My Son Refuses Baby Food

He is only 6 months old, he doesn't *NEED* food. Most likely if he is refusing it, he is not ready for solids yet.

There are people that only do finger foods -- based on research supporting baby led feeding. Here's a blog website:
http://babyledweaning.blogware.com/blog/GettingStartedFin...

Here's a website with recipes: wholesomebabyfood.com
I haven't done it, still afraid of choking even though they say its not a concern...That's great that he wants to take charge, it should make for easier feeding, he can just eat some of whatever you eat wherever you are! good luck!

google "baby led solids" or "baby led weaning". i think your baby would definately benefit from this. its a style of introducing solids without spoon feeding at all. good luck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby-led_weaning

Maybe he isn't ready for solids yet. At 6 mos old, the primary source of nutrients is still breastmilk or formula. Solids are just a way to bulk up his diet.

Since he is young, you only want to introduce new foods one at a time and over the course of a few days to a week (ie. try bananas for a week, then the next week apples, etc.). He really shouldn't be eating any complex foods yet. And definitely no finger foods! He's still too young.

Make sure you are still giving him bottles/breast most often.

This kinds reminds me of one of my sons- he would go for a growth spurt and be hungry all the time, and this of course just meant I needed to nurse more to build up my supply. Trying to offer solids seemed "interesting" to him- as in, something new, something entertaining- but once the novelty wore off, he wasn't really hungry for solids yet, he just needed more milk. Finger foods, especially, are more "interesting" as they involve brand new tactile experiences with texture, color, and flavor! But, your child could be ready for solids anytime between 5 mos and 12 mos, so don't stress if he's not truly into it yet. It wasn't unusual for him to go through a 2-3 day stint of nursing every half hour when he was building up my milk supply and have more night waking episodes in a growth spurt, so if you're nursing hang in there. Hope this helps, obviously you need to go with your intuition and my son's experience could be different from your son's.

Hi,

I am mostly commiserating because my 61/2 month old daughter also doesn't eat well. We are still working our way through 1st foods. Maybe she will have a 1/2 tablespoon of cereal and 1 or 2 baby spoons of fruit or veggie a day. I was worried, but her pediatrician said not to be. Most of baby’s nutrition comes from mamma or formula, feeding solids at this point is just getting her used to eating. As long as she (or in your case he) is able to eat, then waiting until they feel like eating is no a problem. The doctor said that just keeping feeding her a little at a time and then one she will decide it is time to really start eating. FYI – my pediatrician is an OD not just an MD so she looks at the whole picture.

Good luck!

Jo

My son also refused baby food, or more accurately, was very inconsistant about taking it when we tried to feed him. I was also worried about choking, but one evening, when he was around months, he grabbed a piece of my roasted chicken and couldn't stop grabbing for it. I gave him small pieces, and he ate more than he had ever eaten. From then on, he was on solids. When we tried to feed him, he woudl refuse, so we finally learned to give him small bits on his high chair tray and he was fine. He ate plenty of oatmel (I often mashed in fruit), spaghetti, cheerios, scrambled eggs (another chance to sneak in veggies) macaroni, chicken, and chicken nuggets. I was worried about his uinwillingness to eat veggies so I got him some veggie nuggets, and those went over great. I also pureed veggies into the spaghetti sauce. We also give my son "milk cookies" (we live in Ghana, West farica, so I don't know what they would be in the US) and other easy to dissolve cookies and biscuits. We also had problems with him waking in the middle of the night, so we started to give him oatmeal with milk just before he went to bed. Sometimes I mixed in mashed potatoes or other starchy things to make it more filling. That did the trick. It seems that the more texture, the better. He had teeth com in at 3 months, so I don't know if there is a connection. I hope this is some help. Good luck!

Hi A.
How are things today?
Great fun as babies start to have personality, but with that comes likes and dislikes.
Seems he is eating things far beyond his age. Does your MD know you are trying such complex foods. You aren't saying that he is gassy, colicky etc with them, but that seems much too young to get any nutrients out of corn or broccolli.
I had a gagger and she gags on things at 18 years, so I may be more timid than some about choking. We had to call 911 at 2years for French fry.
Make sure he doesn't get constipated or diarreah. You say nothing about bottle or breast so I am going to say if you are using a bottle at all putting small amounts of cereal and/ or veggies into bottle so that they are thinned once a day will often help get enough food down a little one so that they are full and happy.
Since I am old enough to be your mom I always say talk to your mom, she may have some stories to tell, and you will both have fun sharing.
Don't discount the fact he is simply not digesting those for why he doesn't like them. He seems to young. Talk to MD, or even his nurse they will help you get you in line with what is recommended.
God bless you
K. SAHM married 38 years, with kids 37,volleyball coach; 32, lawyer for gov.;and twins 18 heading for college. We homeschooled. We are now grandparents, Jay is 10 days old and weighed in at 9'5". We had lots of foster kids & I love to hear from everyone

My advice is to not worry about it at all. He's still so little! He'll learn to eat solids when he's ready. (Have you ever met a 2 or 3 year old that doesn't eat solids?) Some people don't even start trying to feed solids until 6 months. Just be sure he gets enough breastmilk or formula, and keep trying with whatever foods you think he might like. My firstborn did the same thing, and I got all worried, but in a month or so he was eating very well. Now he's 6 and he's tall and healthy and strong, sleeps well, and eats everything in his lunchbox! (Except the carrots, sometimes...)

Hey A.,
Google baby led solids! They can explain this theory much better than I can, but a lot of people choose to do this instead of purees. They have some interesting ideas, let me know what you think! good luck!

At 6 months, breast milk or formula should still be the main source of nutrition. At this point you should be INTRODUCING foods to your child and not expecting him to get his nourishment from those foods. My son didn't eat solids till 9 months old and never liked "baby food" even if I made my own. He always wanted to feed himself, even his baby cereal and yogurt. Introduce one food at a time, give him soft food cut into small pieces, and let him feed himself the stuff you would usually spoon feed too! He'll be a big mess but he'll enjoy it and may actually be more open to eating solids.

Hi A....stick with the oatmeal and mix a little apple juice in with the cereal, warm it up. My daughters first foods were all veggies, at the same age. I would be afraid of him choking on the other stuff too. I know that alot of people add the cereal to their babys bottles too, that will help to fill him up alittle bit too, maybe for that last bottle before bedtime. good luck and have a nice weekend

Hi A., I am sure one or two of mine were the same. You are on the right track. Boil up some chicken, cut into small chunks or strips. Cook up some baby carrots or greenbeans. It sure is much more fun to pick up solid food (even if it is soft) than to eat mush! If he likes broccoli try cauliflower! Small chunks of cheeses (so many varieties) My children like macaroni that you can stick your finger into. Flavor it with chicken broth. And the good old standby....Cheerios. Have fun, Grandma Mary

have you tried very ripe avocado, sweet potatoes, very ripe bananas? or those mesh bags you can put fruit in and they suck on it? my son is 15 months now, but he just never liked the jar food...he would eat the plums and some of the fruits from the jars, but nothing else...then my mother told me to try it and when I did I realized it doesn't taste all that good!!! good luck!

Maybe you should try putting a very small amount of cereal in each bottle to give him the extra food that he needs.I know the fear of choking but this method seemed to work for me even if i had to enlarge the hole in the nipple. Make the cereal/formula thin enough that you could drink it out of a glass.

Sounds like he wants what you are eating. So, grab some no sugar added applesauce and split it with him Once that works, stir in some rice cereal into his container so he gets the bulk. Also, to you breast or bottle feed? Always do that after and if you use a bottle, add rice (or oatmeal) cereal to the bottle to thicken the formula. I would suggest mandarin oranges, over cooked peas, canned green beans (my kids loved the french cut ones), any canned bean - just dran, rinse and serve. Excellent protein and the babies love them as they can try to pick them up themselves. Also, now is the time to really add flavor to their meals as they have a totally open pallet and now they take flavor better and will continue to take flavor as an adult. For example, if you make any of your own food (apple sauce, peas pureed) add mint or basil to give it spice.

Just suggestions - he will get hungry and soon eat everything!!!

Hi,
My 2nd daughter went through the same thing. She ate baby food for 3 wks. & wanted what we were eating. I made elbow pasta and used baby food veg. as a sauce. I gave her canned peaches & pears, chicken nuggets (softer than real chicken),hamburger (like you would use for tacos),watermelon, corn, peas,crackers,baked potato mashed with a fork so it was chunky. I pretty much gave her all the food I was eating. My rule of thumb was to make it the size of her thumb nail. Even though he may not have teeth, mine didn't, his gums are very strong. Try putting your finger in there. They can mash a lot of stuff. Make sure you have something to drink during mealtime so nothing gets stuck in his throat. It is hard to choke on something if it is smaller than his throat opening. Hope this helps. Like anything else, it is trial & error.

They make this thing that looks like a pacifier with a net instead of a nipple so babies can eat without choking. My son uses it. Have you tried pasta? Just cut it up small and add butter or sauce if you baby can tolerate it. We started with pastina which is tiny stars. My son loves chicken noodle soup, veggie soups, I just mush them up and he eats it. He loves my cooking. I have a food mill that I grind it up in. He also eats yogurt. Does he want to feed himself, is that it? I would go fr macaroni and cheese, I got the organic one (Amy's) which we have not tried yet. Good luck.

My daughter also didn't like baby food. I think it just didn't taste good and she didin't like the texture. (I don't5 blame her). She absolutely loved corn on the cob and brocoli. I also gave her fish mashed up with potatoes, baked sweet potatoes,chicken cut up small (almost mashed). Pasta with tomato sauce, Annies macaroni and cheese. Basically he is ready for all the same foods as you eat. Don't give him dairy till he is 1 yr old but let him try everything.

I would suggest making oatmeal or barley cereal really thick with fruit or veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, pears, etc.) and feed it to him off your finger at first. My son loves finger foods too, but he needs a little more practice until he gets good enough to eat a good meal!

Remember though, this is just practice for him! He's getting plenty of calories from his milk! :)

FYI my daughter had almost no interest in solid food until she was 11 months. She didn't start eating 3 square meals a day until 17 months. Keep trying, but maybe once a week. Starting solids at 6 months is very cultural. I know cultures that don't start solids until 15 months!

Since he's so young, I would increase his formula or breast milk and still just try to introduce new foods by the book. If he refuses them, let him. You don't want to make feeding a stressful or negative experience - I think that's the number one priority at this age. If he eats his solids one day, great... if not, increase his formula/breastmilk and try again the next day. And don't panic - I know from my own son that they change every day... you never know what he'll want to gobble down in a month or so.