7 Month Old Still Not Interested in Solid Foods

Try offering her solids before her "milk" feedings If shes not hungry she wont be interested.....hope this helps.

Then wait.
She's not ready.
She still has her gag reflex and probably tongue-thrust reflex.

For the 1st year of life, breastmilk/Formula is still a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition, anyway. And to still feed/nurse on-demand....

ALSO... if you nurse her after solids... she will then be TOO full to nurse... and thus, a baby will 'wean' from breast... and not take breast nor as often etc. Many times, a baby will 'wean' from breast or reject breast or not nurse as much/as oten... if given solids first or as a priority.
Breastfeeding, since you breastfeed, should be the priority. Nursing, should be given BEFORE solids.

all the best,
Susan

breaskmilk should be the primary form or nutrition for the first year so if she's not interested, hold off. wait until she shows interest in what you are eating and try again. if she's still not interested by 9 months, bring it up at her pedi appt but at this point i wouldn't be concerned.

I agree with the other Moms....if she is nursing there really is no need for other food at this point. My daughter exclusively breastfed her son until he was 10 months old. Early introduction to foods leads to more food allergies so don't push it. I do know that my 7 month old grandson ( another daughters son) LOVES avocado, banana, and cantaloupe...maybe one of those would interest her.

From everything I've read, and my own experience, it takes 10-12 introductions before you can know if a child "likes" something or not. I also exclusively breastfed for around nine months. She would have an occasional taste of something from about 7 months, but she was easily 10-11 months before her solids intake was anything measurable. It was pretty much just "spoon licking" up until that point.

Once I was ready for her to really start eating solids, I would introduce one food a day every day for 7-10 days. If, at the end of the week, she still wasn't interested I moved onto something else. If she "liked" it before that time was up, I added another food to the mix. Over time, I would go back to things that she didn't "like" and try again.

I introduced all sorts of things....sweet potatoes, lima beans, curried potatoes and peas, kidney beans, pureed pot roast (with vegetables and brown rice), pureed chicken livers, avocados, plain Greek yogurt...you get the picture. Now, I have a three year old that is pretty open-minded about food...maybe I got lucky, maybe I managed to do something right...lol. It is actually funny that she doesn't like tomatoes but will still ask to try them occasionally.

We don't have a family history of allergies, so I certainly broke some of the "rules". I just kept a bottle of Benadryl handy.

If she shows interest, let her taste it. Otherwise, she'll get around to it when she is ready.

Just wait. If she's nursing regularly, and seems satisfied, then there's really no need for solids. She's getting all the nutrition that she needs from you! You can also try skpping the purees (makes it easier to gag) and give her soft cooked fry-shaped finger foods (baked sweet potato fries are great to start with). That way she can experiment with them herself. The whole 6 month old eating solids is just a guideline anyway. You have to look at your daughter's other cues, such as the ability to sit UN-supported, interest in table food when you are eating, etc. She'll eat when she's interested. My son didn't really take to solids until about 9 months, and even then didn't really start eating a good amount until he was about 15 months. Every kid is different!

My son wasn't interested until about 13 months He was slow to make the transition, but he turned out fine.

Speak to the pediatrician about it, but at 7 months, she is fine as far as nutrition goes with nursing for now. Solid food is really practice at this point, but if the issues continues beyond a year, you should be concerned for her future speech development as well as nutrution. Babies need to learn to take solids and move them from the front of the mouth to the back to build the muscles in their mouths for good, clear speech. It is a process, and she is not really even behind yet. Get some advice from the pediatrician and see what they say.

M.

Hey there,

My 2nd daughter took what I felt was forever to reach for solid foods. My 1st baby was on solids by 5 months.

But here's the "kicker": I was trying to feed #2 all that baby cereal stuff up until she was about 6 or 7 months old and she would purse her little lips up and turn her head. I didn't know what to do! Once, on an out of town trip with the hubby and 1 of his aunts, she was crying her head off and I couldn't figure out why. Auntie said, "That baby is hungry". I blew her off because I KNEW my girl just wasn't ready for solids yet.

But I let her talk me into stopping at a store and getting a blueberry muffin (just so I could prove that she was wrong) and guess what? She GOBBLED IT UP!

That whole weekend, his family fed my baby EVERYTHING - grits, pie, chicken, etc. She never took 1 bite of baby cereal or stage 1 - 3 foods. She went from breast/bottle straight to table foods.

Not saying that's what is happening in your case but maybe your baby gags at the thought of baby cereal. Just a thought.

BTW, not to cause controversy but I read a post about baby only needing breast/formula for the 1st year of life. Most Peds recommend introducing solids between 4 - 6 months. They have even shortened the timeline for exclusive breastfeeding. Have to find that article...

I did find this "Babies often gag when new foods are introduced. New tastes and textures can make your baby gag. If the food is lumpy, make the lumps smoother and try a few more bites." on a web site as I was looking for the other article about exclusive breastfeeding. The site I got this from is the Austin Diagnostic Clinic. http://www.adclinic.com/Doctors_Specialties_Maps/Pediatri...

Agreeing with Ronni--it's called "baby-led-weaning". The point is that your baby still gets most of her nutrition from breast milk up to 12 months, but rather than feeding her, you let her feed herself. Our 8-month-old eats everything (asparagus, broccoli, quesadillas, whatever), and I don't mean ground up. We put a piece of food on his tray and he gobbles it up. Before anyone freaks out about choking, read the attached links. (BTW, I am a also a pediatric ER doc and I am ridiculous about safety :-) )

Last night my husband made a yummy rotini pasta with a blush sauce, and I just put some grated parmesan on it (to make it less slippery) and he loved it. You are still waiting to at least six months, so the chance of food allergy is low. Breast fed babies are used to the taste of their milk changing depending on what we eat. My nearly six-year-old nursed for 14 months, BUT we did all the purees and such. Now he eats about five things (you know, the typical pizza, quesadilla, chicken). We are hoping his little brother continues to lead the way in his culinary adventure!

There are several websites you can check out. I discovered it on babycenter.com in the baby-led-weaning group. there is also a bunch of info about it at http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyledweaning.htm

My daughter wouldn't eat solids until 10 1/2 months. Breastmilk actually provides all nutrition for at least a year. Wait another month and try again. Solid food isn't necessary at this age. My daughter has two older brothers who both ate solids at 6 months. All babies are different.

I had the same problem with my oldest daughter. I breastfed her and my doctoir told me the gagging was because of the suckling (I hope I spelled that right) reflex. In some babies it just takes longer. I feel (because of experience) that babies who are breastfed take longer to lose that reflex. My son who had to be on formula because of medical reasons started eating baby food at 6 months but my daughter did not start until she was 8 and a half months. My doctor told me that she was still getting all the vitamins and nutrients she needed from me so not to worry and that 6 months was only a time to introduce them to the baby.

I don't have any suggestions on how to help with getting her to eat, but I hope the above information will help you not to worry :-)

Both my breastfed kids didn't eat until around 8-9 mos. I just kept offering a bite here and there, and they were very slow to uptake from stage to stage.

There are these "net" things your child can hold -- you put food in them and the child can hold and suck the food out. Maybe that would interest her? Also, does she like a little fruit juice in her bottle for taste variety?

Good luck and great patience!