12 months, DS was comfortably eating three meals by then. I found Joe Wick’s Wean in 15 book really helpful. I cringed when I was given it as I was not a fan of his but it was incredibly useful for weaning as it goes month by month.

I second those who say not to worry - DS was really slow to take to weaning - he was 9 or 10 months before he really ate anything substantial, but is now 13 months and eats plenty. It'll happen at some point, she's not going to be 18 and still shaking carrot sticks like a rattle!

The guideline is "food is fun until they're one"

They don't need solid food yet, they do need exposure to it and the chance to explore and play with it and get used to textures and eventually tastes.

What you describe is totally normal and completely fine, relax! Weaning isn't linear, they don't start and 0% solid food and work up to 100% solid food over six months, they try a bit, spit it out, spend a few weeks playing with it, figure out chewing, figure out swallowing, figure out that they can spit it out/throw it across the room/ put it on their head.
Eventually they all get there, but progress goes forward and backward, up and down, and until she's 1 that's totally and utterly fine.

You have aaaages of exploring yet! Enjoy watching her discover in her own way, and make the most of the last few months where you don't absolutely have to pack a solid supply of her meals and snacks wherever you go

Thank you everyone for your help! I will try some suggestions and also try to worry less😂🙈

My 8 month old likes to squish more food in his hands than he eats. Like others have said though, before they're 1, it's all just fun.

Try not to worry. My LO was the same until he turned 1, then he suddenly started eating a lot!

As long as you are offering it that's all you can do.

Hey, follow Solid Starts on Instagram and check out the highlights. The lady often comes on stories and talks about fussy eaters. They're American but I've found it really helpful with weaning my son. They also show you how food should be cooked/cut for different ages to avoid choking x