My 7 Month Old Will Not Eat Baby Food

I wouldn't worry about it too much... keep offering. He is getting most of the nutrients from the breast milk. You could try mixing the breast milk with the solid food so that it tastes like something he is used to. Eventually, he will get the hang of it. Wait until he is a toddler... they really become picky! Just keep on offering a variety of solid foods. One day somethng will stick!

There's a saying "Solids before one are just for fun!" Don't worry too much about your son not liking solids. I think there is way to much emphasis on getting baby's started on solids so early. My nine month old doesn't like cereal or baby food either. Since he has so many teeth already he might like chewing food (this is what I discovered with my baby). Try little puffs, bananas, pears, steamed carrots, etc. Basically any other foods he gets before age 1, besides breastmilk, are just to teach him how to chew and swallow. Breastmilk is a perfectly balanced diet!

try pumping and using your brest milk to dillute the cereal to a runny state.

Your baby does not need food right now, he can live on nothing but breast milk for an entire year. I would quit frustrating myself and him for a while. When the family eats, put him in a high chair and give him some cheerios or crackers. Give him a few bites of whatever you are eating if he seems interested.

I am a mother of 10 children. For my last five, I never even BOUGHT baby food, not a jar! What did people do before there was baby food in a jar? I offered them bites of things like bananas, mashed potatoes, hamburger meat, my doctor told me once anything I could crush with my fingers, a baby with no jaw teeth could eat.
So relax, nurse your baby, and don't worry about the baby food! I wouldn't want to eat that stuff either!

Hi J.,
I had a similar issue with my son ... I started him on baby food at around 5 months and he did pretty good for about 2 months. By the time we got to stage 3 baby food, he would barely eat it. I usually could get him to eat the fruits but not veggies or meat. I asked the nurse about it at his 9 month check up and she told me not be concerned because while he is on formula, he is getting all the nutrients he needs. She said food (baby or solids) prior to 12 months is really for practice rather than nutritional value. She said to continue trying a variety of foods (taste, texture, etc) to "groom" his tasteboods but don't stress about him eating food. I've also realized that my son just didn't care for baby food (if you've tasted it you can understand why) so I started feeding him table food (boiled/mashed potatoes, green beans, breat, chicken, noodles, etc.) He rarely finishes the food I give him but we are getting lots of practice on eating! In a nutshell, as long as your son is growing and healthy, don't be concerned about him eating food for nutritional value but do continue trying so he can try different things. Good luck!

J.,
My 25 month old didn't really like baby food; I tried cereal a few times, but he just didn't like it. You have the most important food for him right now, your breast milk. My son never liked the meats at all, could get him to eat some fruits and vegetables, not a lot. He wanted to eat what everyone else was, has two older siblings. We gave him little of our food, he seemed to like the taste better. One thing we did give him when he was 6 months old is chicken bones. Everyone was telling me how good it is for babies, I didn't do this with my older two. Anyway, my husband is great on the grill, and smoked our food, my son just loved his daddy's chicken bones.

Just keep trying the babyfood and add some table food, just little samples; don't worry, he'll be eating everything soon enough...

If he is a healthy weight, pees & poops regularly, I don't think there is a lot to worry about at this time. But, if you'd like to introduce food to him in a different way.....this is how I fed my youngest that was born at 30 weeks. Any healthy foods I ate that would be digestable for her, I chewed it up and put it in her mouth ~ like a bird feeds it's young! She ate wonderfully! She actually started wanting "bites" at a very young age. (4 months) I seem to remember putting a bite of chip & hotsauce in her mouth one time and her reaction was hilarious! She actaully wanted more! None of my kids liked baby food from a jar so I didn't bother with it. Hope this helps! G.

Food the first year is just an experiment. He should be getting the bulk of his nutrition from you. My son was bf'd and wasn't interested until he was about 8 months. He's big (95%), had some teeth, etc. He just wasn't interested. Plus, he just didn't like the cereals (they're bland and kind of gross imo). It wasn't until we tried barley cereal (and then I made my own cereals after that) that he became interested. I think a lot of the baby foods are really bland and, if you have a bf'd child, they're used to a lot more flavor and variety. Canned and jarred foods were my son's favorites (can you blame him) and I ended up making a lot of his own foods (really really easy). He loved sweet potatoes and fruits. Check out the book Super Baby Foods. The author's a little over the top, but it's a fabulous guide to foods the first year.

If he's nursing well, you shouldn't worry I think. Food will come when he's ready and it looks good to him. Some babies skip the baby food and jsut go to table food. My guy is now almost 4, he loves to eat, has no problems and eats just about any fruit or veggie you put in front of him too. He still doesn't like pureed foods like applesaucce. He loves apples and will eat them no problem. Go figure!

Good luck!!

I agree mostly with the other postings, he may not be ready yet. but it could also be that the food is just yucky. My daughter hated the baby food, so we got a grinder from my sister, I believe it is from pampered chef, but you might be able to find one somewhere else. We would just grind up whatever we were eating and she took that just fine. Her doctor was all for that, he even said the baby food meat was terrible. You could try that, it could help. But if he is still nursing well, I wouldn't worry too much. He is getting most of what he needs from you. My daughter nursed until 9 months, and the only reason I stopped then was because she had so many teeth she was biting me.

Hi J.! I asked this exact same question a few days ago :) I got so many wonderful responses but the ones that I appreciated most reminded me that there was plenty of time and a lot of breastfed babies dont start baby food or solids until 9 months. I gave my baby a few days break, put her in the high chair and added some rice cereal to sweet potatoes and last night she ate half of the jar + the rice cereal! Hang in there...I am sure your baby will be just fine! Breastmilk has what he needs for now if he is still at a healthy weight and sleeping well.

I would puree what you wat and give it to him. That is what I did for both of my kids. You can make it ahead of time and freeze it in either ice cube trays or any small container you choose. The jar food does not taste that great. When you do meats just puree it first with some liquid to get get it real fine then mix in some potatoes so it has a god texture. Good luck I know it is stressful.

He doesn't need to eat right now. If he is a healthy weight and there are no problems nursing, he is fine. At this age, food is practice. He will eat foods when he is ready. My little ones would start watching us eat and start grabbing at the food. Pretty good clue that they were ready. Also consider that he may want to feed himself. I have two like that. Refused baby food. Didn't want anything until they were big enough to do it themselves.

It's really good for babies to just be exclusively breastfed for a year. I always use the view that they will eat and be grabbing all the food in sight when their digestive systems, teeth, and bodies are ready for it. My son didn't have anything but breastmilk until he was 14 months. That's the way he wanted it. And now he is not a picky eater at all- he loves everything! And of course I'm not a big fan of baby food or rice cereal anyway. Fresh fruit is really good for them! Even if you don't agree with me, it is a known fact that for one year, breastmilk alone is a more-than-sufficient diet! Take Care!

I had the same issue with my now 2yr old, he still had the tongue thrust reflex at 8mo where if when you try to put food in mouth their tongue pushes it out it means they are not ready for solids yet and since the GI tract is so immature (porous) so more risk for allergies to persue if it is pushed too quickly. His body know what is best and good for him. The Laleche League states breastmilk has enough to sustain a baby for up to 12mo.
They are a great resource. and the www.kellymom.com website
As long as he is thriving and happy that is the #1 goal
Dont forget breast fed babies have a diff growth chart than a formula fed baby.
I hope this helps :-D

I agree with the other posters--as long as he's happy and growing well, there's no need to worry at this stage. My DD was never crazy about babyfood, but LOVED feeding herself, and to this day (18 mos) wants what she sees us eating. I'd not stress about it now, but when he shows an interest try giving him soft things that he can feed himself--small pieces of banana, small cubes of cut-up tofu, anything small and soft that he won't choke on, until he gets used to it. With so many teeth, he may be ready for table food. GL!