Any suggestions to help introduce solids? I have been trying for 3 weeks with very little success!

Lisa - posted on 09/08/2009

my daughter didn't like eating solid foods at first either. she hated rice cereal mostly because it upset her tummy. as soon as switched to oatmeal she enjoyed it, but it was really runny at first. i wanted to make my own baby food my she out right refused to eat it. i bought the jars of baby food for the first month just to get her used to eating solids and that seemed to work. at around seven months i started making my own food again and now she is fine with it. good luck!

Barb - posted on 09/08/2009

Thanks for the info everyone! I will keep working at it! He has to learn to eat solids eventually!

Lucy - posted on 09/06/2009

Have you looked into baby led weaning? (google it) instead of offering purees and cereal you offer chunks of table food, carrot sticks, broccoli florets, strips of chicken etc for the baby to choose what and if he wants to eat, he'l start by sucking, gumming and exploring the food. To be honest i wouldn't worry too much, up until 12months food is just for fun, the nutrients all come from milk.

Amy - posted on 09/05/2009

You should try to put the cereal in a bottle with breastmilk or formula whatever he eats. try to make it a ratio of more bm to cereal and also you have to try one food at a time for week and keep giving it to him they have to normally try things about 15 times before they will like it sometimes. plus it may be he is just not used to the spoon and needs time to get used to it. I would recommend trying green foods over anything else first so they choose veggies over fruit. and every baby has their own time when they get comfortable with food. and you are not supposed to introduce meat until later on. he is still a little young to digest the meats at this point even the baby food kind. you also can't puree all baby food b/c it has minerals in it that a baby can't have. so you need to check and see which ones you can make from scratch. good luck i hope this all works out.

Jennifer - posted on 09/05/2009

I read that you need to offer a new food to a baby sometimes up to 7 or 8 times before you can tell if they really like it or not. They may just be resisiting it because its new and if you keep offering new things it probably makes it harder for your child to learn to like it. I know I made my rice cereal very very runny at first with breastmilk for the first few feedings. I also only prepared about a teaspoon at first, this is what my pediatrician recommended. I'm slowly working my way up to a tablespoon at each feeding and slowly preparing it with less breastmilk to thicken the texture. This seems to be working very well. For the first few feedings, my daughter made disgusted faces and didn't seem to like it but after a few days she started to eat it up pretty well. Just remember the food is more of a learning experience for your baby at this point, his breastmilk or formula is still going to be his main source of nourishment regardless of the solids he eats!

Ann - posted on 09/05/2009

My son is 7 months old and breastfed, I just recently started feeding him, I tried the store bought cereal and baby food and he spit it all out. So I started making my own homemade and he LOVES it. He eats about a half of a cup of cereal mixed with fruit now. Try it see if it helps, if not...you never hear about a child starving themselves or growing up never learning how to eat. Don't worry yourself =) Your obviously a great mom to be concerned, just don't worry yourself with it. Every baby is different.

Tamara - posted on 09/04/2009

Try and put some crushed biscuits (Farleys Rusks) into one of his feeds first. Let him get used to something more solid. Or just randomly give him something that you think he would be able to digest when you are eating something. Make it a game and surprise him.

Lynlee - posted on 09/04/2009

Our son also hated solids and didn't start taking them for a few weeks after starting him on them. He hated the rice cereal and I never could get him to eat it but when he was a bit older he liked the museli and mashed up carrot, potato, peas etc. He also hated it too thick so try thinning the mixture with formula or breastmilk until it's quite runny and make sure it is warm. I know of a few babies who refused all baby food until 9 months when they would accept mashed table food.

Michelle - posted on 09/03/2009

Hi my son started on pureed apples from heinz, he didn't like the texture of the cereal eather. he also didn't like the heinz food with sweat potato in it eather. my son is now 7 months and starting to eat a full teaspoon most nights. try baby yoghurt. keep try and don't give up cause it does get better till they learn how to spit it at you then it become a whole new game. good luck hope i was of some help

Lorraine - posted on 09/03/2009

hiya, my son kayne didnt like the baby rice either, i gave him a rusk biscuit broken i half so he couold get use to hand to to mouth also they are only made from milk and have a nice sweet flavour, also try things like mash potato, kayne really enjoyed a sunday roast as the gravey gave it lots of flavour, good luck let me know how things work out x