HELP!!!! Stressed out Mum, 7 Month Old refuses to eat solids!!

[EmJaneJackson]

I hope someone can give me some advise as I'm really doing my nut over our son refusing to eat solids even though he's hungry!

We put him in his high chair to have his breakfast, lunch and dinner, he'll happily sit there until we try to give him any pureed food, even the stuff he likes he refuses! He sits there and constantly turns his head away from the spoon, he will sometimes try and grab the spoon and bowl to play with them but he doesn't try and feed himself he just wants to play with them instead.

It's really frustrating for me as he was really enjoying having his solids and all of a sudden he doesn't want them, I used to give him banana for breakfast but didn't want to give him that too much as it's quite binding so I tried giving him porridge, he liked the stuff from the jar but not the stuff I made up from the pack. At lunch he would eat pureed veg like butternut squash, sweet potato, carrot and the same for dinner. So he wouldn't get bored I started giving him pureed fruit at lunchtime (the 100% fruit pots) he enjoyed these to begin with but now won't eat those and doesn't want anything he has for dinner now either! I've tried changing the flavours up a bit by adding spinach to the butternut squash and pureeing up some sweetcorn and stuff for him but he just doesn't seem interested. My husband found a way to trick him into eating by offering him a beaker of water but then giving him a spoon of food instead...

I'm so so tired as I'm up in the night with him wanting a feed which I have a feeling has to do with him not eating his solids in the day (coupled with the fact he's really teething too). We tried him with a piece of pitta bread for the first time yesterday, he seemed happy to try and chew on it but he didn't seem so sure what he was meant to do with it.

I really need to get a decent nights sleep and need my son to eat his solids, I don't want to give him anything too sweet like yoghurt as the last time we did he wouldn't eat anything but the yoghurt. If anyone could please give me some advice on what we can do with our LO then that would be very much appreciated.

[DrP]

If he is teething as you mention then that in itself is reason enough for him to be off his food. His gums are probably sore and as a result he doesn't want to eat his food.

If he liked the pita bread then try him with lots of different finger foods. He might not know what do do with them but he will figure it out with a bit of practice. Maybe he has had enough of purees and wants something a bit more interactive now.

Maybe try him with a baby safe feeder , great for all sorts of fruit (steamed if you need to make it softer) and steamed veg, and frozen banana pieces are great to ease the pain of sore gums. If you do get one of these avoid using pear in it - the juice stains unbelievably and I've never managed to get it out of clothes.

At the end of the day all you can do is keep offering him a good variety of foods. Milk still remains his most important source of nutrition until he's one so he's not actually missing out if he is not getting solids. If he doesn't eat then try not to get stressed or fussed about it, move on and try again later.

[EmJaneJackson]

Thanks for the reply, I read that you have top start weaning at 6 months because they won't be getting all the nutrients they need from just their milk so that got me really worried that he wasn't getting the goodness he needed.

I gave him some pureed banana and a spoon of the natural petis filous for lunch today which he really enjoyed and for dinner he had pureed carrot and then some more natural petis filous but he got most of it all over him as he wanted the spoon and pot. He seemed pretty content trying to stick the spoon into his mouth but he wouldn't let me have it back to put more food on it for him lol.

I'll have a look at the safety feeders, they look like they could be good for him but I won't know unless I try, thank you so much for getting back to me. Being a first time mum I'm really panicing that I'm not doing something right for our son, but my mum keeps saying to me he wouldn't be as happy and contented as he is if we weren't doing a good job. x

[DrP]

If he wants to play with the spoon then let him but try having a second one yourself that you can use to slip in mouthfuls of food while he is trying out his spoon skills. Food at his age is really more about learning how to eat, learning about tastes and flavours than it is about nutrition so try and just follow his lead.

Your mum is right, if he is happy and content then you are doing a perfect job.

[rachaelmae]

My daughter would not eat solids till she was a year old, they get everything they need from milk.

Dont stress, it should be fun.