My Daughter Won't Eat Solids

Updated on June 18, 2009
J.B. asks from Seattle, WA
17 answers

My daughter is almost 9 months and she still refuses solids. I have been offering her food every day since she was almost six months old. I have tried all kinds of different purees and even finger foods. I have tried all differnt times of day and tried waiting until she was hungry/full/a little hungry. I have tried letting her have the spoon, giving her her own spoon, and letting her play in the food (with the hope that some will go in!) Last night I gave her a noodle from my plate and she tasted it and then gagged multiple times until she threw up some clear liquid. The noodle was still in her hand when she did this! She will gag on anything food-like that I put in her mouth, and lately she seals her mouth shut and looks away when the spoon starts moving towards her. She has never really been interested in anything. She is breastfed and only wants to nurse. I'm not sure how much she weighs, but I bet she's over 20 lbs now and needs a lot of milk. I love nursing, but I would like to be able to give her a snack if I'm out in public and I want her to be a part of our family meals. I am nervous because she never took a bottle and we tried for months and months with no success, so I know she has a very persistant personality. I am tired of making homemade organic food and throwing it out! She is chubby, so I know she is not wasting away, but that is only beacuse she cries if I don't nurse her every couple of hours (which I can do, luckily because I'm a SAHM) Any advice would be great!

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W.C.

answers from Seattle on

Put the food, peas, cheerios, etc... on the table before you give him the breast or bottle and walk away. Come back in 5 minutes and see what has happened.

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D.L.

answers from Portland on

Hi J.,

I don't know that I necessarily have advice, but I had a similar experience with my baby, who is now almost a year old. I offered him food every couple of days until he was about 9.5 months old, and then something just clicked, and he started eating. I talked to our naturopath, and she said some babies just do that. She said some babies aren't super interested in food until about 12 months or so, and that's totally fine. That took a lot of pressure off me! I think the more you stress about it, the more your baby picks up on that stress, and that's not a positive eating experience for her. I know my son really loves these organic rice krispies I got for him. That was one of the first things he would eat, and he still absolutely loves them.

Good luck!
D.

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R.C.

answers from Portland on

I think most people (in our culture) don't realize that babies are perfectly healthy existing on nothing but breastmilk for their first year, as long as their weight is healthy. Nothing is more nutritious than breastmilk. In the first year, babies don't need variety and extra calories from solid food. Someday she'll be interested in food and she'll take the initiative. Here's a great site with lots of stuff on breastfeeding and early foods:
http://www.kellymom.com/index.html. Some kids aren't interested until later and it's fine. Relax and keep breastfeeding, you're doing the best thing for her!
Best wishes.

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T.C.

answers from Portland on

Dear J.,
I couldn't imagine going through what you are going through right now. But it sounds like everything is actually going better than it seems. The fact that you're able to produce enough milk to breastfeed and your baby still wants to breastfeed is awesome! It's cheap too. I spend a lot of money on baby food. I think it's okay to keep breastfeeding. Some kids breastfeed until the age of 6. I wouldn't want my girls to have gone that far. But your breastmilk is the healthiest thing you can give your child. I could understand you wanting to stop breastfeeding because breastfeeding a baby that is on it's way to becoming a year old can get tough to say the least. I don't have any tips other than mixing your breast milk with rice cereal. That's what I did when I started them on solid foods. It was their only meal for the first two weeks, with some breastfeeding in between. I hope this helps. Good luck!

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A.H.

answers from Portland on

This is my personal feeling on this matter..

I firmly believe that one of the reasons we end up with picky eaters is because we force some kids to eat solids before they're ready. Some babies really aren't ready to eat solids until 12+. When you start to force it too early, not only do you and baby get frustrated, but you can create a picky eater as well..

People believe that babies NEED to start eating solid foods at 6 months.. Your baby isn't ready for food.. So the only thing the baby will eat is really yummy junk food. This creates a pattern that establishes that your child will only eat 2-3 foods that taste really good (like cheetos or waffles)..

One of the reasons that I believe this is.. I went to China in 2003 and asked a local woman if she knew anyone that didn't like vegetables (because it's a staple in their diet). She couldn't think of a single child or adult that didn't like them.. Now think about how many people don't like veggies in the US?

I really don't think that you should worry about your baby not eating. My best friend just went through this situation all worried about her son. He refused to eat solid food (except junk, but she didn't offer him junk more than once/twice) until 14 months, then one day it just clicked on. Also, he didn't actually digest any of the solid food that he was given until recently, proving that he wasn't ready for it. Now he eats everything and he's very healthy. Just because a doctor or baby book says that something as to be done at x age, doesn't make it so. Every baby develops differently. Relax, feed your baby breastmilk/formula. She'll be fine. :)

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A.Z.

answers from Portland on

Many children just aren't ready for solid food yet. The best thing is to offer food to explore. Give her a variety of foods of different colors and textures. Let her touch, taste, explore them. Eventually she will mimic and start to chew and eat the foods. With my daughter, she simply didn't have much interest in eating food until she was around 11 months. I always offered her food off my plate to play and explore. She learned to feel and taste them, she would chew and suck on stuff and spit it out. Eventually, she figured out what she wanted to actually eat and started eating. I fed her off my plate until she was a little over two and started eating a lot. She is long, lean, healthy and loves to eat without being picky at all. I firmly believe in not pushing food or force feeding as this can create a negative relationship with foods and eating. Plus, biologically, every child is different and breastfed children especially have all of their nutritional needs being met, so their body isn't fighting for food to get those needs met. So they wait until they are physically ready to eat. Just because she doesn't actually eat, doesn't mean she can't participate in meals at home or a restaurant. Our daughter just played and explored while we ate our food. She learned by example and was quite content.

As far as the noodle and gagging, that's a tough one for lots of kids to get a handle on. Making sure they are cut up helps when first introducing noodles. Later on when they can manage to understand they aren't going to choke they will figure out how to eat long noodles. Until then I would always remind my daughter to chew her noodles.

Favorite starter foods are Cheerios (they are made from oats and not wheat so a safe cereal choice), whole large carrots, apples, etc. Items they can taste and chew without choking on them. And of course soft foods and purees, although messy when going out and require utensils. :)

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H.D.

answers from Portland on

I can only think of two things: first, talk to your pediatrician. It may be a sensory thing. Our son took a long time before he ate solids, and eats them regularly now. (he's 2yo). Some kids just love the boob, too. My guess is that, if you went out for the day and left dad in charge, aside from a couple bottles of milk, she *might* eat. I would also stick to only baby food...give yourself a break and try the Earth's Best or another OG babyfood...and see what happens. It may be the texture (my son still doesn't care for long noodles!) that's causing her to gag. I'd also try something sweet, like sweet potatoes or squash, to begin with. A lot of people recommend less-sweet foods, but the human palate identifies "sweet" as "okay"---bitter plants are often poisonous. Years of hunting and gathering have imprinted themselves onto our palates!

BTW--I made my own baby food at first, with a food mill, and had a lot of food spit out and a very upset baby. The packaged baby food does have a lot of water and is pureed to death. You'll have your child's whole life to make homemade food for them!:)

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A.D.

answers from Portland on

I think your biggest problem is a lack of consistency. Consistency and Schedule are extremely important in introducing feedings and naptimes to baby. Try the following, over and over and over again at the same time every day until she takes a shine to it.

Have you tried just plain baby cereal? Try banana-flavored rice cereal, or Cream of Wheat. Try it *over and over again* and let it be the ONLY thing you try until she DOES want it. Don't throw a lot of different things at her. She needs to take very small steps when it comes to eating solids. Baby cereal is usually a good way to start out for a while. It is tame, it isn't overwhelmingly tasty, you can MIX IT WITH BREASTMILK to make her take it, etc. Then when she takes a shine to it for a while, introduce her to pureed sweet potatoes, or pureed peas/carrots/broccoli, etc.

You can mix all of these with breastmilk (instead of water) in the beginning to coax her along until she's on top of solids.

She doesn't have to EAT with you guys to have meals with you (you could just sit her in her booster chair at the table and feed/nurse her later). She'll see you guys eating with utensils, she'll see you chewing, and soon she'll make chewing motions with her mouth. This is when you know she's ready. I knew my daughter was ready when she made these chewing motions and would pull herself up to me while I was eating. But I didn't even start feeding my daughter solids until she was 9 months, and didn't do it consistently for every meal until she was 12 months old.

But if she wants to nurse, than by all means, let her nurse whenever she wants! She's only 9 months. Don't rush the solids - they aren't a NECESSITY at this age. Breastmilk is the PERFECT and most inexpensive food for baby and all they really need until they want solids/grow their chompers.

For a snack while out, have you tried to pump your breastmilk and give it to her in a bottle? Otherwise you could try cheerios or goldfish if she can do finger foods.

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M.H.

answers from Seattle on

Wow, this sounds just like my daughter! At 9 months she wouldn't even take liquids from anything but the breast. We resorted to giving her water with a syringe at one point, because I needed to be away for a few extra hours during really hot weather!!

I asked my doctor about it, and she referred me to an occupational therapist at Children's hospital. The therapist evaluated my child for any physical abnormalities that made it hard for her to eat, and then watched her eat. (This was around 10 months - my daughter would play with food, but basically eat none.) The diagnosis was that my daughter was just more sensitive than normal to new textures and tastes, as well as more cautious than usual.

She recommended that we a) let her play with food as much as possible - just keep giving it to her, let her make a mess, and not to get uptight if she didn't eat. (Clearly, the nursing was sustaining her quite well.)
b) let her chew on things with texture, like a Nuk Brush. (http://www.beyondplay.com/ITEMS/T496.HTM)
c) try to get her to drink things from cups
d) be willing to feed her sweet things, and lots of finger foods. Our daughter took to yogurt, prunes, and milk.

Honestly, its been a long road. My daughter is still (at 22 months) really cautious about trying new things. However, she has started eating pretty well when faced with things that she knows and likes, and we just keep exposing her to more and more so she'll get used to the variety and eat that, too. We are also still reminding her to chew a lot, because she has been prone to gagging. Our hardest job has been to relax about it so that eating didn't become a power struggle between parents and kid - but constantly reminding ourselves of how healthy she was in general helped with that.

By around 12 months my daughter would drink things reliably, so she drank yogurt shakes, and probably by 14 months there was enough food that she ate to get some meals out of it. It was enough to show us progress, and take the edge off, so we could relax. I hope this happens for you, too.

She was not entirely weaned until 20 months, but i found that weaning her during the day (she nursed at night, and first thing in the morning for a long time), helped ensure that she would eat some of the food she was giving during the day. I had to take away feedings one at a time, let her start eating more, then move to the next one -- i don't think she would have started eating more and naturally want to skip the feedings on her own. Her total consumption also went up a lot after we completely weaned. (She at two packages of oatmeal for breakfast, and now i worry more about making sure she gets HEALTHY food, than how much.)

I think you can ask your doctor about some of your questions at your next appointment. Perhaps bring some food so she can see your daughter's reaction herself. It is not a horrible idea to get your daughter evaluated at least once just to make sure that there are no big problems to deal with. (And for your peace of mind.) Your doctor may suggest a further evaluation, like mine did, or prescribe some mutlivitamin with iron (iron is just about the only thing not in breast milk that your baby needs). Beyond that, so long as your daughter is acting healthy and active, and doesn't start losing weight, just keep on keeping on... things will get better!!

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M.L.

answers from Seattle on

Good for you for feeding her the perfect food! The only real reason to introduce solids is so that babies learn how to eat them. Since she's still growing and healthy, just keep offering a variety of foods to her so she has a chance to experience them. When she's ready, she'll choose something and start chowing!

It's probably a good idea to check with the pediatrician next time you see them just to make sure that there isn't something developmentally going on. Some kids area ready for solids earlier and some are ready later. Just like walking, talking, and everything else kids learn to do! :)

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A.R.

answers from Yakima on

My youngest would throw up ANY solid food that had any sort of texture (other than COMPLETELY smooth) until she was about 18 months old. It was very upsetting and frustrating....she would grab something off our plates in a restaurant and 2 seconds later, she'd be tossing her cookies all over us and the restaurant!! With our first child, I prided myself in making all her food myself, but with the 2nd, I just bought the gerber baby food, since it was completely pureed smooth (no matter how hard I tried, there was always a little bit of texture). I would still breastfeed and s-l-o-w-l-y introduce solid foods. Have her sit with you at the dinner table and still be a part of the dining experience, though, and maybe make it look like fun to eat 'real' food! I commiserate with you wanting to take a break from nursing every 2 hours, have you tried a sippy cup instead of a bottle? Our 2nd one refused a sippy cup for a long time, but it finally took and she loves her milk, juice, even water!
Good luck!!!!

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K.M.

answers from Seattle on

Hi...just wanted to let you know that my daughter was 18 months before she started eating much in the way of solid foods. She did eat some, but breastfed about 8 times a day (and night!) until she was at least 18 months. Then she started sleeping through the night some and not nursing at night, and her food intake increased. Nothing I could do would make her eat more though. She did eat some fruit, Cheerios, pretzels, some pasta, but never in great quantities. I too made a lot of food that was special for her and hated to see it thrown away. But, I think it's mostly up to them, unfortunately. I would suggest just to keep trying, and hopefully eventually she will eat more. Good luck!!!

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E.W.

answers from Portland on

Texture could be an issue. Some people, even into adulthood, have a very strong gag reflex. It is a real medical condition but I can't remember what it is called. My son, who is now 18, to this date has a problem with certain textures in his food. For example he loved strawberry jelly but couldn't eat strawberry jam because of the chunks of fruit in it. He would eat cooked carrots (if cooked really soft) but would gag on raw ones. So I knew it wasn't flavor, just texture. He also had difficulty with different textures in the same bite of food. Don't worry about it if she doesn't eat solid foods for a while. If you really want her to try something my son really liked those baby biscuits that basically melt (but it could get to be a mess). He also could eat things that had an smooth and even texture, nothing with chunks or crunchy. Just don't force feed her because she could develop a psychological rejection to food. Good luck and relax. She won't starve herself. It just makes it more of a challenge for you to find things she can eat without gagging.

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M.S.

answers from Portland on

She sounds like she is getting plenty of nutrients, so that isn't a big deal. The problem is that the longer she keeps on a liquid diet, the harder it will be to get her to eat solids. By 12 months, she should be on all solids, so she needs a lot of practice!

Focus on things that taste really good so she won't refuse them, and your main goal right now should be to get her used to textures. Try pudding, Gerber fruit puffs, cake or muffins, Nilla wafers, etc. I know it all is pretty much junk, but she will likely love the food enough to make the effort to eat it. Once she gets used to those textures, she'll be more likely to eat healthier foods. Breast milk is very sweet, so it tastes much better than most of the things you have been offering her.

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S.B.

answers from Corvallis on

My oldest wouldnt eat a thing, he would only nurse, until he was about 10 months old. he would gag on EVERYTHING. I tried everything I could think of. His first foods were NOT baby food. even after he started eating table foods he would still gag on baby food. The very first food he did eat was Cheerioes! Then a baked potato, then french fries. It was slow going at first, But NOW he eats VERY well. His favorite foods are fruits veggies and chicken! He is a tall healthy 8 year old now.
I dont think that you really need to worry. I had a friend who recently was worried about her daughter not eating any kind of food at 1 year old, but slowly found out that she was just offering the wrong foods. This little girls first food was enchiladas with the red sauce!
My son also liked plain toast, but only the crust part of the toast!
Cheese, crackers. Just be careful about her diet and make sure she is getting enough fruit type stuff. My son got really constipated when he started eating solids, and he stayed that way until he was 3! it was a LONG couple years of dealing with a constipated toddler!
also be careful to stay away from peanuts, peanut butter, and she is still too young for eggs. My Dr said there is no need to give babies these foods anyways!

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

This must be very frustrating and worrisom. I recommend that you have a doctor evaluate her. If she's not eating anything solid something is going on with her mouth or throat or ?.

An extreme cause could be a sensory processing disorder. My grandson has that. He stuffed his mouth so full part would spill out before he got it swallowed. He's 5 now and for the most part has stopped soing that. I think part of the reason is that he's matured and part because we've taught him to not fill up his mouth. I don't know how one could train someone to eat.

For him, he couldn't feel the food until it was packed in. Your daughter could have the opposite difficulty. Her mouth/uvula could be overly sensitive. The uvula hangs down at the back of the mouth.

She may have something else going on. Recently I've heard of people trained to help with feeding difficulties. The dr should be able to refer you to someone who can help you.

I've seen really plump babies and learned that they were breast fed. I haven't heard of any difficulty with being plump at this age. However, when she's older she may be missing some important nutrients that aren't available in breast milk.

If you don't already give her multi-vits I'd do that now.

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B.S.

answers from Portland on

Hi J.. I had a very similar experience with my twin boys who were 5 weeks premature. We started solids later (almost 8 months) and the did "ok" at first. Then I gave them a noodle and they both simultaneously gagged and threw up just by touching the noodle. What kid doesn't love noodles? Long story short, the eating thing became a pretty big issue for us and we eventually had them evaluated by early head start for occupational therapy services and they both qualified in the area of speech and "adaptive skills," which has a lot to do w/ the eating. Basically, anything soft or mushy would send them into sensory overload and they couldn't deal with it. They did much better with hard and crunchy things that their mouths could organize around and feel some pressure against. They never liked pieces of fruit (still don't at 3.5). One of the best things I gave them was little pieces of freeze-dried fruits because they were crunchy. It is hard to find finger foods that are crunchy that aren't just crackers and things like that, so the freeze-dried stuff was a lifesaver for us. Safeway sells organic bananna and mango that is freeze dried for infants. they also have a strawberry apple one, but you will want to wait on the strawberrys until after 1 year. I also found organic freeze-dried peas that my boys loved. For my boys, they never sat well and didn't crawl much at all. They started walking at 10.5 months and this actually led to some of the developmental problems that they had (which showed up in the eating). I guess it's really important for infants to spend enough time sitting and crawling. Since they never felt comfortable or stable sitting, they felt really unstable when they were eating in a sitting position. We had much more luck getting them to experiment w/ foods if they were standing up. The just felt more grounded that way and it didn't cause them to overload their senses. Keep an eye on things and don't hesitate to take her to get evaluated if you feel that something isn't quite right. I am sooooo glad that I did with my boys and it was all very easy and painless, and FREE. They are 3.5 now and eat a lot of foods and have no speech problems at all anymore. We only received OT therapy for them for a few months, but it was enough to get some things corrected. I am also happpy to talk more if you have more questions or need more food ideas down the road.

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