Hi! My son is 6 1/2 months old and a whopping 20lbs - but isn't making the move to solids - and now is up multiple times a night because he is hungry! He was exclusively on breastmilk until 2 weeks ago and did great - he's grown like gangbusters since he and his twin were born at 4 lbs as 32 1/2 week preemies. They spent 7 weeks in the hospital when they were born because they couldn't coordinate their suck/swallow/breathe - but we haven't had any trouble with feeding since they came home (obviously, since he's so BIG!), until now.
We introduced formula two weeks ago, which is going fine (I still nurse 2x's a day: morning and night) and attempted to introduce solids last week. His twin is eating like a champ (he's smaller, 16lbs), but my big guy doesn't seem to get it - we've tried different cereals, fruits and sweet potatos -but he just pushes everything out of his mouth with his tongue. It doesn't seem like he doesn't like it, just that he is having trouble coordinating the chew/swallow and instead just spits everything out. I'm not sure if this is related to his early issues as a preemie? My pedi says he needs FOOD since he's so big = and has recommended we try table food - we tried some chopped up bits, but he gagged.
Does anyone have any similar experience? Any recommendations? Our current gameplan is to just keep trying a couple of times a day and hope he gets it! All advice appreciated! THANKS!
K.,
My son is about 8 months now. At 6 months we tried to feed him solids but he just didn't seem interested at all. He couldn't really get the hang of it. We decided to just take a break for a while. About a month later we introduced him to solids again and he loved it! I think if you give it a break for a while you might find he is interested in a few weeks!
My daughter didn't like solid foods at 6 months either and I posed the same question on another forum. Everyone told me to not worry about it and to stop trying. I was hesitant because she doesn't sleep at night and I was looking for relief.
Relief from not sleeping is not in food, I'm afraid. I waited a few weeks, one month before she turned 7 months and she suddenly loved solid foods and took to everything we gave her.
She's 8 months now and still doesn't sleep! But she eats everything in sight, including cheerios!
Really all they need is in bm and formula. Food at 6 months old is for practice. It's not necessary in the slightest bit for nutrition.
Hi K.,
My first little guy was that size at 6 months, and my ped. said the opposite -- since he was obviously growing and thriving, I didn't need to push solids. And some babies are just not interested. My 6th refused to eat any solids, baby or table food, until he was almost 12 months. He's the healthiest of all 6! I just kept trying every week or so, until he finally seemed to get it. But I wouldn't stress over it just yet. He won't starve himself. You might try those mesh feeders, which let them chew on the food, but not choke. Or just keep trying, but not pushing, and he should eventually get the hang of not pushing everything back out. Your current gameplan sounds reasonable to me. Good luck.
I don't know if this would help, but have you tried the baby-safe mesh feeder? I wonder if maybe a soft fruit that would mush up would work - he could kind of "chew" on it and maybe get some juice out of it to swallow - maybe that would train him a little to work up to the thicker stuff? Good luck to you!!!
We also got the green light to start our 23 lb 5 month-er (I know! He's huge!) on solids. We tried a little, and he also didn't seem to get it. Then he got a stomach bug and really couldn't keep anything down for a little while, and then we just wanted his tummy to get back to normal, so we held off on solids for about another week and a half. Wouldn't ya' know it, as soon as we tried again, it clicked! I would maybe give a little break from the solids entirely (so he doesn't learn to hate sitting in the high chair, spitting out food reflexively, etc) and then try again in a week or so. They change so much at this age, he might just need a little extra time, and he doesn't really need the food.
K.,
Sounds like he needs a little help moving the food further back to get it into swallowing position. Try to get the tip of the spoon under his tongue and lift it up. works like a charm.
Also watch for signs of readiness like opening up when he sees the food coming towards him, reaching for your plate and sucking food from his own fingers (messy but he'll enjoy it)
let me know if this helps
It takes multiple attempts for some infants to learn how to eat solids. I would be cautious of using foods that are too strong at this point. My son, (due to low weight) was given the green light to start solids at six months. My son was breastfed and we used formula as a supplement. The early stages of feeding were more experiential for him. Stick with baby cereals and add pureed fruits or vegetables. I used a type of teether, that had an attached netted pouch. I put fruit in the netted pouch and my son held on to the teether and sucked on the fruit through the net pouch. This way, he was able to try tastes of real fruits without the risk of choking. These teethers can be found at Babies r us and can go through the dishwasher. Continue with breast feeding and providing formula.
Pushing food out with his tongue means he's not ready for solids yet. The Tongue-thrust reflex will disappear when he's ready to eat solids, in the meantime - why did you start formula? He was getting enough breastmilk from you as long as you were feeding on demand - and that means at night, too. He is still needing you at night, can't go for that long without eating yet. Formula takes longer to digest, and is harder to digest than breastmilk, which is why some people think that babies should have it at night. Not really necessary - but as far as solids, anyway, he may just not be ready yet. Don't push him, he'll do it when it's time!
