8 Month Old Won't Eat Pureed Baby Food

Don't worry! My daughter was the same way. She hardly ate at all and when she did it was very little and only what she could feed herself. She is now 13 months and still doesn't eat very much. She was and still is breastfed so she is getting the proper nutrition and most importantly she is healthy.

Have you ever tasted pureed baby food in a jar? Bleh. Real food is much better. Make sure he gets plenty of veggies in the mix as well. Cook asperagus spears and broccoli, cooked kidney beans were also big hits in our house. As long as he's growing he's getting enough. I think he would let you know if he's hungry. Babies your son's age need a lot of nutients, as long as he is breastfeeding, it sounds like he's doing fine.

Hi. I'm a 35 year old mom to a 14 month old. When my daughter was that age she refused everything - I mean everything. I bought the baby food books and bought organic fruits and veggies to puree but she never touched it. It may be they find the consistency unappealing. Back then I would have been more than delighted if she ate all the foods your son is eating, she only wanted breast milk! I never forced her to eat because I didn't want her to have bad associations with food but I was worried sick. Then one day when my daughter was about 10 months she was watching us eat then reached over and took from our plate. Since then she's been willing to try anything we eat but she has to eat it in it's original form and has to feed herself. There is light at the end of the tunnel! You should also take comfort in the fact that he's at the 70th percentile and seemingly healthy and happy. Best of luck to you!

Hi C.,
I have 3 girls, 2 of which are the pickiest eaters out there. I have never gone by the Doctors or books when it comes to eating. I gave my babies cereal at 12 days old. I say as long as he can eat the food with out choking, give him what he wants. Soft fruits and a bit over cooked vegies are better than him not consuming them at all. I am not strongly famaliar with the vegetarian world, but what ever you and your husband eat should be good for the baby as well, just cut into very small pieces. Good Luck! Remember if he is healthy and happy you aren't doing anything wrong.

My daughter HATED pureed fruits and would only eat veggies from a jar. Once she could eat more solid food she ate more. It could be a phase. But know that by breastfeeding him you are giving him waht he needs. If you are worried about iron...you can get a the vitamin drops. You can always after him heathly snacks...my kids are what you'd call grazers...they like little snacks as they feel hungry. It will all work out. You are doing a GREAT job!

I think your baby will be fine with the breast feeding and finger food as long as he continues to gain weight. To ease your anxiety you can try slipping a spoonful of pureed food into his mouth while he is eating the finger food.
B.

Hi C.,
My son is 9.5 months and pretty much only breastfeeds aside from a cucumber here and there. That is great that your son self feeds. I wouldn't worry at all that he doesn't want to eat pureed foods. By self feeding he is learning what he wants to eat and exploring/eating/playing/not eating what he wants and doesn't want. Some babies avoid certain foods instinctively too that they end up being allergic too. This way he is also being exposed to realistic eating the way he will in the future, hey hes not going to eat mushed up food forever right? Babies eat when they are ready. It sounds like you can tell that he is healthy and you are his mama, you don't really need to pay a ped to tell you that!

If he eats purees most likely you are going to spoon feed him. Allowing him to self feed gives him the chance to regulate his own intake. It also will assure that he IS ready to eat...many spoonfed infants are being fed far before they are really ready to eat.

HTH some!

C.,

As far as I have been educated it is important that a baby over 6 months of age eats the baby cereal (rice, oatmeal, barley or mixed) because they have depleted their iron stores by that point and need the extra iron. The portion size is on the box but I believe by age six months it is either 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup. Other than the breastmilk/formula and cereal the rest of the food is just for learning what the baby likes/dislikes. My son just turned one and he went through stages where he either loved or refused just about everything...cereal, veggies and meat. He has always loved fruit though. Have you tried giving fruit?

Be assured though that under 12 months the most important nutrition for the baby is the breastmilk. As long as he eats enough of that, he should be a healthy and happy little boy! =)

My son wouldn't eat baby food at all. He went straight from the bottle (formula) to table food. He's just fine!

You can try mixing the fruit or veggies in the cereal. Thats how I got my son to eat it. I would not worry about it. all baby's are different. as long as he intakes the breast milk,then he's still okay.

If the doctor says he is healthy, then don't worry about it. you continuing to breastfeed him is giving him the nutrition he needs. Behaps his palette does not like the taste or feel of puree food. We have to understand that our babies a re little people to and will start to make choices of their own.
But try getting those handheld mesh bad and put the steaamed/sofftened veggies and fruit in the mesh bad and see if he will eat the food that way. Hope that will hep ease your mind.

I thought that I had the same problem too! But the situation got completely fixed when I gave my son a spoon and let him dip into the baby food while I fed him. He started eating very poorly at around 9 months and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I also give him the lid of the food and let him take it on and off. Also, I mix extra cereal into the babyfood instead of mostly cereal and a little fruit/veggie puree. I think that helped too.

Hi C.! I just wanted to take the time to agree with Saffiyah! She's right that kids will eat when they're ready and about everything else she said! I'd also like to tell you that I've taken a psychology course in College two semesters ago and we learned about child behavior and so on. We watched a video on how one little girl would sit for hours and hours not eating, refusing to eat for her mom. Her Mom was trying to feed her. After sitting through some theraputic play sessions with a psychologist, they saw the young girl playing mostly with dolls and babies, feeding them. It seems natural for a girl to do this but the real reason she was doing it was because it was what she really wanted. She just wanted more independence and wanted to feed herself. After letting the girl try feeding herself more, the mother was surprised how much the girl ate at one sitting and how much better her behavior became. So I would say definetly try letting your son feed himself even by the spoon. If he doesn't eat it, maybe he's full already or just doesn't like it. Its great that he his eating on his own even a little bit now! Even if the food ends up on his lap..it just goes to show he hasn't mastered the eating skills yet, but he's learning quickly and i'm sure this will get better also!
I wish you the best of luck!!