My 7 month old baby girl is not wanting to eat baby food! We have been trying for a month to get her on a more food and less formula diet. Her peditrician has recommened that we cut her formula intake down to 24 oz's a day so that she will be more hungry for food. Basically she is "lazy" when it comes to eating and she wants a quick fix of a bottle. She has been called a "lazy" eater from day one, contributing to our MANY problems breastfeeding!!
I realize there is a LARGE range of opinions on this subject. But, I'm looking for those of you who have ran into this same problem and what you tried that worked!
My little girl is FINALLY eating!!! Thank you for all of your suggestions. I now realize there were several factors that came into play on her reluctancy to eat. After a couple of encouraging suggestions and following my mommy gut instinct...I tried avocado and she absolutely loved it!! She dosen't like the smooth texture of the jarred foods. Her perfect combination, to make a feeding time sucess, is giving her a couple of organic puffs that she can learn to feed to herself while I'm feeding her food that has texture to it. She is a very independent little lady and comes from a long line of very obstinant women...she just wanted to have some control over her feeding times and her organic puffs give her that control while allowing us to feed her food.
Hi M.! I had this problem with my youngest. She hated baby food (I think it was the preservatives) so I actually made my own. You may have had this suggested to you previously but its cheap & you can freeze it in an ice cube tray & then pop them in a freezer bag and take out what you need. Its pretty easy to do & kinda nice to know what is going in their food. I can send you recipes if you want. Good luck!
Some babies are not ready for food until later than 6 months (sometimes as late as 9 months or even a year). She is not lazy. She is communicating her needs to you. Waiting until she shows cues to eat food IMPO will be less stressful than figuring out a way to force feed her. Food at this age is mostly social anyway. Most babies don't REALLY starting eating more food than formula/milk until after age one.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-how.html
Good luck!
Dr. Alyssa
My son is now 8 months old, and he is just now starting to really eat the baby food. He eats the fruits really well, but it took a while. I would just keep trying. I think they just finally figure out that some of it does taste good. He still does not like the veggies, but I figure that the fruits are a good start.
Hi M., I had similar problems with my daughter. After talking to many other moms...I came to the conclusion that she was just not ready. The guidelines set up are averages for when to start solids. Some babies are not ready until later in their first year. After trying many spoons and foods I defcided to just lay off and try again in a few weeks. I did this until she took to the solids with ease. It happened around 10 months. Letting her set her own pace kept her much happier, and me too! Good luck.
My son didn't take well to baby food till he was almost a year old. My pediatrician's office had several Dr's in the practice and some would recommend forcing a more rigid schedule than others. I just learned to take cues from my son. I'd tell the Dr I tried offering some cereal, but my son pushes it out with his tongue and seems happy with the formula, so we'll go with the formula a little while longer.
I would give my son a half of a bottle first, then give him some baby food right after at meal times. Then he would not be as hungry and would be more patient with the food. I don't have to do that anymore...now he loves it, especially things that he can pick up and eat on his own.
I completely agree with Alyssa Rae. Formula or breastmilk should be a baby's main source of nutrition until they are 12 mos. Solids are just for practice and shouldn't be a mainstay in their diet. I really disagree with what your doctor has told you. Some babies just aren't ready. Really there is no hurry. Take a break and try again in a few weeks. You're just stressing yourself out and stressing your baby out.
I had a couple questions. Is she spitting it out as soon as it goes in? Is she just refusing the spoon? If she is spitting it out, try to get the food more toward the back of her cheek. If she fights the spoon, try a different spoon type.
You can also try putting soupy rice mixture in a bottle 9(you may have to increase the size of the holes in the nipple) or even a sippy cup with thicker holes and see if she will try to drink it. I have even mixed fruits or veggies in with the rice (instead of formula or water) and made it a little thicker and the kids liked it better. My youngest hated stage 1 foods because they were too thin, but wasn't ready for stage 2 with the little bit of chunks.
Other than that, I would try different spoons, different thickness of the foods. Your daughter is getting most of her nutrition from the formula, not the baby food. You are just introducing her to new textures and tastes with the baby food.
Try not to wait until she is really hungry (crying for a bottle) to eat the baby food, because then she will want the quick fix and scream for the bottle. She has to try harder to get the baby food down, so try to do it inbetween feedings (as you would eat a snack between meals) and if she eats just a little that's good. As she gets better at getting it down and realizing it fills her up some, then at normal feeding time, give her a few ounces less of the formula. If she needs help washing it down while you are feeding her, give her a sippy cup with water. She'll more likely choose the food over water.
Hi M...
You have some varied answers here, but I just wanted to tell you that at 8 months my daughter straight up refused everything on a spoon. I agree with the people that said formula should still be her main source of nutrition, but 24oz is still a pretty healthy dose of formula! Anyway, we had to start giving her "regular" food just cut up in tiny pieces. She did fine and it was actually a lot easier for me! Maybe you should try some food food and see if she responds to that at all. Good luck, eating issues are frustrating!
Hi M.,
I myself have had a lazy eater and guess what - she's 12 now and is perfectly beautiful and healthy. No need in rushing your baby into eating. She will eat when she is ready. I sometimes feel like doctors think every kid is cut out of the same box, but I have 5 kids and not one of them the same. Just keep telling yourself - she won't be taking a bottle when she's 10. In the meantime - keep offering her food, but don't feel the rush or need to "make her hungry". I think that it cruel and unnecessary. Just my opinion. I hope all goes well. My prayers will go up for you and your family.
Take care - J.
Hello, M.!
Here are a couple of things that my husband and I did that seemed to work well.
We used a baby medicine syringe to get the food in our sons' mouths when they were young. Once the food was in there, they were able to eat. I think the spoon held them up at first. Once they were used to eating, we used a spoon, and they did just fine.
With our youngest (who is now 16 months), he never really cared for baby food all that much. He wanted to go straight to the real deal! I was nervous to let him do it, but my sister was watching him one day. I didn't give specific food instructions for him, and my sister fed him pasta and shredded chicken nuggets. He scarfed it down! Since then, he's been eating like a pro.
My recommendation is to try the syringe, and see if your daughter is reaching for "real food". It could be that she just really wants that instead. Cheerios are a great start, as are Gerber puffs.
Good luck!
