blw help! dd loves plastic hates food ...

[snowgum]

My dd is 8 and a 1/2 months and I've been doing blw since 6 months.
However .... she has hardly progressed in this time. She eats practically nothing and doesn't seem to enjoy it at all. This morning she actually cried when she put her hand onto the half a boiled egg I had put there. It didn't go anywhere near her mouth (and neither did the banana or the bread).

(before and after breakfast she's been playing happily with her toys and laughing so I think it's the food)

I am feeling so down about it because I had thought blw would be so much fun and she would enjoy it. What can I do?

Don't be down, snowgum!

My DD is just 8mo, and although she does enjoy 'eating' (i.e. she puts everything in her mouth with relish) she too doesn't actually swallow that much. I think it just takes time for them to learn to eat: it's a difficult skill, I think! Because we're not doing purees, it takes longer because they have to figure out how to chew up the food and move it to the backs of their mouths, and swallow. Tough stuff for some, I guess!

Is your DD still a milk-monster? Mine is.

Think of it this way: there's no guarantee she would've been happier on purees or mashed food either. At least this way, she decides what to do. You're doing the right thing, letting her go along at her own pace.

Do you eat with her? Sometimes my DD "copies" me - maybe you could try that?

Thanks for encouragement. Yes she's still a milk monster and very chubby. Maybe there's no room in her stomach for anything else?

I do eat with her and we eat (smear) mostly the same food (she doesn't get the cake and chocolate ....)

It's good to know that she's not the only 8mo who's not that interested then, I keep reading mumsnet tales about babies happily stuffing the food in and I have a friend whose baby was chowing down whole bananas and sandwiches at this age.

My DD is 11 months and has only really got into food recently - and she still doesn't eat loads. I repeat the MN mantra 'Food til 1 is just for fun" whenever I get stressed!

I could have written your OP at 8.5 MO, as I did BLW since 6 MO. DS didn't really get into food until 9-10 months - now at 13 months he eats more than most toddlers, and a huge range of tastes. One day the penny dropped that when you are hungry, if you eat solids, you are not hungry anymore! Just persevere and keep offering stuff. It's important that you eat the same food and look like you're enjoying it with omnomnom noises!

It does feel like I'm omnomnoming into a void. But I will persevere. I'm glad dd's not the only baby who hasn't taken to blw like a duck to water.
Any more stories of struggling blwers welcome.