How Can I Get My 7 Month Old to Eat Baby Food?

So, give her what you are eating and forget the baby food, just be careful that the food is soft, and not super spicey. She can have most of what you are eating. The baby meats are really horrible. Fresh fruits and veges are all the best. Steam and chop or mash them.

I agree, just keep trying and try mixing breast milk with whatever you give her. Also, you might try yogurt if you haven't already. She will eat eventually! (at least, until she is about two, then they stop eating again, but it's okay!! It's normal!) They don't need anything but breast milk for the first year, eating is just for fun and to learn. If you want a good book to help, read Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, tons of good suggestions!!

The lactation consultant that I talked was strongly against feeding cereal out of a bottle or feeder because it encourages poor eating habits; but, if it is for a limited time and it is all she will take, go for it!

My third child would NOT eat baby food--EVER. He would eat very teeny bits of whatever we were eating, and he liked to feed himself whenever possible. Try a very tiny crumb of something like a muffin (my son's first food) and see if she likes the texture. She won't be able to figure out how to get it to the back of her mouth to swallow it right away, but try it. Try Cherios- but break them into smaller pieces at first.

Dear C.,
My babies weren't fond of baby food either. They would only eat jarred fruits that were tart like the plums and apricots and the only jarred veggies they liked were the carrots and the peas.
I discovered with my first baby that she would cry and get really fussy as I was cooking dinner and then if I tried to give her baby food, she really about had a fit. Baby food didn't taste like what she was smelling I guess and I just started letting her try some of what we were eating. She ate like a champ and my son was exactly the same way when it came to baby food. (Have you tried tasting it? It's not that good).
Just keep offering her different things like applesauce, yogurt, avacado, banana, mashed melon, mashed potatoes. My babies loved cream of wheat or oatmeal with a little brown sugar, eggs, baked chicken and fish.
I gave my babies their own little plastic spoons and at first they just played with them and liked chewing on them, but it does help them practice getting them to their mouths especially when you start to give them a little dish of applesause or yogurt to try feeding themselves. Let your little one have pieces of banana or soft watermelon to practice picking up with her fingers.
You didn't mention if you have a high chair to put her in while you are eating and attempting to get her to eat. Holding her might be a little confusing because she associates your breasts with nourishment. And, there's nothing wrong with that. I nursed my son for 15 months but he was eating literally everything else by that point in time. I wouldn't be overly concerned. Just keep trying different things and let her try starting to pick up things by herself that are safe to put in her mouth.
Best wishes!

You might want to try making the cereal super runny enough that it's more milk than cereal and put some in a spoon and feed it to her gradually (like one spoon full an hour) and just keep adding more and more once she gets used to it. then do the same with fruits (one fruit at a time for several days to rule out any allergy's) mix it with milk, one spoonful a day or if she is willing to try more than one an hour. Also let her play with the spoon so she knows it's fun and a friend.
I too wouldn't use the bottle and cereal at the same time. I was told that you should encourage eating solids at around 4 months so that they wont be so dead set on the breast or bottle. As long as they are getting plenty of breast you don't need to feed them a lot of solids. One or two mini meals a day.

Just keep trying!

Did you start with rice cereal - that's usually one of the best things to start with, and you can mix it up with breastmilk and I know some women put a runny rice mix in a bottle with a "large" nipple on it (easy flow) and then slowly get them used to the rice and then I would move on to fruits - she's more apt to like them than veggies or meat right now (besides she's a little young) you could even mash up your own bananas and feed that to her - like with the CIO method - it's persistence that works...it will just take time and she'll do it when she's ready....

Every child eventually will eat food. My daughter, who I nursed until she was 3.5 years, ate next to nothing until she was 12 months old. She liked cherrios, yogurt and raisins. Sometimes mac and cheese. That was it! Now she eats everything!

Don't worry - if she is growing fine, then just go with her lead - offer always, but don't force.

Have you tried Biter Biscuits? Some babies want to "do it themselves"

Hi there, my breastfed babies eventually ate various foods that were within reach and easy to grab, and that interested them...and they did that at very different ages (one at 7 months, one more like 14-15 months.)don't worry about it. breast milk is all your baby needs and when her body needs more she will show interest in food. I never did much if any spoonfeeding them.. They're all grown up and eat everything now!

It might be a texture thing. If she's just getting started with solids, they should be pretty mushy with no chunks. Also, introducing a food that contains a flavor she's used to helps. If you haven't tried it yet, try some rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. She'll recognize the flavor of the milk and might be more willing to give the cereal a try. You can mix your milk with fruits and veggies too, and slowly decrease the amount over time as she gets used to the flavor of the food. IMO, it can take more than a couple of days for a baby to get used to a new food. Keep trying the same food for at least a week and you might get better results. My final suggestion is to let her get messy with her food. Put some on her high chair tray and let her muck around in it. Her fingers will end up in her mouth after a minute, of course, and she'll get some food in there. That will make food more interesting and fun and she might be more likely to accept it. Good luck.

6 months is a guideline; some babies are not ready for solids until later. Just keep trying. That said, we didn't use a spoon at first with our daughter, just scooped with our fingers which she was used to putting in her mouth. Banana and avocado are nice and smooth textures and great first tastes for babies (even mixed together!). My daughter always hated rice cereal even mixed with breastmilk. No wonder. Have you tasted that stuff. Yuck! When she was used to eating a little, we just made regular oatmeal. Worked like a charm.

Don't worry about it - there's no rush. Babies move from breastfeeding to solids at different rates. If she's not ready, she's not ready. Her digestive system may not be quite up to solids yet. When she's ready, she'll show curiosity about what you're eating. Then, share. There's actually more risk in pushing her to eat solids before she's ready than there is benefit. Relax - it'll happen:-)
A., IBCLC
www.my3doulas.com

This happened to me with my baby at 6 months. I was told to try again so I did at 7 months and voila. I started with rice cereal mixed with formula in a bowl making it really soupy (didn't like it) then went to the Gerber fruit. I tried one first for 3 days before introducing another one. He'd scrunch up his face but would eat it. So the whole idea here is just try again in a week or two. She will eat it when SHE is ready! : ) Good luck!