Fruit but no veg/chicken/fish at 7.5 months!

claireski73 · #1 (**permalink**) 17-02-08, 15:21

I would really appreciate some advice. I am new to this game - my little bundle of joy is 7.5 months old and I started weaning him 2 months ago. All was going well, and I've been making him lots of different AK recipes to try and introducing things very gradually, but the situation with veggies has just got progressively worse.

He will eat any fruit I give him, no problem, but if I try him with any veg or indeed any chicken, fish or lentil dish, he's not interested. I now have to tempt him by putting a dollop of the food I want him to eat on a spoon and then dipping the spoon in a bit of organic jar baby food or any fruit puree, in order to get him to eat it (which he does). But then I panic that this isn't the point, surely I am trying to introduce as wide a variety of tastes as possible at this stage, so I shouldn't be dousing everything in fruit?! Also I worry about the nutrients he isn't getting - I have become obsessed with disguising green leafy vegetables any way I can, it really is quite sad!!!! He will sometimes eat veg if it's in a cheese sauce, but sometimes not.

Now I know in the grand scheme of things this is not a serious eating problem, at least he is eating something, and I know it will get a lot worse when he gets older, but it does worry me nonetheless - surely this is supposed to be the easier bit of weaning at the moment?

Also - if he refuses the food I want to give him - should I be giving him something else instead? I am reluctant to start down that particular route as don't want to get into bad habits, but then my health visitor says I should be giving him something else instead - easier said than done, what with all the defrosting/reheating/cooling involved!!

Any advice anyone can give me would be appreciated, thanks.

lovely mummy · #2 (**permalink**) 18-02-08, 21:20

When I first weened my lo, I would sometimes take a little bit of fruit puree, or any jared food, and mix it in with the fresh food, especially if it was a new taste, or something he wasnt overly keen on and then just gradually reduce the amount of jared food over time until just the fresh stuff is left. If he still refuses it, just take it away without making a fuss-they know when you're worked up- and try it again another time. Hope this is of use

SophieA · #3 (**permalink**) 18-02-08, 21:26

Hi there.

As I read your post it was all sounding incredibly familier. When I first began to wean my LO he was eating all the veg that I offered and it was all so easy untill one day he decided he would only eat a few mouthfuls of his dinner. I wasn't concerned but then it happened again the next night, then the next and so on. He would however always eat his fruit without fail. I began to worry also. In the end I mixed his home cooked savoury with apple ( more apple than veg ) then slowly decreased the apple untill it was just veg. It took a few weeks untill he was happy to eat anything but it worked a treat. Just a little at a time. I think they can just be very unsure of the flavours for a while. Your little one will come round Im sure. Try not to get stressed as they have a habit of sorting them selves out in the end.

Sophie xx

Alexanders mummy · #4 (**permalink**) 18-02-08, 21:28

Hi welcome to the site,when i started introducing foods to Alexander i would mix say carrot & apple together,another fave was pear & sweet pot,then maybe introduce a small amount of blended chicken to the veg/fruit puree.

I really enjoyed making lots of different dishes for Alexander,good luck x

claireski73 · #5 (**permalink**) 18-02-08, 23:03

Thanks so much for this - will try what you have suggested, some good ideas there! The rational side of me says not to worry, but on the other hand you sort of can't help it can you? He won't eat finger food at the moment either - strange because everything else goes in his mouth but when I offer him a finger of toast or rice cake he just looks at it! - but I guess this will change too with time and I just have to be consistent and get some patience from somewhere! Thanks again x

wagonmonkey · #6 (**permalink**) 18-02-08, 23:53

It just takes some time. As others suggested, try mixing the foods with some fruit, slowly decreasing the fruit as you go. As for finger foods, at 7 months, it really is training at that point, most everything for them is pureed I think. Eventually they get the hang of finger foods. I know with my kids, the first time I gave them solids (cereal), they looked at me funny and didn't know what to do with it. Then in a few days they got the hang of it. I believe it was the same with my son and finger foods. For the first while, they just look at it and if you put it in their mouth, they give a bit of a funny face because they don't know what to do. It's all practice. Haven't started yet with my daughter who is roughly the same age as your lo.

Good luck!