7 Mo Old Will Not Eat Baby Food

I use to put my baby's food in with her milk. I would add a fruit in with breakfast or cereal and maybe the same for lunch, then for dinner or later evenings I would use a veggie with her milk. Maybe he would eat it with the milk because he wouldn't actually know its there.I would maybe start trying to introduce him to some new foods like some mashed potatoes, oatmeal, pasta or maybe try some veggies that are soft like sweet potatoes, peas, and soft fruits like mango, bannana's.It is possible that he is still not fully well from the ear infection or that the medicine has left a nasty taste in his mouth.Hope this helps! Feel better baby!

I would give it a little time. My ped recommended not feeding baby food and instead going straight to table food- baby food does not taste that good and is really not very nutritious. Maybe he would enjoy regular food more.

My daughter refused to eat anything mushy at about 9 months. Try some soft foods like small pieces of banana, lightly smashed peas or beans (black, cannelini, etc) shredded cheese, etc. It may just be time to move on from the processed baby foods. I'd still check with the doctor in case his ears are bothering him though.

Hi K.,

You didn't say what kind of meds the doctor had him on for the ear infection. Some pharmaceuticals cause lack of appetite and because meds are primarily synthetic chemicals, they tend to linger longer in the system long after the reason for them is gone. My first suggestion to most would be to force fiber. In your case, that would probably just be consistent with the fruit you are giving him now and some rougher cereal like oatmeal, not rice.

I would visit my local health store and explain his age and the problem. Most clerks at good stores (pharmaceutical grade stores like vitaminshoppe, not vitamin world, GNC or a Walmart type place.)will have some suggestions and some stores have an N.D. on sight.

God bless,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

If you are talking about the jar baby food at the stores, I'd go a different route with the veggies and see if he'll like these better. I always cook my own veggies and then puree them and put them in ice cube trays. They taste SO MUCH BETTER. Perhaps, this will entice him.

Maybe he wants to eat by himself?
My son stopped w/ the baby food around that age too. He also has an older brother who's the same age as your daughter and I think when he saw him eat, he wanted to do the same. I started him w/ the baby puffs, cherrios, bannanas, peas and finger food and still supplemented w/ the bottle. Let me know.

HI K.,
If he was vaccinated just prior to the ear infection, you may be seeing some digestive immune issues surfacing. If that is the case, drop me a note, there are several things you can do to test it out, but somewhat long to write out. Let me know if the timeline fits and I would be happy to suggest some things. J

I have a 9 month old and a three year old myself and am a stay at home mother. I had a very similar situation. My son had gotten very ill with allergy problems and developed bronchitis and ear infections. He wouldn't eat but took his bottle. The doctor wasnt overly concerned with him not eating. When he did start to eat again he was more interested in what I ate then what was in the jar. I now just give him food from my plate and gave up the baby food.

I would definitely heed the Dr.'s advice, but, like a lot of the other mom’s have said, my daughter at that age began to get more interested in what was on my plate then her own. If he hasn’t tried any table food yet, then you could see if he likes some of the fruits and veggies that he’s had as baby food but in small, soft, whole pieces (we usually stick with pea size). We started with the baby puffs since they dissolved pretty quickly in her mouth, so even if she didn’t chew, she wouldn’t have problems. If you really want him to keep eating baby food, we also would sometimes put a piece of the whole food (like banana, or one of the puffs) on a spoon with baby food underneath. That way, she saw the piece of table food that she wanted, so she’d open up, and then get some of the baby food with it. She started to catch on after a month or so, but it worked for us for a little while. One thing I also use: distraction. I’ll sing or talk to her as I’m feeding her, or put a little of the food on the tray for her to try to pick up/play with, or play with her own spoon. Good luck!