Went from eating to rufusing

[SUZSORTED]

So are weaning journey started out well. She would eat between 6-15 spoons of fruit puree, single veg puree, veg + egg, fruit and penut butter, veg and wheat cereal. We moved to forked mashed and sometimes potato and a single veg mashed. She countuined well. I started to offer small breakfast baby porridge, fruit and Yoghurt and today offered just mashed apple.
She is 8 months old.

She has now decided she doesn't want food. She presses her lips and fusses. She had 1/2 a spoon today and last few days has had 1 spoon. She isn't teething and is herself in every way.
It's a lot cooking for her and my family and I feel like I don't know what to do because she clearly doesn't want to eat. should I coutinue offering 2 small meals? I don't want her to feel pressure. I'm trying to ignore the guidence told by my health vistor about her needing 3 meals and textured foods by 9 months but do feel pressured because they told me she needs iron and protien from lentils, beans, egg and meat by 9 months.
Please advise...

Instead of mashes and purees could you see how she does with finger foods? Maybe a change will make it interesting again. But otherwise keep offering and she might change her mind again in another couple of weeks! But how many meals they have and when is super baby dependent. It was only at 9.5 months mine started needing three meals a day.

Is your baby breast or formula fed? If formula, I wouldn’t worry about iron because it’s fortified. If breastfed then a multivitamin with iron might be a good idea. We use the Well Baby Drops (not liquid because a 1ml syringe is easier than trying to get 5ml in) and my baby’s iron levels are normal.

I tried finger foods but she isn't interested at all. I always give her some vegetable sticks to hold, I've tried pre loading the spoon as well which she did a few times put it in her mouth. I've tried giving her a spoon just to hold and play with as well.

she is on Kendamil step 2 and has multi vitimen and iron drops daily in her first bottle because she always finishes that one.

Don’t stress. She is still a tiny baby and gets all her nutrition from milk. Just give her food to play with and practice with. Food is not important for her for nutrition so take the pressure off yourself

Finger foods and just take the pressure off. Give her pieces of brocolli etc and just let her mess about and see what she does. Eat at the same time as her as well

Don't worry too much. At this stage she is still getting most of what she needs from milk. Perhaps just sit her at the table when you eat, give her a small plate of what ever you are having and leave her to it whilst you eat. She can explore the food, eat if she wants. (Look into baby led weaning if you haven't already)

If in a few months nothing has changed maybe look at getting some professional advice

That’s not quite true. They do need to eat for nutrition after 6 months. However, don’t worry op, this is a really common thing. Try tastier stuff like toast and butter or spaghetti and cheese etc Cold hard veg sticks probably aren’t that appetising, especially if she has no teeth to bite them!

I would like to sit her at a table but we don't have one! we are in a 1 bed flat so I chose to use the room we gave for a High chair and feed her while I have to sit on our sofa. the kitchen is a box kitchen. I do sit next to her while I eat to show her how I eat. that's best I can do in my situation

I really wouldn’t worry, totally normal.
dont make anything specific for her. Offer her bits of whatever you are eating, no pressure. Your HV advice is not appropriate. Food is only for learning and tasting at that age, they don’t beed 3 meals. Even my 16 month old doesn’t eat 3 meals every day.

Just keep offering her food and if you can eat some of the same food at the same time that often helps. They will do phases where they are more into food and less into it. Also make sure not to feed just after a bottle but to make sure you are trying for after a gap of couple of hours so she is hungry.

To be honest that sounds like teething. Sounds like you are doing great.

I've read that it could be a leap week. She just started rolling onto her tummy countiues yesterday, she hasn't figured out how to roll from tummy to back so she keeps getting stuck 🤣😶 yesterday was constant. I'm going to try just 1 food offer a day for a week to see if she is happier. She managed 8 small spoons of leek and egg yesterday and today has Brocoli and wheat. She doesn't take sweet things and seems to prefer neutural or bitter veg.
Any suggestions on the wheat because the cereal tastes so sweet. I've got nestle cerlic. She isn't ready for toast yet.

At eight months she can be eating a wider variety of foods than purees. Try her with modified meals such as lentil Dahl, a blitzed up chill, or pastas. You can serve these with grains such as quinoa, rice or cous cous. My 8 month old eats these from a bowl by grabbing handfuls, and we try and get a spoonful in too. Loaded toast, roasted veg and houmous, etc. I also make veg fritters and falafel, all of which are handheld. From 6 months old iron stores drop so you need to provide for her via diet.