Weaning issues

[MrsKNB]

Hi my son is nearly 7 mths old and when we started weaning it was going quite well. But now foods he previously ate he wont eat now ie baby rice, avocado and porridge and he will not eat any of the veg I have prepared for him. He only eats apple, pear, rusks and yoghurt which cannot be very healthy. I have tried carrot, butternut squash, potato, sweet potato, parsnip, banana and he just closes his mouth, turns his head and starts to cry. I dont really want to go down the jar route but am running out of options. I dont know if I should mix the foods together or try them one at a time. How am I going to get him to eat lumps if I cant even get past the first tastes in the first weaning stage?
HELP PLEASE!!

Typical day 8am 2 tbsps porridge sometimes eaten mostly not. 8oz bottle
12pm 3 ice cubes of either apple or pear 8oz bottle offered but usually has 5-7oz
4pm 1 rusk made from 8oz bottle - usually leaves 1-2 oz
7.30pm 8oz bottle

At 6pm ish when we are having our tea he is given a rice cake to play with and he does put it in his mouth and sucks on it.

[DrP]

Hi, and welcome

Firstly remember that milk is still the most important food he can get, and will be for the rest of his first year so if he's not eating loads yet don't worry about. He will take to it at his own pace. Yes it's frustrating when they stop eating things they used to and when they don't eat what or how much you'd like them to eat but it's best just to try and relax and follow their lead.

Is there any chance he is teething ? That can make them go off all sorts of food even stuff that the perviously enjoyed.

Sounds like he might have a bit of a sweet tooth at the moment. Definitely try mixing foods. If he likes apple and pear then add them into some veg (or with other fruits) and see if he will eat those. Then you can always slowly remove the apple / pear from the mix once he is used to it. Apple and pear will mix well with most root veg.

When I was weaning my LO I just froze all my fruit and veg purees seperately then would defrost a couple of different cubes when I wanted to mix stuff, so for example he might have a cube of carrot, apple and butternut squash all mixed up together. I found this easier than making a batch of a mixed puree and if he didn't like something I only had the bowlful to throw out and not a full batch. If he doesn't like soemthing today then leave it and come back to it again in a few days or next week.

If he like yoghurt then try making up your own mixing a nice greek or natural yoghurt with fruit purees and getting him to eat some fruit puree that way.

Even sucking on the rice cake is better than just playing with it. In time I'm sure he'll pick up how to eat it but he'll do so at his own pace. Maybe try him with some other finger foods like toast or some steamed veg sticks or pieces of soft fruits (or steamed harder fruits like apple and pear) and see how he gets on with those. You can always get something like a fruit nibbler to put the fruit / veg in and let him work away on that (can be a bit messy, but it's a really safe way to give them the food to get on with themselves). Be warned though that fruit juice can really stain clothes badly so a good bib is handy with these (as I found out the hard way).

If you can avoid the rusks then I would - purely 'cause they are pretty high in sugar - even the low sugar ones.

It's hard I know but just try and relax and I'm sure it'll all fall into place in time. Sounds like you are doing just fine, so just stick with it and as long as you have a happy and healthy baby then there really is no need to worry.

[MrsKNB]

Thanks for the help - am about to go to Stressco (Tesco) right now to get that fruit nibbler thing - I had been looking at it before and I am also going to try veg as finger food instead of rice cakes every other day just to see what he does! Its reassuring to have someone just say its ok, keep going as silly as that sounds! Just going to keep offering him the veg and will mix the apple and pear in with the veg too to see if that works. Hopefully in a few weeks time he will be eating everything! I just have to not get upset or frustrated and keep offering him different things in different ways and eventually all the hard work will pay off and I wont be able to keep up with him! Thanks again x

[cathyg]

sounds to me like you're doing really well already. its a slow process & babies just don't follow the rule book (iykwim). if there something he likes keep going with that & maybe mix if with something new gradually. we did occassionally add some jar stuff (when convienient out & about). but just remember milk is still number 1 & food is just an extra taster to get them used to the feeling & flavour of something new. good luck. it can be stressful & upsetting, but you'll get there in the end. xx