7 Month Old Wont Eat

Hi K.,

Despite what some docs will say, feeding in infant (less than one year) table food can cause food allergies because their stomach lining is not yet fully developed. Since you are already giving him table food, I recommend sticking with the baby food and he'll eventually eat it. I would definitely avoid eggs and animal protein altogether.

I also recommend sticking with water and formula versus Pedialite. The added sugar long-term can be detrimental to his immune system.

Best of luck to you! :)
G.

I never fed my son baby food. I always thought it was more nutritious to make his food. I have a mini cuisinart grinder that I could blend steamed veggies. Avocados is easy to feed and not have to make, and most fruit is soft anyways so you don't have to steam it, just grind or blend it. Making food is more time but I think the benefits outway the work involved. I believe that my kids will not be as picky if they eat more variety. Plus their food is not processed and they will get all the nutrition. THen you will not have to worry they he is missing out on his nutrition from the bottle.Good luck...

Hi there. My son started doing the same thing, just a little older, my pediatrican at the time said to pick up some baby vitaims. They come in dropper form, they smell nasty but at least I didn't have to worry about him getting everything he needed. After that I gave him things off our plates that he could handle. You may have to let him try and feed himself with the baby food, of course it will make a big mess, but that is what paper towels are for! Also see if you can give him some juice, I liked the Gerber juices. They are 100% juice and they come in a bottle that you just put the regular nipple on. When I had this problem the best advice I got was to let him try and feed himself, and not to worry about what he was and was not eating. He would eat what he wanted when he wanted. I just try to make sure that I offer good stuff at every meal.

I am not sure how to get him to eat but as to the pedialite, I have been putting some pedialite in my son's formula bottle in place of water. For example, 4 oz pedialite and 4 oz of water. Hope that helps!

I had a similar problem with my daughter, she hated to be fed. What I did was buy her lots of fruits and cut it into bite sized pieces, they have the vegetables in the graduates, that aren't mashed up, I would also soak her Cheerios in her milk/formula to soften it. They even had the meats in the form of little sausages (they look like vienna sausages) which I cut into bite sized pieces. Just be sure you stay right with him in case of choking, and don't put too much in front of him at one time, just a few pieces, so he won't put too much in his mouth. Also add daily vitamins. As far as fluids, juices will help prevent constipation. Children also usually love popsicles, that will help with fluids and they can eat those independently. If your child is a healthy weight and developing ok, then don't worry. You can't make a headstrong child eat what he doesn't want to. Kids teach us so much about being flexible. This is probably a phase, but in the long run, independence is a good quality.

I know you're worried about the nutrient thing, but usually our bodies crave what our bodies need. It may be that he is really ready for a more substantial diet. If he is still drinking from bottles as you mentioned, switch him to a sippy cup. You could also begin to feed him just before you all sit down to dinner so that he could eat his cut up food before he sees something more interesting that he could share with you.
He sounds like smart little guy!
God Bless!

Hi K.,
I don't think you have anything to worry about. Your son has reached the age where is growth begins to slow down and therefore he actually needs less to eat. He's also getting very interested in the world around him and is not so focused on eating. 16-24 oz. of formula is perfect for his age. I would start finding "people" food that he can safely eat. Examples would be yogurt (try plain yogurt and mix in some of his baby food fruit like peaches or apricots, the fruit yogurt at the store has way too much sugar), cream cereal such as cream of rice mixed with some formula, veggies that are well cooked and mashed up, small pieces (pea sized) of bananas, refried beans, cream soups (try the healthy choices that have less salt)... he has figured out that your food tastes much better than his baby food. As far as not wanting anything that is smashed... give him a spoon and let him do it himself. He'll get more on him than in him, but you have to start somewhere and you said he's very independent. Try not to make food a power struggle, because he'll win that battle. Be careful about forcing food on him as that could also lead to eating disorders later in life. Offer him healthy choices and as long as he's healthy and growing at a normal rate (your doctor should be monitoring his growth), you have nothing to worry about.

I gave my daughter pediasure, which is a thick shake type drink that will give her all the nutrients of a meal when she wasn't eating that well. It gets expensive, but I ended up getting a prescription and the insurance pays for most. She is 5 and still on it 4 times a day and it is helping alot. She was like 13 pounds at 7 months old and I had the worst time getting her over 20 pounds (think she was like 2 when she did)! Try that because you can be sure that he will get proper nutrition and being fed. But make sure you try feeding him first and if that doesn't work, then do the pediasure.

K.,
We had the same problem with our daughter. So I tried to find foods that were easy for her to mash with her gums that I also enjoyed eating. For breakfast a lot of days we would both eat cherrios with milk (hers with formula) and I would slice up small chunks of banana, or serve it with blueberries or chunked up strawberries or raspberries (make sure you gradually introduce these though because some may cause diarrhea). She also really enjoyed eating raisins, so I would cook up some rice & then at the end add raisins and serve with milk & add a little cinnamon to it. If you switch to brown rice he probably won't notice the slight difference in taste but it will get more fiber in there to help with the constipation. I would also cook oatmeal and add juice or formula and sneak in some mashed bananas or applesauce. He also might really like to drink the milk leftover from his cereal if he has one of those bowls that has a straw that goes to the bottom, my daughter loves those things. One thing that really worked was canned fruit (not exactly extremely nutritious but it is pretty soft so if he swallows a small piece without mashing it it's not a big deal). But my daughter really liked canned pears, peaches or apricots or those mixed fruit cups that are already chunked up. Also you could maybe find some soy based cottage cheese at a health foods store and put the fruit with that. If you drink a smoothie for breakfast he probably would enjoy sharing it with you even though it's pured, or if you stopped by a Jamba Juice store one day before going to the park. For lunch a lot of times I would cook up some pasta, like orzo or macaroni because they are both so small and pair it with some canned marinara sauce. Also sometimes if I was in a real hurry I would give her some Chef Boyardee Ravioli or spaghettio's because those are both pretty soft if you cut them up. I also bought some canned or frozen mixed vegetables that she could eat like green beans cut small or corn, peas or even broccoli or sliced carrots cut up really small. The more vegetables and fruits that you get him to eat the less constipation he will have, and if he was like my daughter he'll probably eat whatever you eat. If you don't like to buy canned or frozen vegetables though you could always over steam some veggies for him because then they will still be whole but will mash up really easy between his gums. For snacks I would cut grapes up into quarters or halves. I would also sometimes make potatoe salad and cut up the potatoes really small. My daughter also really liked sliced olives because we would put them on her fingers and she could just pop them in her mouth. For snacks we would also sometimes do those miniature colored marshmallows. Until my daughter had teeth I tried to stay away from meats, but sometimes she would insist so I would give her small pieces of whatever we were eating. The hard part is that the rest of the family might have to alter their diets until he gets enough teeth to really start chewing. But for dinner I would serve a lot of pasta, rice or potatoes for dinner that I cut up really small. I also gave my daughter Jello, and it was especially fun if I made it into small shapes like into the little Easter Jello Beans (I think that you can find the molds just about everywhere) because then she could kinda' pick them up herself. I also gave my daughter a popsicle sometimes while she sat on the kitchen floor, the Dreyer Whole Fruit popsicles have a whole serving of fruit in them and he'd probably really like it even though it'll make a big mess (eat it right before bath time). I think that I would find the most ideas when I went to the store by myself one evening and really slowly walked through all of the aisles. I think you would be surprised at how much stuff that you can find that he can probably mash up between his gums you just might have to cook a little more and be more a little more creative. Hope that this all helps.
S.

There is nothing wrong with putting formula in a sippy cup! At his age, don't give him too much water, this will fill his tummy & leave him "feeling" full. Offer a balanced meal for him to eat with your family & frequently offer his formula as a way to quench his thirst - this ensures that he is receiving all the nutrients his growing body requires.

I have a 9 month old who is also very independent, I finally gave in. She almost eats everything we do I just cut it small enough for her to eat. She has loved to feed herself since she was 6 months, but I gave her baby food until about 7 months. Have you tried the Gerber Graduates, they are perfect size for our little independent ones. I give her water from either a normal glass or a sippy cup, whichever works that day, if your little one likes sippy cups then maybe try giving him his formula from the sippy cup instead of the bottle. My oldest daughter loved drinking water from one of those water bottles that squirt when she was about 7 months. Good Luck.

Try soft foods. Pieces of banana, avocado, steamed apples or peaches, all cut into small baby bite sizes. Cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, peas, small pieces of green beans, steamed carrots, anything like that. If you really want him to eat the baby food or drink a bottle see if you can find a baby his age for him to watch eat those foods. My friend's baby was doing this and she watched my son scarf down baby food and then she wanted some. Maybe try a sippy cup instead.

My youngest (I have 5 kids- 9,8,5,3,1) wasn't a big fan of bottles and liked to drink from sippy cups and regular cups from a young age. She also really enjoyed feeding herself fruit and veggies, we never even bought baby food with her. Maybe instead of trying to use liquids to get your son to get his fluids, try giving him "juicy" foods, oranges (my daughter really liked manderine oranges from a can), canned veggies, those kind of things. Prunes will help with the constipation too. I had a friend whose child disliked the taste of formula and so they started him on milk early. I have the philosphy that as long as a child is continuing to grow and progress at a normal pace, letting them eat foods they like (within reason), instead of just foods we think are "appropriate" is ok. Forcing them to eat(or drink)things they can't stand just gets draining for mom and baby. Good luck!!

I would try and give him the formula in a sippy cup. As far as nutrients, there are a lot of, what we would call,BIG People food that even with out teeth your child can eat. IE, sweet potates,eggs,tuna,cheerios,bannanas,strawberries,macaroni, diced pieces of meat, like cubed ham. My reccomendation is to brain storm with other moms about healthy mushy foods. My son was the same way, on solid foods by 8 months and no bottles at 6month of age! Teeth at about 13 months old!

Well, my little one began eating solids at 3 months (Dr ok'd it...) because of his big appetite,and I was also told that by the time he was your guy's age, most table foods were ok. Perhaps if you choose to cook pastas, softer, smaller veggies (eg peas or cut up squash) and just cut it rather than smash it, he'll accept that. I often give my little one frozen mixed veggies (after cooking,of course) and the pieces are usually pretty small already. Canned fruits and veggies are good too - they're already cooked and often already cut into small pieces. Try putting these items on the table when your family sits down to dinner. If he thinks it's on the menu for everyone, he might be more accepting. If he can gum the food, and the pieces are soft and small to begin with, there should be no choking hazard. I have been told, however,to stay away from fish, citrus and eggs until they are at least a year old.

My son also refused to eat solids at 7 months unless he fed himself. I just had to get creative with finger foods. His favorites were bananas, avocado, toast, puffs, boiled egg yolks, peaches, and peas. There's a great book (Super Baby Food) that lists all the different foods you can give your baby by month. I also worried that he wouldn't get enough since I wasn't feeding him with a spoon, but he was fine. Everyday, I would offer him cereal with yogurt before his meal. Eventually, he started eating it again. But, he has always preferred to feed himself. I also found that if I tried to nurse him too close to his solid meal that he wouldn't nurse. So, I always nursed him first and then waited at least 1/2 hour to give him solids. He could also be cutting a tooth (or more). Just keep trying.

I think that if he is interested in eating other foods and has a healthy appetite when it comes to trying new foods, he is okay if you skip a bottle of formula and give him pedialyte or water.
My six month old also wants to eat meals with us. I have given him teething biscuits and mashed up food that we are eating. I also give him a sippy cup with water. (I have to help him drink out of it, but he likes it and will drink water out of it.)
At this age, babies are pretty good at regulating how much food they need. Rather than worrying about making sure he gets 16-24oz of formula a day, make sure he's getting enough fluid (water or pedialyte). He will let you know if he is still hungry and you can give him additional formula then. Also, since he's a good, healthy weight, you don't have to worry to much about him being malnurished. If he starts losing weight or energy, then you would need to be worried.