My Seven Month Old Isn't Interested in Food

L.!
My daughter didn't like all the stage 1 and some of the stage 2 baby food, so my doctor said, why don't you get the food you're cooking (without seasonings, or just a dash of seasoning) and blend it all together until smooth; For example, you can boil brocoli and pasta together, with some chicken and blend it and WAMO! you've got some way yummier baby food than Gerber could ever make, plus it's fresh. I'll bet once you put it on his finger and let him try it that he'll be eager for some spoon fulls. I hope this works!

P.S. I understand going crazy w/ isolation! My husband is gone for 4-8 days at a time (Coast Guard) and the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes is working at home!

Hi L. I have 4 children and have been in the area almost 8 years. I have a 6 1/2 year old, 4 year old and twins who are 5 months. I am 30 and a stay at home mom. I remember when I first moved here with a 6 month old I was very isolated and did not like that. If you ever need to talk or anything feel free to write.

C.

You cannot force him to eat, but you could start him on some formula to help lessen your load. Just keep trying to introduce some fruits and veggies. It might help to put some of the fruit or veggie on your breast before he begins eating and that way he is getting used to the taste and might start eating from the spoon. Good luck.

My little boy is 9 months old, and he only really started showing an interest in food a couple of weeks ago. At 7 mos. he would taste things out of curiosity, but refused to really eat.

So don't give up hope, he'll get there. Some babies just take longer to decide they want to eat.

One thing that worked for us was giving him chunks of melon to chew on. They felt good on his gums, and helped him participate in dinner time, even if he mostly just sucked the juice out.

mm i don't really know much to tell you about the eating thing, maybe try something that tastes good like chocolate to get him started..lol i know that sounds bad, but i know what it is like to have a hubby that works alot and being at home all day and all night lots with a 2 yr old in my case is driving me batty at times, nap time is my relax time...on fridays i go to the mc'ds in weaverville were some moms go and we talk and let lose the kids to play..if you want ill send you my email and maybe you could get out of the house too

Some babies, not all, have severe sensitivities to texture, particularly in their mouths. They may not like a certain type of foods (like sticky or crunchy) or all of them. One thing you can do at home is to try a Nuk brush. It may be hard to find, but try a babiesrus or pharmacy. It looks a little like a toothbrush, but with a round spiky end. You use it to play in their mouths giving gentle pressure on their gums. If this doesn't help, you might want to have a pediatric occupational or speech therapist who specializes in feeding take a look. If you notice other sensitivities (like to touch or loud noises or bright lights) definitely mention this too. By the way, some pediatricians (not all) have no clue about this!!!

My son had no interest in solids at that age. Seven months is still pretty young. If he's not interested, then he's probably not ready. My son didn't start eating solids until he was around a year old. He was never interested in baby foods or anything that I had to spoon feed him - he only wanted to eat when he could pick food up and feed himself. But even when he started eating a little bit, he was still getting most of his nutrition from breastmilk. I know it can be frustrating to feel like he's constantly nursing, but he might just be going through a growth spurt, or he might be teething and nursing for comfort. Sometimes they go through phases where they nurse constantly, but then it usually dies down.

L., I agree with the last poster. Are you on a schedule? If so, what is the schedule. You want to nurse at least an hour before suggesting any solids. I have read that you want to be careful not to force the solids issue. If he doesn't want it put them away and try later. Forcing the food on him could make the situation worse.

Just an idea, but have you done any water or juices in a sippy or a bottle? If you haven't used a bottle at all yet, sippy would definitely be the way to go. May introduce some pear juice and after he gets a little use to the new taste try giving him some pears - kind of ease in to it. Just a thought. Good luck and keep us posted!

I don't know what you have all tried but I had the same problem with my daughter. What I did was cut a hole in her bottle nipple and mixed baby fruit cereal with formula. She loved it. I then started mixing it in a bowl and finally she ate it. If you haven't tried it, it is worth a try!

I am 27 and can't seem to really meet anyone with kids. Really weird considering my husband is military! But I am trying to meet people with kids...do you live around the Newport News area?
A.

I am going through the same thing right now. My 7 month old will not eat anything, just wants grown up food. When she does eat she gets very constipated. I have given up on feeding her the baby cereal. I have given her the yobaby yogurt which she tolerates some what and a soft boiled egg. The yolk only. I know that is against the rules but I did use it on my other 3. Just make sure no egg white gets in there. I also breastfeed and my daugter will take a bottle of formula some times but that leaves me very uncomfortable. She is also refusing to nurse sometimes too. I am going to try her on some softened cheerios later this week. I think that if she could pick them up herself she might like it more. Hang in there. I can relate to the isolation too. I have 4 yr old twins that are at home too. My only time out is to get the 6 yr old. My husband works long hours too.

I don't know if this will help..but here goes. My youngest son was the same way, just a little younger. I was a stay a home mom at that time, but around his 7th month felt it was time for him graduate to more solid foods. Of course he preferred the nursing to that idea. Why? I asked my doctor. His suggestion was that they don't have to work for it. When you nurse, you know that the milk flows almost freely. It is the same thing as breast vs. bottle. It is easy, and a lot more comforting. At that age they are more aware and will use the nursing for comfort more so than before. I started slowly weaning him by nursing, then the next feeding I would pump and give it to him in a bottle. I don't remember how long, maybe a week. I tried formula but he didn't want it..again the comfort that comes from the smell and taste of mothers milk. After about a week, once he got used to the bottle, I changed the bottle feeding to formula. After the next week, I reintroduce the baby foods, starting with cereal with either pears or apples mixed in it. After that it was easy to go to nursing only first in the morning and last before bed with nothing but formula bottles in between and of course the foods at meal times. He still was a picky eater, and never would take the stage 3 foods. I kept him on stage 2 until he was old enough to finger food eat and switched him straight to table food at that point. Now he eats like a horse and loves everything!

Hi, my son was the same at 7 months. I found that he wanted solids, not baby food anymore...only he had NO teeth! He not only wanted whatever we were eating, but he wanted to start feeding it to himself. He still goes through a few bites off the spoon, and then refuses because he needs to feed himself. I bought canned vegetables and rinsed them off, same for fruits. It's a lot cheaper than baby food with about the same quality. He loves green beans, so those I like canned because you just can't get them soft enough unless you boil them forever...then they really are no different from canned. If you have time, you can buy fresh and steam them or cook them so they are soft enough to mash with the tongue and swallow. He also loves bananas. I break a chunk off and he can pick it up and feed himself...just make sure they are not too soft or they get REALLY mad when it mushes in their hands instead! I also bought low-sodium soups and break one can into three separate bowls to feed him. The foods are really soft for him and he get's chunkier foods that he wants. I hope that helps, I know I'm always looking for ideas of foods to feed a toothless child. He'll be 1 in a few weeks and just barely cut his two bottom teeth. You can see them, but they aren't up all the way yet.
My friend has a son that is 1 1/2 years old and he is the opposite, he doesn't want any regular food, just baby food! To each his own!
Good luck & hang in there. You may want to check for teething, they all seem to lose interest in eating for a few days when they are teething.
Y.

Hi L.,
I'm A., and I have a 10 month old little girl. Instead of trying lots of different foods at once, try one fruit (like pears) for a month. When I tried peaches with my daughter at 6 mos, she wouldn't have it for anything. But when I tried pears, she really took to it. I asked her dr. about it, he said the strong scent of the peaches may have turned her off. A good website for tips on how to get your baby to eat foods is www.americanbaby.com.
Good luck!

A.

It takes awhile for babies to get interested in eating. Are you nursing him before you feed him solids? If so, then he is probably not hungry. When it's time for him to eat, try feeding him the solids first, then nursing him like always. At this age, it's more about introducing him to the foods, so a couple of bites at a time is fine. Over the next couple of months he will start to eat more and more solids. Seven months is still young, give him some time.

Hey L..
I have a 6 month old and sometimes i have the same issue. I have a schedule with him. Cereal in the morning, then a bottle @ 12, a veggie and a fruit @ 4 and then a bottle @8 which is his last feeding.. now when he gives me problems with that 4 oclock feeding and he dont want it honesly i wait it off. if he dont want it then i wont give it to him. but i do leave him about an hour so he knows that he cant always get "the bottle".. trust me they know.. if they have the choice they will go for the bottle. what i can say is try giving him a fruit during the day he has to like that.. usually all babies do. they like the sweetness and while giving it to him tell him in a sweet low voice that he is doing a good job. give that to him on a feeding schedule when u know he is hungry but not crying at the point hungry. he has to be calm. and then proceed with his bottle after the fruit. just dont give up on it. even if he takes a bite or two at least he knows the difference. but just dont let him SEE the bottle at hand. Good luck.. I know i needed it..

Have you tried to talk to his doctor about it? If he has any teeth, have you tried to give him something he can feed himself? My little boy loves to feed himself.

my best friend had the same problem with her son. She bottle fed him and she would prop him up in the crook of her leg when she gave him his bottle. Ended up thats they way the wanted to be spoon fed to..it was what he was use to. She would gradually sit him up more and more when she fed him and now he eats like a champ! its a new experience, it just takes some time.
~Jenn

Hi,
I am from Salisbury too. I have twin 3 year olds that I nursed also. It may sound mean but cut back on nursing a little. Start with an early a.m. feeding it will be a pain at first but this will increase his appetite, try it for a week. Have set meals. For breakfast let him try to feed his self ceral the
increased appetite will help, if he gets hungry enough he will eat. I promise he wont starve to death. He is staying to ful right now and adult food is different and can be scary. I put a small tarp on my kitchen flood and just hosed it off after meals.He could also be teething the reason he wont eat. When he starts teething try giving him dry toast. Its cheaper then the teething biscuts, the rice cakes, and grahm crackers are good too--they kinda melt when the kids eat them, and their sweet.

Hey L.! Have you tried giving your son some milk mixed in with other solid foods? I have a 6 month old little girl and we started out giving her formula mixed with cereal and oatmeal. From there, she has started to eat more of the solids which are still mixed with the cereal and also eaten plain. For example, I mix apple sauce and cereal or berries and cereal. My little girl has become a really good eater and eats just about every solid made by gerber stage 1 & 2. Other than that, I have no other suggestions. I, too, am a stay at home mom and know how it can drive you nuts! Do you live in the Greenville, SC area???

S. :)

At 7months is still a bit early for some solid foods. It will get easier I promise. Don't get to frustrated. Try to give him the little puffs that melt in the mouth. Also i know how hard it is to meet new people. I've been here since feb of this year & still have no friends to even go to lunch with. I work full time at walmart at night then home to my kids so i know its hard but if you eant we can do lunch sometime just to get out of the house.

My oldest (who is 11 now) had the same problem. What I did was start to offer her food that she could handle on her own. Even if she didn't eat it, it still gave her the opportunity to play with it and get used to different things. Of course we started out with soft things like green beans and peas that were easy for her to "gum". This helped her to learn to chew harder foods later on.
My son (8) refused baby food all together. I don't know if he didn't like the texture or what was going on with him, but he started off with regular food. I know that this is supposed to be against all the rules but it worked for me.
My youngest (19mo), she decided one day that she wasn't going to drink formula any more! She would throw her bottle at me whenever I offered it. This started when she was 8 months old, she also didn't like babyfood. She was more interested in what I was eating.
In my opinion, it wouldn't hurt to offer some soft vegitables to him. It will help him to develop his small motor skills and get him used to feeding himself.
Good luck!

Will he take a bottle. If not, get him to use a bottle first. He might not know food can come from a different source, and then you can try formula. But, at 7 months he shouldn't eat food. If you try food, try cereal or melt in your mouth puffs.

Where are you living? I am in Columbus, MS.