6 Month Old Refuses to Eat Baby Food

Hi L.!

Try a "food net" rattle thing. No squashing needing. If she doesn't like it....dump, rinse, & refill with something else :o)

Available anywhere!

:o) N.

Amelia is still not big on being fed but she does like to feed herself. Maybe it is not the cleanest way to feed her but she seems to eat a lot more if she gets to be in charge. She has been doing this since 5 months.
Also, if I eat some of whatever I am giving to her she is more open to eating it as well. Monkey see, monkey do.

My now 2 year old did the same thing at 5 months. She didn't like the baby food so I started feeding her toddler bites. They are meals made for toddlers in stages. If she wanted what we ate I gave it to her after it went through the food processor. Hope this helps.

Dear L.,
My daughter, my first baby, HATED baby food. She only weighed 5 pounds full term. She was extremely healthy, but I was always so afraid I wasn't feeding her enough. She only weighed 12 pounds at a year old. She's 22 now and is still just a tiny little thing. She's perfectly healthy and built just like my very petite and short mother.
Anyway, she would start crying everytime I cooked. She could smell the food and it made her hungry. I tried every kind of baby food known to man kind and other than the plums and peaches or tart fruit, she freaked every time I tried to feed her.
To make a long story short, she didn't like the baby food. By 6 months old, she was eating scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and gravy, fish, (especially smoked salmon), turkey, chicken, cream of wheat with butter and brown sugar, spaghetti....you name it, she ate it. My son was the same way. He wanted to eat...and he wanted some flavor. He just turned 13 and outweighs me by 30 pounds, so giving him really mushed up regular food did not stunt his growth.
If something upsets your baby's tummy, you know what to avoid, but there is nothing wrong with letting her try what you are having.
As a side note, my son and I went to Burger King with a friend who invited us to lunch with her and her 2 year old son. She ordered him a kid meal...chicken nuggets and fries. Everything went fine until she broke all of it up into tiny, mushy pieces and put it on the wrapper for him to eat. He threw one of the biggest fits I have ever seen in history. He hit her, yanked the barrettes out of her hair and started throwing his food all over the place. My son just sat there, stunned. She asked me to watch her little boy while she went to the bathroom to gather herself.
My little boy offered him one of his french fries and chicken nuggets since he had nothing left to eat. He just handed him one of each. All he wanted was to hold a fry and a nugget and take bites all by himself. She could not believe, upon her return, that he was sitting and eating and happy. She got him another order of his own. That was the day she quit mashing everything to smithereens before giving it to him. And there were no more fits over eating.
Give your baby a plastic set of baby utensils and let her play with them. Let her put them in her mouth and get used to them. They are even more fun when there's food on it!
For a long time, I made the mistake of thinking that I could only give my baby bland things. The bland part is exactly what she didn't care for.
Babies can smell. And I'm telling you, both of my babies wanted to taste something that tasted like what they were smelling.

Hi, L.,
I see that you got a lot of really helpful responses. Just to let you know, my son was the same way and he basically refused ANY food until he was 1! I chose not to really stress over it. I tried to feed him off and on from the time he was 4 months until he turned 1, but he just clamped his mouth shut and would only breastfeed for a year straight! So I never did the bottle with him, never did any baby jar foods...just went straight to table food. He suddenly wanted to eat after he was 1. So, try what others have suggested and if, by chance, she still doesn't eat, don't sweat it. She gets everything she needs from your breastmilk and she will eventually want to eat. To tell you the truth, it ended up being a lot easier not having to feed him food for the first year. That way, I didn't have to pack anything for him when we went out! :-)
good luck!

Dear L.,
Congratulations, you are the mother of a very smart little girl. She knows her system isn't ready to digest food besides breastmilk and that she won't be ready until she's 12 months old. Please continue with the breast, she'll be fine. My youngest was 9 lbs 11 at birth and 15 punds when he was 2 months old. I kept exclusively on breast milk and no other food for his 1st 12 months. His pediatrician was impressed with his size, development, and health. It's ok to follow the lead of your baby.
All my best, S.

Such great advice from everyone! I just wanted to add, trust your daughter. She knows what she wants. At this age it's great to play with food. She doesn't need the nutrition from food yet as your breast milk is specially designed just for her. Commercial baby food tastes quite yucky. If you don't like it, she won't either. A good website for feeding babies is www.wholesomebabyfood.com. Super Baby Food is a great book to help show what foods to introduce, when, and how. Good luck!

Dr. Sears mentions that babies do not need solid food until they are 9 months. The advise I got from Le Leche League when my kids were small is that babies do not need any solid food for the first year. I did not give my kids any food for their first year - just breast milk - exception was giving them food just for fun to play with, mouth and experiment with. Nutritionally it is not necessary to start so young and can also lead to food allergies and stomach problems if under nine months of age. I would say the baby is not ready for solid food.

I guess I have one really fundamental question. Why are you trying to wean your child at 6 months? Is there a health issue? Kids really should be in control of how long they nurse, if at all possible. My assumption is that if you slowly introduce the foods your child is interested in (as long as they are safe foods for a child at that stage) you will avoid the picky eater fight when it comes time to have her eat solid foods exclusively.

And, if at all possible avoid commercial babyfoods. They may have an after taste or texture that is going to cause eating problems. My son never ate babyfood. And, do you ever READ what is in babyfoods? Even the *natural* stuff? It would be far better for your child to have pureed versions of what you are eating (provided that you eat balanced meals, of course) because her palate is based on the foods you ingested when he was in the womb. Your child is curious about what you as grown ups are doing. She sees you eating stuff and in her mind (developmentally) she has not removed herself from your person. To her you both are still one person. So if you eat stuff that is what she wants too.

Then there is the problem of what her system can tolerate. What I would suggest is that you get a copy of the book I used called "Baby Let's Eat". Not only is it a book that shows the stages of when a child can eat a certain food, what foods to avoid (and until when) and some good nutritional information, but it also has recipes that are wonderful for adults too. Then what you do is all eat some of the same foods together!

Go out and get a ricer, and a food mill (cheap off of EBay) and make dinner a family affair!

Good luck

I am afraid I dont have any advise for you, just sympathy. My daughter is now 16mo. old. She refused solids until she was over 10mo. old. I just kept giving her solids out of sheer consistancy, because she didnt want them AT ALL. She nursed every two to three hours and would not take a bottle to save her life. So after she started eating well, I weaned her... just before her 1st b-day. She is doing great now, and no regrets. Doesnt fit everyone, but it fits us, and thats what counts. Good luck. Just be consistant and she will come around.

I'm going to assume you do all those games and distractions to get her to eat. i.e. here comes the choo-choo, songs while eating, you eat from the spoon-she eats, etc.

Try feeding her food before you breastfeed. Wait until she is hungry and then give her the food. You may want to have your husband or a friend feed her. If she smells you, she will want the breast.

Another suggestion: If she is not used to the texture or flavor of the food, this might get her liking it better. Try sitting her in her highchair, with a splat mat underneath, and just give her a bowl of food and her spoon and let her play with it. Babies will automatically put their hands in their mouth. Just let her get messy with the food. Let her taste it and feel the texture. Meanwhile, you stand by with another spoon and as she is playing, scoop a bit of food on your spoon and try putting it in her mouth. Let mealtime be fun and enjoyable for both of you. Eventually, she will eat and you will look back on this with fond memories and great stories to tell her about how much trouble she gave you. :-)

Good luck!

6 months is young to eat solids. I remember hearing back when mine were little that this is the age to learn how to eat food. How to put it in your mouth, move it around, swallow it. Keep on giving little mashed up bits of avocado, banana, etc. She is getting all she needs nutritionally from your breastmilk and can for a long time yet. She wants to imitate you, so when you are eating foods that you can mash up for her, give some from your plate. She'll learn and there's no need to hurry.

I waited to feed my twins any solids until they were 6 months old. They did not do the baby food too well....what we did was give them whatever we were eating from the table. I just cut it up very small or steamed the veggies a little longer. If you have tasted the baby food, you'll understand why she doesn't like it. She sees you and brother and daddy eating food and she wants to be big like everyone else. Try giving her small chuck of the banana and avacado where she can "chew"/gum it like you all do.....

What would be this issue with letting her try a little of your food? As long it isn't potentially allergenic (peanuts, etc.), she'll let you know if she wants it or not. Or, you could try putting her food on your plate at first to get her to try it...

Maybe she is not ready for it and she's letting you know. My ped. said not to offer food until she was a year. She did munch on Cherios in day care, like the other kids, but for the most part it was breast milk alone. When she was ready, she didn't look back.

Stephanie

Hi L.,
my daughter also never ate baby food. She was exclusively breastfed until she was 9-10 month old, when she began showing interest in solid food. So, I would give her mashed vegetables or fruit (she LOVED avocado), tiny pasta in home-made stock, or simply mash whatever we were eating, for she was very curious about our own food. This is something you may consider doing, some moms simply chew a bit the food and pass it to the baby, I used to mash it as much as I could with a fork and then monitor her. Remember that they can do miracles with those naked gums.

I ended up throwing away all the baby cereals I bought for her (I tried them all). She did like oatmeal a lot, but the instant type, the one we eat, the simple one, with any addition of fruit or milk I would propose (now, at 2, she only likes the regular kind).

I think that when they start eating solid later, they can already eat lumpier food and may probably develop a taste for real food earlier. My daughter now eats more or less anything we eat and she is very curious and open. I should add that, with all this, I kept breastfeeding her until she was about 15 month old.

Good luck,

M.

I have a very small Food Processes and it work great for grinding up what we are eating. My 7m old is doing both table food in the Processor and baby food at this point, but my middle daughter as soon as she tasted real table food that was all she wanted. So I just Processes a little of what we are having for her.

L.

L.,
As a pp said, your little darlin really knows what she wants and at the present, it isn't solids... or at least not baby food. Two thumbs up for exclusively BFing your little one. What she is getting in your breastmilk is nutritionally what she needs. The APA (Amer. Ped. Association) and WHO (World Health Org.) both promote breastfeeding for the first and second year respectively.

But, if she is showing marked interest in solids-- the ones that you are eating -- you could start her slowly on cereal mixed with a good amount of breastmilk. At first, they need the consistency to be quite thin.

When you introduce foods, introduce them slowly with at least a four day lapse so that if there is an alergy or digestion issue you can tell what food it was that was the cause; www.wholesomebabyfood.com has great recipies for when she is ready for more solids. And, they are a great source for portion size, scheduling and more.

I agree that as children are introduced to solids, they want flavor, not bland food. And food that is made for toddlers may not be right for a 6 month old, especially the foods with meat and preservatives. In another few months, all of the foods that you are eating she will probably want to sample. If there is no reason to rush the introduction of solids, let her set the pace. I didn't introduce solids to my LO until she was 9 months or so. She is a wonderful eater who likes everything from sushi and tuna to meatballs and hot dogs (ug) and all the vegies that I can find she will eat. Good Luck. I'm sure your LO will be a wonderful eater in a few months.

Hi. I don't think it is anything at all to worry about. My first daughter did not eat till after her first birthday, but my second one started much sooner than that. Both just started eating things from the table that were interesting to them. I think it is entirely linked to other developmental shifts such as eruption of baby teeth (which are probably also linked to digestive changes, etc). Can you let her reach for what she seems interested in and then watch how that goes? I think it is best to follow their leads in this matter, making food within reach, but not trying to get them to eat other stuff.

My daughter never did eat baby food. Not one single bite. I tried 5 cereals and 4 baby food brands. What I finally wound up doing is chopping a bit of my food very fine and feeding it to her. She liked to see me actually take it off my plate to be SURE that I wasn't getting anything 'better' than she was.)

Sometimes I'd have to mix a bit of liquid of some sort with it just so it wasn't so dry. Another thing I sometimes did (that totally grossed out some of my friends) was to pre-chew some of her food for her. I'd 'chop' it with my front teeth. Obviously this works better with foods that are more firm. Before you dismiss this out of hand, remember that baby food as we know it has only been available for less than 100 years.

Hi L.,

Our daughter was breastfed exclusively for 6 months as well. I mixed her rice cereal with breastmilk and she eventually took it. Same with the avo and banana, I mixed with milk. Good luck!

I do not believe she is too young to START on baby foods. mine actually started when she was 4 months because she seemed SO interested in what we were eating. she likes baby foods and cereals, but still breastfeeds.
if your baby won't take baby foods (I don't see anything wrong with them, they only thing added is water), then try the food processor thing. she CAN eat what you're eating, usually, it just has to be pureed or mashed very small. :) (except for meats, she's too young for that).

My son was the same way. Luckily he got teeth early so he was able to eat some of what we were eating. If your baby has some teeth on top and bottom you can give them some of your food. I was worried that my son wasn't getting enough nutrients, but then I was told as long as he's getting breast milk he'll be fine until he turns one year old. My son is now almost two and he eats really well, so I'm sure your daughter will be the same.

try giving her baby food or baby cereal with the baby dessert mixed together on the spoon, like peach cobbler, dutch apple, pretty much any dessert that is sweet and she will love it. trust i have 5 of my own.

Wait a few months. She may be a little young. Also introduce food slowly-only one item for 2 days then introduce something else. This is the only way to figure out food allergies (which, unfortunately, are all too common these days). Good luck!

My daughter was exactly like this. She refused all baby food. She saw what we were eating and wanted to have that. I kept her on formula and tried some cereals until she could start to handle things like Cheerios and cooked carrots. By the time she had two teeth (8 months), she was eating table food exclusively. Somehow, she managed to gum and digest what we were eating. She has had a lifetime love affair with food and there are few things she won't eat. I recommend you talk this over with your pediatrician, but if your daughter will eat healthy table foods, you may just find that's the best way for her to get the nutrition she needs. Best wishes.

there is no rush. hold off for a few weeks and try again. applesauce is always a winner and sweet potatoes too. mix it with some rice cereal. you could always try rice cereal and breastmilk to start. good luck and don't force it. she will be eating her whole life!

My son, who was exclusively breastfed until we tried solids at 6 months, didn't like many solids until he was well after 9 months. And even when he realized he liked things like banana or avocado, he was not interested in eating. He eats pretty much anything now, however. We just kept at it and made a routine of it, and eventually he got the hang of eating from the spoon and enjoying the food. If I recall, you don't need to worry that your baby is getting proper nutrients until about a year, according to kellymom.com. I wouldn't do things like try to feed him sweets and sugar just for the sake of eating solids. Mark my words, she'll eat when she's ready!

First of all, congratulation for breastfeeding your little girl who sounds very healthy and seems to know waht she wants and what she doesn't want.
Why do you want her eat solids now?
There is actually no need for your infant to eat now solid food, she's still very young and happy to be breastfed. She'll eat solid food, when she's really ready, when her desire to "eat" becomes stronger than the comfort of being breastfed, when she expresses the desire to try a new pattern by begging. Each kid is different. It is actually better to delay a bit the solid food than to introduce it too early. The mouth and tongue of a young infant are basically meant for breastfeeding, and interfering in the development of the mouth and tongue by introducing new patterns too early can have an impact on his/her speech later.
But if you really decided that she starts with solids, you can mix your own milk with some rice cereals to start with. That what I did with my son, but at 9 months. He's a very healthy 3 year old who enjoys now all kind of food.
Have fun with your kids !

Hi L.,
Two things came to my mind when I read your post.
1 - Try feeding her during your family meals. You said she wants to eat what you're eating. So perhaps if you feed her when you're eating she'll be more interested.
2 - Wait a while longer to introduce food. Nutritionally babies don't really need solid food until they are almost a year old. So if you end up waiting an extra month or so it's not a big deal. Maybe she's just not ready.

Good luck!

When my now 6yo first tried baby food at 6 months, he cried every time for 6 weeks! We didn't force it, but we did try every day. That's what I'd recommend. There is probably quite a bit of table food you actually could feed her, if it were cooked enough. Maybe she likes food with a bit more spice/flavor. Just keep trying.

If she likes to eat what you eat. How about putting some baby food on your plate and then she may not know it is baby food.

Is she teething? My son absolutely REFUSED to eat EVERY time he was cutting a tooth (whether or not it was evident to me). So, if he refused to eat, I gave him Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets. If he resumed eating, I knew it was teething. If he didn't, he was either sick or didn't like it.

You could also wait until she is a little older. Or try steaming and pureeing your own veggies, rather than store bought.

If using your finger works over the spoon, then use your finger!

Good luck and enjoy!

When you're eating is the perfect time to feed her. Put some on your plate & feed her bites from that. She'll get into it when she's ready. Sit her in her chair at the table, talk, socialize, & give her bites from your plate of baby food. She'll probably love being included in the "family time." Good luck! C.

Your baby is letting you know what she wants. They always do.

My little one started opening her mouth at 4 months whenever I ate! Initially,I thought she was too young. So I thought just let it go but when she began to reach for my spoon, bit my plate, lick my glass I knew she was letting it be known what she wanted. So we began to feed her rice cereal at almost 5 months (I still nursed till 13 months). I tried waiting but she was very clear in her letting me know. So I am assuming that your little angel is being just as clear in letting you know she is not ready.

They really are smart and they really know how to tell us what is going on.

My second daughter didn't like babyfood eaither - she wanted what we were eating. So, I pureed whatever I made for everyone else, and she ate. Use cooking liquid, water, breast milk or formula to thin purees to the right consistency. I found that an immersion blender was the easiest thing to use for pureeing. I also froze purees in ice cube trays for easy future use. Once frozen, pop them out and store in the freezer in a ziplock bag or other container and thaw as needed. Now, at 3 she is still a great eater and will try almost anything.

Dilute it a lot with your breast milk...make it very soupy and she might want it that way. Keep trying...patience is the key.

With regard to the rice cereal, cut it with breast milk and a little of baby food pears. My pediatrician said that pears should be mixed in anyway because otherwise the rice cereal could cause the baby to become constipated. Maybe the mixture will give her the right texture (if that is the problem).

My son also refused to eat store bought baby food and did not like rice cereal either. Someone suggested that I try Earth's Best oatmeal cereal, which he did like. I would also steam and puree fresh veggies that we were going to eat as well, yams were his favorite. The fresh veggies taste so much better than the processed baby food. He loved almost everything that I made and at 4 years old now he loves all fruits and vegetables and is a great eater of healthy and diverse food. It did not take much time to steam and puree food for him and it was so healthy as well. Try it I think your little girl will like it as well. Good luck!
J.

Hi L.,
You may want to try giving her some mashed banana (or whatever works) on her high chair tray (in a bowl or right on the tray itself) while everyone else is at the table eating. You can let her feed herself with her fingers or even try one of those small spoons or you could try spoon feeding her yourself while you're eating dinner until she's a better eater. If she is very clever, you may need to have some on your plate that you give her so she thinks she is getting what you're having. If she gets some in her mouth, hopefully she'll develop a taste for the food and want more, which in turn should make it easier for you to feed her. I'd recommend the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. There are a lot of guidelines on what to give her and when, as well as guidelines for making your own baby food if interested. You may also want to try feeding her solids before breastfeeding her so that's she's hungry enough to want to eat. Sometimes a particular time of day works better than others. Personally, I tried to hold off on giving what we were having (until around 1 or so) because I didn't want my kids to develop a taste for all the salt, sugar, fat and seasonings in "grown up" food so early on. But I think you need to do whatever works for you.
Good luck,
C.