8 1/2 Month Old Won't Eat Anything Not Pureed

Hi D.-
sounds like he is not ready. My daughter is 9 months and is starting to develop a personality about what she will and won't eat and some days she'll have sweet potatoes and some days she won't. Just keep trying from time to time and he'll eventually eat. As long as he is healthy, not losing weight, and happy, it sounds like he and you are doing just fine!
Good luck -

sounds like he is not ready. i would start with things like motts applesauce (not the one in the baby isle).

if he doesn't have lots of teeth yet perhaps he doesn't feel confident enough yet.

try again in a few weeks.

good luck.

Sounds like he's not ready but ask your pedtrician, he may just like the texture, my daugther wouldn't drink out of a bottle never all children have their own personalities.

He's only 8 1/2 months so he's got plenty of time to start trying solids. Maybe you can experiment with pureed foods but making some of your own but just a bit lumpy and see if he will explore that texture on his tongue. You can start with bananas mashed with a fork, lumpy instant potatoes, etc. But he's got plenty of time to learn. The main ingredient in his diet until he's a year old should be his formula. Anything else is "food in training", because the formula fills all of his nutritional needs.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat

He's probably just not ready yet. My son reacted the same way when we started into chunky foods - he just didn't like the texture after eating pureed stuff. You can try mixing in a small amount of chunkier food into his puree. Once he's used to that, add a little more at a time, and before he knows it, he'll be eating big person food.

Hi D.-

I went through the same thing with my good eater around the same time. It lasted about 2 weeks. Every few days I would try something else...eventually he stopped the gagging and seemed to enjoy it. I really think a lot of it is the textures they are not use to. So it takes time for them to get use to it. It also seemed to help when I let him hold the food and explore it. I started by giving him pieces of pancakes and bananas. He would gag, spit it out and makes faces especially with the bananas and now they are his favorite food! Another trick that he seemed to like was when he got to share with Mommy. I would sit him in his highchair and share a banana with him. I would take a bite and then he would...he loved it! He is 11 months old now and eats absolutely everything we give him. He also just got his first 2 teeth a week ago...but still ate everything before that.
I dont think you have any worries. Good luck and enjoy him:)

D.,
Hang in there your lil man will start eating solids soon. My lil man was the exact same way. He gagged on everything. Eventually he stopped and tried the food and now eats pizza! The hardest thing for him was any kind of pasta, he gagged all the time on it. It took awhile, maybe 4-5 months till he stopped gagging all together. Try applesause (in the jar for big people) cut up banana (he will eventually love it!), dried cheerios or the puffys that they have for toddlers (try the cheese curls for toddlers they are great!).
Good luck and just keep trying!

My guess would be that your son is not ready for solid foods yet. I have a 10 month old daughter that did the same thing at that age and even at 9 months old. Don't rush it, he will let you know when he is ready. Try introducing the Gerber Fruit puffs to him. When he can eat those without gagging proceed to try new things. My daughter still will not eat certain foods but I introduce new things to her each day. Even if its only two bites of something. Take it slow, do not push or force it on him.

Hang in there. I just went through the exact same thing. My son will be 9 months on the 26, and yesterday was the first time he finally took a full jar of stage 3 solids without spitting them out or gagging. I started to introduce small amounts of solids, maybe four or five teaspoonfulls each meal in between the pureed foods. We also tried giving him little pieces of soft things we were eating because he seemed interested. I think it just takes some time for them to get used to texture in their mouths. Baby steps : )

Hi D., Sounds like your little one isn't ready yet. Just keep on with as much variety of baby foods and pureed foods as you can. Try again with finger foods that almost disolve...like the "little puffs" that gerber and parents choice have out in a couple of weeks. Sooner or latter solid food will happen when your little one is ready. The most important thing is for you to be relaxed! Our kids take their cues from us and how we react to them...it we are tense and nervous they will be. If we are calm, cool and matter-of-fact about stuff they will be too! Take your time, there is no rush...they are little for such a short time!! Trust me, before you know it you'll be teaching him how to drive!! Best wishes.

I agree with Chris..sometimes it takes them awhile to get used to the new texture of things. Give him typical fingerfoods that you know he can handle & he will get curious. Notice when he's watching you with some interest in what you're eating & follow his cue.

My babys the same. He has only just started trying solids from my baby food mill. I've been desperate to feed him some of the foods we eat mushed up to save money!
You cant push them though and they will do it in their own time.
One thing I did to help prepare my little one was around 8 months I started thicking his morning cereal just a little bit. I ouwld then put a very small amount of cereal in his friut at lunch time and the same for his vegetable at dinner. He woulndt eat anything with texture so this slowly helped him adjust and I gradually made it thicker as he was ready for it. Now I've started using my baby food mill to grind veggies etc and hes eating it. I also have been feeding him these rice rusks from walmart which he is doing really well with.
Good luck

Nah, you didn't wait too long. My little guy would still gag at crunchy things at that age. Has yours developed his pincher yet? I'd read--and found to be true in my case--that when the baby is able to pinch a single piece of food (cheerio, pea, etc.) with his thumb and forefinger, then he is ready. Yours will definitely show an interest in more solid food when he is ready.

Try to find a food mill and grind fruit and veggies (cooked pears, peas, cooked carrots, avocado etc.) to start introducing texture. It's a little more coarse than pureed and strained stuff in jars, but is still pretty lumpless. If he still won't take it, cut it with the stuff he's accustomed to.

Don't worry too much as long as he's eating. He'll take interest when he's ready. :o)

Hi, my son was that way--outgrew it--and for dinner tonight ate peas, ham, cherry tomatoes and cherries. so you can still grow a great eater even if they are odd about texture early on.

hope that helps, R.

Do you have any allergies in your family? If so, I would be worried that your son may be prone to them & has a strong gag reflex as a self-defense mechanism to protect himself against taking in food that may make him allegic. Many times, when babies outright refuse food, it's for this reason. Some babies just have strong, overactive gag reflexes though.

I would just take things slowly & be very careful of the foods which you do introduce.--If it's on the top 12 allergen list, I would avoid it like the plague for the time being!

Don't worry--I'm sure by the time he's in college he'll eat food with a fork instead of a straw! :-)

Good luck, D.!!!!!!!!!
A.

I don't think he is ready. I don't think you waited too long. Every child develops at different paces. Wait a few weeks and try again.