I've been trying to feed my little guy baby food for over a month now. I am breastfeeding him, which he's doing great at, but we started baby food at 6 months old, and I still can't get him to willfully open his mouth even a little bit for a taste! I've managed to get little bits of a bite in his mouth for him to taste, thinking that once he tasted it, he'd understand and like it and go for more. But now we've gone through 3 cereal flavors, all the veggies, and applesauce and he still just clamps down his mouth and tries to avoid the spoon. I have stopped trying for several days now, hoping a break might help. I know he needs to start eating regular food soon. Oh, and I've even bought the Gerber puffs and broke off little pieces to put in his mouth. They dissolve, and he doesn't seem to hate them, but he doesn't look for more either. And he can't quite grasp them himself and get them to his mouth yet. Anyone else's baby dislike baby food? What did you do to get him to eat!?!?! Thanks!!
Thanks for all your advice and experience. I'm glad that some others disliked baby food as well. Last night I boiled some potatoes, large enough chunks for him to hold, and he liked it! He also ate some pieces of homemade bread. Wow! I was amazed! He likes stuff he can hold and eat himself. Unfortunately due to his soy and milk allergies, he can't eat any of the Gerber teether bisquits or wagon wheels (only the sweet potato puffs don't have milk or soy ingredients), but I think I'll keep trying cooked veggies or fruits and the homemade bread and such. He takes a multivitamin, so that helps his iron intake. Thanks for your advice!
I made homemade baby food. I am NOT domestic at all, but I work and thought that this would make me feel better...not as guilty. LOL.
So one day I tried to feed him gerber baby food and he REFUSED to eat it. It tasted so much worse. so I had a small food processer and processed steamed veggies and fruits and he loved them. maybe try that and see if it helps.
Good luck!
I would stop or use table food ground up in small quantities. Not heavily spiced or anything. my third son would not eat baby food to save my soul. if it didn't come from my plate to the babyfood grinder he knew and would spit it out. he isn't warped or anything. he liked ranch style beans the best. his first table food was hamburger helper lasagna. etc. trust me by number 3 you know plenty of tricks but no go.
If I were you, I would wait until he can grasp them and start out by him doing things he is interested in. Like sitting in the high chair with some teether bisquits and letting him put them in his mouth to figure out how to get stuff into it and letting him think he chooses to do it. that might help. he may just not be ready. or he may truly not like the taste. the baby food is pretty bland. i don't like it. and it tastes nothing like what i eat. so by number 3, i gave in and did all the things the experts tell you not to do. But then i think, what did they used to do on the prarie before we had baby food (or even earlier in the cave-man days)? they ate what their parents ate and it was mashed, cut or pre-chewed. so it shouldn't hurt him to bad, let's give it a try. and it worked!!!
good luck to you,
L.
I have no problem with my baby eating, but in addition to baby food, I also give her organic wheat teething biscuits, biter biscuits, graham crackers, raisins, and gerber graduates wagon wheels. She has 6 teeth, so she can chew. I don't know if your baby has teeth yet, but you might try something large like I listed that he can hold and taste for himself.
He just may not be ready yet. That's ok. Mine didn't start to show interest until about 7 or 8 months and he's a good eater. The great thing about nursing is that they're exposed to a variety of flavors before they hit solids. Mine just hated the boxed cereals. I ended up making his at home instead.
He just may be one of those guys who skips baby food in favor of real food. He's still got plenty of time so don't panic. Food the first year is just an experiment. He should be getting the bulk of his nutrition from you.
My daughter was 9 months old before she let any food touch her lips. It was Thanksgiving Day and it was like a light switch turned on. She consumed the mashed potatoes. Give it time, your daughter will eat when she is ready. Just keep trying different foods. My daughter never did take a liking to baby food. I guess she has her dad's taste buds (he is a chef) :)
Have you tasted that stuff??? I know salt is a dirty word but my daughter-in-law, after tasting the veggie, added a dash of salt in desperation and that was all it took. Not even enough salt to taste salty, just to enhance the flavor.
If all else fails, my mother had a wonderful saying. "Don't worry, he will eat by the time he starts to college." or be potty trained---or be weaned--- you can fill in the blanks. In other words don't stress Mommy out.
God bless!
He might not like the texture or the flavor. You might try mixing a little bit of breast milk with whatever you are serving off the table. You would puree that together. He might like that better.
My daughter hated baby food, but she loved table food.
If you are mixing it with water, this could make it too bland. Put a little breast milk into a tiny bowl and add only a small amount of the cereal (it should be runny until baby gets used to eating out of a spoon). Use immediately because something in the breast milk makes it start to get watery.
Be sure he is hungry but not so hungry that he gets impatient. Allow him to smell the familiar smell of "you" in the milk before offering it to him on the spoon (the sight of the spoon may even bring back the memory of previous feedings so hide it at first). You may even want to see if he grabs for it. Maybe even us a clean hand with small amount on your finger and allow him to suck it off.
Sometimes babies feel that mom is only supposed to nurse. If your husband is willing, see if your little guy will eat for him instead until he gets used to eating and then you can try again. Be sure you are not too close; sometimes babies can even smell mom and think "nurse". (My son could smell milk from across the room and want to nurse.)
At 7 months, a baby's taste buds are developing. Maybe you should skip the cereal. (Have you tasted it? It's awful!) Veggies are a great start (not too sweet like fruit; not too bland like cereal). If veggies work, you can add the cereal later as a thickener to veggies and/or fruits.
I hope this helps.
P. <><
