6 Month Old Refuses to Eat Solids

When my daughter was 6 months she would eat solids, but eventually she wanted to do it herself. Maybe give him a banana and let him hold the food and then maybe he'll let you feed him one he starts getting the taste for the food.

If he is not interest, don't push it. He will let you know when he is ready. Especially if he is breastfed, he does not need anything else until he is a year old.

Dont be afraid to wait. My little boy is 8 months old and he is only just now taking off with baby food. He loves breastfeeding and I think thats why it took him so long to adjust. I had to make it super runny at first and it was just a few bites at a time. By 7 months the only cereal I oculd get him to eat was Mixed grain cereal made with baby fruit juice. Everything has to be warm or he wont eat it. On days where hes tired, growth spurts or teething he wants to breastfeed and nothing else. I just let him. Hes gaining well and is happy.
I also tried different times to feed him, when he was hungry, really hungry, a little hungry. Nothing worked, he was not ready till he wanted to do it! I just kept offering it and eventually he took it one day. Now he loves his morning cereal and lunch time fruit. Vegetables are so so for him but I keep offering him them. (I started with vegetables first but if I waited till he took them we would have never started on fruits! We have a very stubborn little boy!)
We've tried coarser textures becuase I thought possibly he may prefer real food and he would gag on it and coundlnt swallow or mush it in his gums. I'm presuming hes just not ready for that yet and it will be slower going on htat side too.
Good luck

Hi B.!
My daughter was the same way. Have you tried to mash up your own food? My daugter didn't like any of the prepackaged things. I bought a food mill from babies r us and put whatever we were eating in there. It worked great. She is 13 months now and eats everything! She never liked any of the cereals either. I didn't make a big deal of it, I would just mash her a banana for breakfast with some formula in it. He will eat before you know it. The breast milk or formula is his main nutrition now anyway. Hope this helped!

You shouldn't be pushing solids yet. Your child gets what they need from formula/breast milk, whichever you are using.

B.,
I liked that response from B.. Make sure he sits at the table with you for meals and pretty soon he will show an iterest in what you are eating. Let him try the safe things that he seems interested in and just give him little piles/bits of other things to try: Cheerios, cut up soft fruit, etc. You'll be amazed how it will quickly change once he's got the interest. My son eats everything! My only regret was that I think I spoon-fed him too much & for too long. If I had to do it over, I'd let him make the mess on his own so he would be a more independent eater.
Good luck to you. There's no need to rush this--let him go at his own pace. All kids are different.

t.

Is he breast or formula feed???

My son who is a healthy 2.5 year old and eats like crazy never had anything except the breast until 8 months of age. he looked at food and would play with it- but never ate it.

We started him on smashed fresh banana's. When rest of the family was eating he'd been in his heigh chair with us. Any fruits or vegetables that we were having with our meal I'd give a couple smooshed up on his tray. For months it was more fun to examine ever nook and krany of what was on his tray. Eventually he started watching us eat and then putting the food in his mouth. He made LOTS of funny faces the first few months but eventually he was eating with the rest of us. I NEVER forced anything on him---I would not appreciate someone forcing me to eat---so I didn't do it to him...

My eldest son- I tried to do everything by the 'book'. Having him eat certain foods by certain times, buying the canned baby foods, etc. Don't what others mentioned about basically forcing him to eat something... UGH--the regrets! I eventually learned all kids are different and I need to respect this. I also learned to not spend all the money on the canned and boxed baby foods but to use what we had. I'd steam veg's and mash them up for him or use the left overs from the night before. Save lots of money and my kids were getting the best of what I could give him! I also used expressed breastmilk for diluting- much more nutritious then plain water and FREE!

They say that a any foods introduced to a breast feed baby before the age of 1 is purely just for fun that they don't actually need them for nutrition value.

I wouldn't worry yet. He probably just isn't ready to eat solids yet. Out of my four kids none of them have started solids at the same time. My now three year old didn't start until he was 12 month after many attempts.

Try to give him something really tasty, like fruit or sweet potatoes. My three always liked the sweeter stuff better. He needs to start eating now, or he will develope a texture problem. Wait until he is hungry, but not starving, because if he is really really hungry, he will just want a bottle. Make a big fuss to distract him from realizing it is food.

Once he gets used to the sweeter stuff, start introducing others. Don't get too frustrated. They have comfort in the bottle or breastfeeding. Good luck. ;)

Hi B.--

No advice here, but I have tried everything for the past 2 months and nothing is working. (my son is now 6 months) He gags and throws up. We're just continuing to try and hoping one day it clicks. At least nutritionally at this stage they are OK without it, but they do need to eventually learn how to eat. My pediatrician told me not to worry about it too much yet. So don't worry, you're not alone!

B.,
He just might not be ready. My oldest son didn't eat baby food until he was almost 9 months! Meanwhile my second started at 4 months. To this day my oldest (now 4.9 yrs old) is not much of an eater. Our 1 yr old eats more than him. So, take his cue and continue offering him food until he decides he is ready.

Hi, B.!
Do you have any allergies that run in your or your partners family? Many times, when babies refuse solids, it's a self-defense mechanism on their part, to protect themselves from becoming allergic to a certain food that they may happen to be prone to.
I have a friend w/ twins (a boy & girl). The girl started solids @ 6 mos, the boy not till he was almost a year old. As it turns out, he IS allergic to wheat & I think something else. Their family has a lot of allergy problems!

Are you breastfeeding, by any chance? If so, this will help to protect your son immensely since breastmilk forms a coating/barrier on the intestines. The gut of a baby is actually open until sometime between 6-9 mos, allowing allergens to pass into their bloodstream more easily. Dr. Sears & www.KellyMom.com have more info on it.

Hope that helps some! Just be patient & try again in a few weeks.

Good luck!
A.

My son absolutely refused all solid foods until he was 8 months old and got his first tooth. Your boy will eat when he's ready, don't worry too much about it. When he is ready he'll watch you eating with lots of interest and go for what you've got. Don't worry too much. It sounds like he's a healthy wee man.

first make sure he is hungry. Then try bananas, applesauce, or cereal. Can be the consistency he doesn't like.

Few tricks I used were play, make him laugh and have spoon ready and put in his mouth and then keep spoon over mouth till he swallows or have bottle ready and let him have one or 2 sucks and then out and put in next spoonful. Once they get it 2 or 3 times they will eat.

I have a 6 month old son as well and we just started trying solid foods last week. My son does the same thing with turning his head away and clamping his jaw together. So, I have started holding his head (under his chin/mouth) when I feed him if he starts doing this. I also will do whatever I can to make him laugh so that I can put the food in his mouth. For him, once the food is in there he will eat it. I'm not sure if your son spits it out or not, or if the challenge is just getting the food in his mouth! He actually has been getting a little better since I started keeping him still! Good luck!

If he's not interested, just try again in a week or so. It's just for practice at this point, not for nutrition so there is no rush. Remember to keep the experience fun. Always smile and say "yummmm" no matter what his reaction is and he'll eat when he's ready. My daughter's favorite first meal was mashed banana (use a very ripe one), she wasn't as excited about the cereal. Good luck.

PS-I was just reading some other responses and must add: NEVER NEVER NEVER FORCE FEED YOUR BABY!! Unless you'd like to foster future eating disorders.

He may not be ready. My daughter's ped told us to wait until she showed interest in food. My husband and I couldn't wait for it to happen--it didn't until she was almost 8 months. She would do the same this as your son--just turn away from the food. When she was ready, she did fine. I know that it can be frustrating, but I would wait [even though it can seem to take a long time :)]. Good Luck!

B.,

I wouldn't stress about him not wanting solids. It's entirely possible that he's just not ready yet. Developmental signs of being ready for solids include:

1. At least 6 months of age.
2. Able to sit up unsupported.
3. Devleoping Pincer grasp - NOT palmar grasp
4. Losing the tongue thrust reflex
5. showing an active interest in solids (mimicking the chewing motion, trying to grap food from your plate and eat it, etc.)

You may have better results if you stop offering for a few days or a week or so. It's also possible that he just doesn't want baby food. If you haven't seen the information on child led weaning, you might find it interesting. My daughter, 7.5 months, loves chunks of bananas and avocado. The theory, in a nutshell, is that if they are feeding themselves, they will only injest what they're capable of eating/swallowing and that they will stop when they are full.

S.