7.5 Month Old Reluctant to Eat

For the first year of life, babies get their nutrition through breast or formula. Don't push the food if she's not ready or eager...it's all about experimenting at this stage..let her feed herself, use her fingers, etc. It will get messy but it's SO short lived...

Please read this link from Dr Sears' website: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032000.asp
Your baby does not need solids to grow at this point. Breastmilk/formula is all she needs to grow until approx 12 months of age.

DS (7.75 months) ate more than a fraction of a teaspoon for the first time yesterday. DD wasn't interested in food until 13 months, and then preferred food from our plates. I've read it's very normal for babies to not be that interested in solid food when we think they are "supposed" to be. As long as your daughter is healthy, follow her lead.

My son was completely uninterested in solids till he was 10 months old! I continued to breastfeed him till then & didn't insist on table food, though we offered it from time to time. Now he's 6'6", 26 years old & brilliant as well as tenderhearted.

I'm pretty sure your little girl will get interested in "big people" food by the time she really needs it. Just enjoy these extra weeks/months of closeness to her.

did you ever get a feeding therapist to help with yoru daughters feeding issues? it is usually medically why she is not eating due to food allergies or intolerances. I am sorryt this is late but I hope you found answers and she is ok. my kids all had this and have EE and ED.
J.

I can't tell from your note whether or not you are in the beginning stages of introducing solids, or if she has been on solids for a couple months and is now refusing.

Either way, I would put the solids away for a couple days (or a week if you are in the introduction stage). If she has been on solids (baby food) for a couple months, she may be ready to try a greater selection of finger foods, such as bananas, other soft fruits, or even mashed potatoes (messy!!) Or, she also may be wanting to try some self-sufficiency...so I would suggest giving her a separate spoon to hold and play with during the feedings. If she wants to take a swipe at getting the spoon in the jar, so be it!

The previous poster was 100% correct: your baby does NOT need the nutrition from these baby and starter foods. This is simply an exercise to teach her how to eat, so that when she turns one (or so) she will be able to begin getting her nutrition via real food. All of her nutrition comes from her breastmilk/formula. So if your daughter isn't eating well, there is NO IMPACT on her health. If at all possible, try not to become too stressed over it. (Easier said than done, right!) Good luck!!

my son was never a huge baby food eater...he hated the stuff...he would eat sweet potatoes but not much else...also, he has never eaten huge meals...always been a snacker...which if it's healthy foods, i don't have the slightest problem with...He just eats in little bits all day which works well for him...at any rate...everyone else is right, these foods are still just practice, so don't stress about it...you'll just both get stressed out...offer the foods often and if she doesn't take them, she doesn't...our son's eating improved once he was able to eat more solid foods...and his height and weight were always fine so as long as your daughter is growing and thriving, don't worry...and good luck!

Oh that's so frustrating! It's hard when we're ready to move forward into milestones and our kids are dragging their feet. (My 6 year old JUST learned to pump himself on a swing and refuses to ride a bike!)

Now is an excellent time to start learning basic sign language and I suggest you begin with eat. If you put your hands to your mouth and ask "eat?" at the same time, eventually you'll see some recognition from your daughter that she understands and can say yes or no. (By say of course I mean non verbal communication.) If the interaction can be more engaging for her on another level like communication that might stimulate her interest. And add in other signs for things she has a positive relationship with like nursing or bottle, nap time, bath, etc.

Also I have one kid who wants to eat as soon as she gets up and another kid who can't stand the sight of food for at least 2-3 hours after rising. Take the pressure off. Hungry kids eat. As long as she's well hydrated with breast milk or formula go at her turtle's pace.

Good luck!

My son was the same way. He just turned 13 months and is finally starting to try new things. He was just not interested in the cereals or baby food. He ended up going straight to finger foods- and seemed to be more interested in feeding himself then us feeding him. I always made sure that he was hungry at meal times but not so hungry that he was terribly fussy. I would keep trying and remember that she is getting all she needs from breastmilk/formula.

I would not push the issue too far just yet.
Do not wait until she is starving and crying.
However, everyday offer her just a taste. Even if it's just wiping it onto her lips. Or if she takes a pacifier dip it in the food. She will eventually get used to the different tastes and start to eat them. Mixing the fruit or veggies in with the cereal will mute the strong tastes. Sometimes that helps. Do not worry about how much she is eating by spoon just that you are introducing it every day.
I would not use Tylenol.
At your next doctors visit if you are still concerned ask the doctors if they are worried about her growth. But all her nutrition comes from her bottles still.
Good Luck!

I would think eating when teething would be comforting. Most children want to gnaw on things when they are teething. Have you tried the teething bisquits? They are a mess but most kids like them.

Me personally I approach eating issues like my mother did. Here is what I've prepared and that is all you will get. At that age the doctors said kids will eat when they are hungry. My mom put it on the table and we either ate or didn't....but she didn't prepare different things for each of us and we didn't eat snacks between meals. If we came to her after a meal and said we were hungry, then she pulled out the leftovers and that's what we got.

I try to have something in each meal that I know each of my girls really likes and then they must try one bite of everything on their plate regardless if they have tried it 100 times before. One bite. I put very small amounts on their plates because they are small at 5 and 3 years of age. They clean their plate they can have something else like a popsicle, apple, small sundae with fresh fruit for dessert. If they leave anything, then they are done for that meal.

They get snacks like pretzels, fruit, yogurt, animal crackers if they at a decent amount at the last meal. No more than two snacks a day. I want them eating meals not just snacks...unless they want a piece of fruit and then they can have as much of that as they like.

My girls still don't eat much meat. They eat small amounts of chicken, pork, or fish...but little beef. They just aren't big meat eaters. I make sure they get plenty of cheese, eggs, nuts, and so forth to make up for the lack of meat.

If you she doesn't want it, don't force it. Put it on her plate insist she eat one bite and then make sure there are other things on her plate. Don't do snacks that aren't healthy. No chips or silly stuff like that. If she doesn't have many teeth she might not feel comfortable eating solids.

YOur daughter is perfectly fine. She just may not be ready for solids yet. My son is the same age and just this week is takinga few bites of things. I don't give him babyfood, I give him whatever we are eating and just mush it and put it on his tray that way he gets to play with it too which also keeps him busy. The formula and/or breastmilk that she gets is more important at this young of an age. Tylenol is not a solution! I can't believe they would even recommend this. I would complain to your doctor about that. The recommended age is 6 months and that is only if your baby is interested and ready. Anytime up to a year is fine for starting solids. My son is a happy very chubby healthy BF baby who hardly eats any food. Enjoy it now, it gets harder once you have to cook for them!

Try different temperatures with the food. We found our daughter less receptive to cold cereal but okay with warm in the beginning. Same with the meats (yuk, yuk yuk!!). She's fine with it all now, but it was rough for a while.

Good luck! Maybe she wants to try feeding herself too...maybe get her involved. :-) We make meal time fun...lots of praise for good "big girl bites" and clapping....she's great at clapping for herself and it's funny. Just makes the whole thing more of a possitive environment.

Hi,

My daughter also wouldn't eat solids for a while... She used to love oatmeal from about 6 mos., but then refused it. Have you tried vegetables or fruit? We have had more success now that we've tried pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, etc. Also, I've read that feeding solids on an empty stomach is NOT a good idea, especially when you're first starting out. I always make sure to breastfeed my daughter before giving her solid foods. Another thing I've found helpful is to give my daughter a spoon to play with. If she grabs the spoon I'm using, I let her and take hers. Now she likes to drop spoons, so I have about 9 on hand every time I feed her. :-)

Anyway, we went through something similar about a month ago, when my daughter was 7 mos., but now at 8 mos., she seems to really enjoy eating fruits and vegetables (still no oatmeal). My mother told me that when I was a baby, the only food I'd eat from a spoon was pears. I've read that around 8-9 mos., you can introduce finger foods like Cheerios, and you might have more success with that, as well.

I've also read that variety, not quantity is important. So I would suggest you just keep trying. Good luck!

She's SOOO little yet - and I'm with the moms who said she is getting what she needs from breastmilk. Plus all kids will eat when they're hungry & if she doesn't want it I wouldn't sweat it too much. If we make eating too much of an issue, our children can end up with eating disorders, etc. so no reason to push.

For my kids I always use the "30" test - will they be doing this when they're 30? She'll eat solids when she's ready. I'd keep offering it, don't stop offering but if she doesn't want it then put it aside for that time & try again the next meal & don't stress.

Hope this is helpful, good luck!

Hi K.,
I am having the same issue with one of my 8 month old twins! My daughter will eat virtually anything you put in front of her, my son is so sporadic and sounds a lot like your daughter. I make their baby food from scratch, so I know what they're offered is good for them, I make things I know he's enjoyed before, but it's always hit or miss, usually miss. He does love his bottle, though.

I expressed all of this to my doctor and she reminded me that babies don't actually need solid foods until they're a year old, and that as long as they're consuming around 25-30oz. of formula or breast milk, they're getting everything they need - eating solids at this point is just for practice so when they're around a year old and need supplemental food, they'll know what to do. This relieved me tremendously, and I also decided to move back from 3 meals/day to 2 meals/day (after their morning nap and dinnertime) which also seems to be helping.

I wonder if your daughter is just more interested in bottle/nursing right now and I'm wondering if maybe you're trying to feed her too often? Maybe re-start with just one solid meal a day, then when she's regularly eating that, increase to two, etc.

Lastly, I started to give my babies "snacks" which are homemade baked bread sticks (simply whole wheat bread cut into strips and baked for one hour at 200 degrees - great for teething and cheap!), tiny pieces of cantaloupe, Cheerios, tiny pieces of banana. I give these only if they don't eat their pureed baby food, I figure this is better than fish crackers or puffs and they're also learning hand-to-mouth coordination.

Sorry for such a long response, but I totally understand where you're coming from and how frustrating it can be. Just keep in mind the rule of thumb that as long as she's consuming enough formula/milk, she's healthy and fine and will eventually be eating solids with vigor! Best Wishes!