8 months refuses to eat

[OwlBeat]

Hi,

I'm a first time mum to an 8 month old boy.

When he was 6 months, I started purée pouches smooth and more textured ones and he did really well for several weeks. Then he started refusing and would cry uncontrollably.

I read online that he was probably teething and to stick with his formula and smooth purée, so it wouldn't upset his gums and if he cries then to end the meal.. I tried this and tried introducing more textured ones as time went on, but he would keep his mouth shut and cry.

I tried mashed fruit, mixed his formula with the food, but he refuses. The only thing he would accept is super smooth purée.

He now refuses to eat any type of food and only wants formula.

I spoke to my Health Visitor and she said it was normal and as long as he's gaining weight then it's not a problem

I have tried offering things from my plate, but he refuses. I have tried nibbling on his food, so he gets the idea on what I am asking for. I praise him and comment about how delicious it is, so he sees it as a positive thing.

I have tried giving him the spoon to feed himself in case that was the issue, but he would rather play with the spoon. I put food on his tray and let him explore the texture. He'll play with the food, but refuses to even try the food.

I have tried so.may things, but nothing seems to work. I try to keep it to the same time each day.

Some people have said he'll get there when he's ready, but I'm feeling quite depressed about it. Especially when I see babies younger than him eating food and he seems to be falling behind.

Any advise on what to do? Whenever I bring it up to my Health Visitor, she just repeats the same thing about how it's fine as long as he's gaining weight.

8 months is really really early in the weaning process. It's frustrating and hard not to worry, but you do just need to keep offering. He will eat!

Please don’t be upset by seeing younger babies eating well. I can guarantee that by the time he starts school nobody will be able to tell that he’s taking ot a bit slower or care.

I had one who only wanted smooth purées until they turned one but they had Tongue Tie. Do any of these symptoms sound familiar?

How is he on finger foods? What would he do if you say made some pancakes or omelettes, served both of you and you sat down and ate and blithely ignored what he was up to?

And how does he eat for other people?

And what does his milk intake look like and how many times are you offering solids? Is there a chance that he's just not hungry?

@SleafordSods

I'm trying not to, but it's difficult. I don't think if embarrass is the right word for it, but whenever I see someone's baby who is younger doing so well with eating and then there's my son, I get this feeling like why can't/won't he do it?

He was checked for tongue tie as a newborn and he came back cleared. My Health Visitor had checked his mouth before and couldn't see anything.

He'll play with finger food, but won't attempt to put anything near his mouth. If I try, he'll close his mouth and eventually will throw his head back and cry.

I have made things like that and not paid attention to him to see what he'll do and he'll either throw it straight off the tray or play with it for a bit before throwing it off the tray.

He does the same thing with other people feeding him.

At first it was just at lunchtime, but my Health Visitor suggested trying at breakfast.

He shows signs of being hungry.

I wouldn't be too worried about the textures at this early stage.

However, I would be more focused on the nutrition and wanting to get some veg and maybe fish, lentils, meat or chicken or similar for iron, and obviously fruit is good for vitamins. I wouldn't want too many months to pass without those sorts of nutrients.

But let him have it however works best for him.

Have you tried letting him suck puree from pouches? Sometimes they prefer that, as it is a sucking action which they find soothing. You can buy these and fill your own.

I'd just make sure everything is pureed very smooth for now.

Don't get into the baby development competitions. It means nothing whatsoever who first eats a carrot stick, rolls over or produces a loud fart. All the quick developers in our NCT class had fallen behind in almost every way by the time they all started school - and that will change again as well. Too much emphasis is put on early advances, and they are all things that practically everyone learns to do eventually. Sometimes those who are quick with those very basic things are actually less quick with academic things. We all have our moments to shine!

If he’s been checked twice for TT, I would still read the link I posted. Too many MNers have been told that their LOs definitely don’t have TT, only to discover later that they do.

It’s also perfectly fine that he doesn’t each much at this age. Just keep offering and don’t encourage him to eat or pass comment. He’ll get there eventually.

At this age you only really need to offer food twice a day so you could try him with breakfast and lunch and think about introducing dinner when he’s nearer to 9 months.

Between 6 and and 10 months he needs 600ml of formula and this drops down to 450 ml by 10 months so maybe start to think about when you want to drop a bottle as this might increase his appetite. You could maybe try swapping the first bottle for breakfast with a cup of formula?

@Calliopespa I have let him suck on them and bought some from Amazon, but he refuses. Then he gets upset.

At the moment, he's refuses anything including purée and only wants formula

My now 16 DS used to be like this. He refused all food until 9 months old. When hewas 9 months old he had to go to intensive care for 4 days for an unrelated issue. After that stay he started to eat.
At 16 now he has low mood and is under camhs. Thinking about him, howhe was when hewas little, his experience, my relationship to him, i do feel that his refusal to eat was a symptom of some already present emotional difficulties. We had lots of difficulties with potty training too.
i would advise you to speak to a child and adolescent psychotherapist (ACP registered) now. You might think this is too much, but better overshoot than struggle for years like we did and are still doing…

DS was very much like this as a baby, to be honest I did baby led weaning with both mine and while my older DD was quite happily eating at 7 months DS didn't really actually eat much until 12 months. He would play with his food a lot but most of it went on the floor.

I would stop trying to force him to put food in his mouth if it's making him cry. Eat together so he can see you eating and try not to worry about it to much. DS is a perfectly normal 15 year old now, no one would know that he was a late eater.

Provide a variety of finger food and spoon food every meal and let him have free rein to explore in his own time. Let him just play with food and don't put pressure on. Just eat your own food with him and make it obvious you enjoy it.

You're possibly trying too hard and changing tactics often, which causes stress and confusion.

Have a chat with the GP if you have any concerns about weight or health.

Have you tried letting him suck puree from pouches? Don't do this, it's not good for a whole host of reasons related to mouth muscles, speech, plus the puree is of limited nutritional value.

And he’s definitely not teething?

I am in a very similar situation OwlBeat. My 8 mo has started refusing food and just wants milk, having previously made good progress with eating. In our case it has coincided with a period of sleep regression so I can only assume it’s related to teething discomfort. I am also stumped on how to deal with it