Baby not eating

Very good advice already, will just add that the forth sign of readiness is that your baby WANTS to eat, I think a lot of eating related issues can stem from patents ignoring what their baby is telling them. When babies are forced into solids against their will what should be an enjoyable adventure becomes something frustrating and scary for them. I would consider a major back track and start over, basically stop giving solids and stop putting your baby in the high chair with food. You could buy a new chair and let him sit in it with toys, once he can sit unaided try giving some purée off your finger tip, share the food with him and let him enjoy it on his own terms, if he turns his head away he is telling you no , if he leans towards the food he is saying yes please that is the true meaning of "baby led" There is a big variation in when babies are ready, my 5 month old is desperate to eat, other babies are 9 months or older before they show any interest in food, better to wait until they are truly ready.

Hi little_zuzu He's still very young, and if he is finding it stressful stop for a day or two then try again.Just offer food (either on a spoon or finger food) once a day. Do you have a supportive chair with a table attached that he will sit in? It will help if he is upright, so he can explore and there is less chance of choking. You could get him used to the chair and table initially by just using it for him to play with his toys so it's a nice fun experience. You could then put small spoons amongst the toys on the table so he gets used to the feel and texture of them, still in a playful way. Just offer one or two pieces of finger foods on the table for him to explore - it will get messy :) Try not to stress yourself about it, he will do it in his own time.

Every baby is an individual, but there are usually three signs which indicate when your baby is ready for solid foods alongside breastmilk or infant formula. They can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady. They can co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth, by themselves. They can swallow food. Babies who are not ready will push the food back out, so they get more round their face than they do in their mouths.

Yes! We use it for watermelon! Helps us to avoid the seeds and the thing with watermelon is that it breaks off easily on big scary chunks.

sourskittleashnut: I have one, ds just want's to chuck it around. Will try again in a mth or 2.

Has anyone tried a Baby Food Mesh for baby led weaning? You can put the food inside it and baby sucks on it to get the food out so they feel like they're eating and it's still safe since no big lumps can go through. Pics here: [url=http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Pack-Fresh-Feeder-Colors/dp/B000GK5XY2'>link[/url'> Apparently you can get it from Mothercare, going to give it a try and update! Also I posted in another thread, I tried Petits Filous baby yogurt, DD really liked it, hope it continues!

A great book is 'Baby Led Weaning' By Gill Rapley if you would like ideas. Basically, you give any food you normally would offer your baby (whether you are introducing slowly for allergy monitoring or not) and eliminate salt and sugar from the preparation, avoid the other common allergens for the recommended timeframes (honey, eggs, nuts) that you follow. Then when you prepare the food you shape it into finger food (sticks, handles, strips, lumps, etc etc) and ensure that if you eat it that you can crush it in your mouth with a small amount of pressure with your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Hard fruits and veggies need to be steamed or boiled, perhaps even peeled at first if you are nervous and meats should be cooked very soft. Lots of ripe fruit is good and soft as it is. Our first food was broccoli florets steamed till almost mushy, then we had well done steak to suck on, then I think we had banana which I squished the end and it splits into segments which she held like a stick. She hardly ate any but te expressions on her face were priceless. DD also went through a phase that she wanted to use a loaded spoon herself, then finger foods, then spoons and now it changes daily, so just go with the flow as your LO learns and explores. Just remember whatever you give you should be able to crush it in your mouth. Gums are very effective without teeth.

Babies will chew even without teeth. They use their gums. I had one child who refused to eat pureed food - she would only eat finger food and food that she could chew - she just used her gums.It's been a while so I can't totally remember but I used to put little bits of food on her high chair tray - as far as i remember it was things like chopped banana, grated cheese, chopped kiwi, bits of cooked pasta,cooked carrot, potato,avocado, raisins etc.Cooked spaghetti was a favorite and she loved trying to get that into her mouth. She would quite easily feed herself from around 6 months....much easier than using a spoon..

Sparkly has some great advice. I'm a baby/child deveopment advisor and just wanted to offer some ideas I recommend to the families I work with. Remember milk is food so if your babies are drinking a lot of milk they may not be hungry to try solid food. But as they eat more solid food, they may want less milk at each feed or even drop a milk feed altogether. Be prepared for each meal to take time, especially at first. Rushing your babies could lead to them feeling the stress so go at your baby's pace and stop when your baby shows you they have had enough. Introducing solids often coincides with your baby becoming more mobile, crawling or toddling, so the last thing they want is to be confined in a chair to eat. The trick is to keep it brief and make it a fun experience. Easier said than done I know. To make it a fun activity and take the pressure off, just give them a spoon and the food you hope they will try and let them play with it, without expecting them to actually eat any to begin with. It will get messy but this is an important part of your baby’s development. You will have noticed that babies explore everything using their hands and mouths so offer your baby finger foods and encourage your baby to feed themselves with their fingers. Babies learn from watching you and your family eat so it would be helpful if you could eat something whenever they are. You could sit with them and whilst eating your own food you could also have a small portion of whatever they are having and you could show them how yummy it is :). Then once they are more relaxed about it you could have a spoon each, and whilst they are practising with theirs you can offer the food to them with your spoon. I'm back in Dubai next month if anyone would like a personal chat then.

Hi little_zuzu My son is 11mths old, and we have the screaming matches as soon as he is put in the highchair, he also wiggles to try and get out of it which I thought was a bit dangerous. So I started feeding him on my lap, however he still screams as soon as the food goes near him. I use singing to distract him and it works really well, even if I have to sing until he has eaten everything. He is on pureed food, as he hates lumps, texture etc. BLW doesn't work for him at the moment. That all started a mth ago, he is still on my lap, I still sing to him, and he does eat everything. Obviously he stops when he has had enough. Hope this helps

[b'>We did BLW and loved it. DD is 12m now and such a great little eater and by that I mean she will eat anything and has not once shown any dislike toward anything she has tried and we have tried a lot of different foods. That's not to say 'go and do BLW' but what I mean is that the philosophy behind it is more laid back toward eating for nutrition under the age of 12m. [b'>[b'>[u'>Food is fun until one.[/u'>[b'> I BF on demand and food is extra. We have a milk feed 30 to 45 minutes before all solids so she gets all she needs from the milk and the solids are for fun and exploration of taste and texture. She eats tiny amounts of solids but there is no fuss and we have not once argued over eating more. It was hard to watch a fully prepared meal not get eaten, or just played with and smudged all around, but I really had to hold back and trust that DD knew what she needed. I can see that she does know, even controls her water intake. Babies are really good at self- moderating their dietary needs. If it's a screaming match, or they are spitting food out or they are not showing interest, don't push it. Offer the food and the rest is up to them. If they are good at self-feeding, offer little snack plates throughout the day rather than formal meals in the chair. I find DD eats less when in her chair because she wants to get out. Once she is out she still wants food but when I carry her. So nowadays that she is more mobile, we have meals on the mat or in an area where DD can control her participation in the meal (such as in the walker), when she is not hungry she crawls or walks off. I stumbled upon this one day and loved the idea http://www.janetlansbury.com/2010/01/baby-table-manners/ I really wanted to avoid a picky eater, so I refuse to push it, refuse to chase her around with food and refuse to spoon feed. Having said that you can still spoon feed and still be baby-led (but not in the true sense of the BLW philosophy). Follow their cues and they will show you the way.[/b'>[b'>[/b'>[/b'> edited by sparkly on 09/03/2013 ETA sorry but I can't unbold it. :-/ edited by sparkly on 09/03/2013 <em>edited by sparkly on 09/03/2013</em>

yep I'm in exactly the same place as you are. My 10mth old wont eat a thing! I'm so fed up of trying and constantly fighting with him as he tries to wriggle out of the chair......it turns into a screaming match on all 3 feeding times, I'm at my wits end, so if anyone has any suggestions as to where I'm going wrong, I'm watching this thread closely!!

I'm sort of on the same boat, DD is almost 8 months old and doesn't eat properly. I've pureed bananas, avocados and carrots at home and she eats a bit then stops after 2 bites, starts spitting it out and/or screams if I feed her more! I'm considering trying Baby Led Weaning, have you tried it?