My six month old daughter won't eat cereal, friuts or veggies. She is exclusively breastfed.

Tammy - posted on 01/18/2010

My daughter was the same way! just keep trying, that's what I did. It took awhile but eventually she gave in. I think it's a texture thing!

Elizabeth - posted on 01/15/2010

Hello, one of my daughters would not eat food at all. She was 14 months the first time she ate something other than breast milk without the gag reflex setting in. My son who is almost 11 months was the same way. I thought I would try something new. I make his food from scratch and he can't get enough. He will not touch store bought baby food. At first I thought it was going to be difficult but it is very easy. I usually take one day a month and prepare all the different foods. I will do rice cereal, vegetables, and fruit. Then any time we are having a casserole or spaghetti, I will take some out and blend up for him. I use ice cube trays for freezing and the transfer the items into their own freezer bags. I Then take out what ever food he needs for that meal and put it in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds and it is ready to go. People have told me that my baby is spoiled, but I just think it costs less and I know exactly what is going into his body. There is no second guessing about the jared baby food. He is also very excited about eating. He does the funny laugh every time he sees food in front of him. I hope this helps. There are many baby cook books out there, but we got the one from William Sonoma and it was $20.00. Our whole family (including my husband) has enjoyed some of the recipes from the book and I have a 15, 10 and 6 year olds also. Good Luck!

Billie - posted on 01/04/2010

Kids have their own clocks. Enjoy it while you can my 9 mo old is weaning himself! no mama i want food!

Josey - posted on 01/04/2010

Lisa, don't worry! Some babies do this - my daughter Stella refused all baby food -wouldn't evern take a bottle- until she was ten months old. My cousin mark did the same until he was 9 months old. But as a result they skipped jarred baby food and stared right in on soft solids. I'm sure it is getting old but he knows what he wants so let him have it. And don't take any criticism for it - you're not doing anything wrong!

Les - posted on 01/04/2010

My 5th child is now almost 7 months. She has been eating for months now, but will only eat when the ceral is thick. The kind that sticks to the spoon thick. She loves it like that, but will not eat it if it is too thin. We still breastfeed her 4 or 5 times a day & none at night.

Janet - posted on 01/02/2010

There is no need to worry! Remember that babies get all of their nutrition from breastmilk (or formula) for pretty much the first year of life. I did not even start offering any solids to my daughter until she was 6 months old and she didn't care much about them until she was about 8 months old. She was perfectly healthy and was always at the top of the growth charts. She is probably telling you that she is not ready.

Amber - posted on 01/02/2010

My son eats very little baby food still at 7 months. He lets me know when he's had enough and when he would rather nurse. I think she'll let you know when she wants more.

Dawn - posted on 01/02/2010

i started with baby led weaning at 6 months. my daughter is now nearly 8 months and i have introduced a spoon to feed her baby breakfasts. before this time she wouldn't have anything to do with me feeding her. i think giving her that first month or so on her own with food has given her confidence with feeding and now she decides how much she wants and will also grab the spoon from me and put it in her own mouth.
as long as ur daughter can be sat upright with food then I'd try her with finger foods rather than puree's or mashed up stuff. she will eat when she is ready. it took my daughter about a month to learn how to chew and swallow. i didn't think she was eating much at first but her weight went up and her poo changed to foody poo!

Nicole - posted on 01/02/2010

We do baby led weaning. Phoebe wasn't very interested in solids until about eight months and didn't eat regular solid meals until 12months. I never gave rice cereal or juice so I am clueless about that. For the first while the food can just be a novelty for them to fiddle with at your meal time.

Nermina - posted on 01/02/2010

my older son loved cereal at 6 mo but my younger one couldn't stand it. so i tried making my own and that worked. try cooking some steel cut oats real thin and mixing in some pureed fruits like bananas and peaches. it could be that she just hates the taste of baby cereal.

Cheska - posted on 01/01/2010

my friend's youngest daughter exclusively breastfed for her first year. my friend tried all options periodically with no luck. that child was of normal weight and is a healthy 6 year old! just as some of the other mothers have posted she will eat when she is ready! hang in there!

Sophie - posted on 01/01/2010

Shes probably just not ready- every baby is different. Just try every couple of weeks if you want to but she is getting all the nutrition she needs from you and will let you know when she is ready for solids

Jennifer - posted on 12/31/2009

If she won't take it, she probably is not ready for it. But, I also read that it can take up to 10 tastes for a baby to like a new food. That said, wait a few days and try again.

Liz - posted on 12/31/2009

My daughter really never ate baby foods. I got her to eat cereal with prunes in it for about a month and if I was lucky enough to get her to eat any other kind of baby food it had to be thickened with cereal. In the end, I found out (I'm a first time mom) that she likes texture and baby food is just plain bland and boring. She loves big girl food. She also was EBF. So, let her decide when and what kind of foods she likes and don't worry she's getting everything she needs from you, anything else is just dessert.

Courtney - posted on 12/31/2009

I had the same problem with my daughter...if you leave her for a week or so and try again she will probably take it, and everything else....just be patient and DON'T FORCE HER!!! I have a cousin who is 7 and won't eat ANYTHING because she was forced to eat when she was a baby.

Dawn - posted on 12/31/2009

Are you pureeing [sp?] it? If you are try giving your daughter just the food as it is, remember food is fun until they are one - your child will pretty much get what they need from your booby juice.

dxx

Tiffany - posted on 12/31/2009

There's no reason she has to have cereal. My daughter never had cereal. We did Baby Led Weaning so she always had finger foods from 23 weeks 5 days. If you think about it. cereal is just another carb. Once your LO is showing all the ready signs, you can offer overcooked pasta as well or rice in ball form.

Geneva - posted on 12/30/2009

Don't worry about it. Some doctors are saying that babies don't even need the cereal, it's just empty calories. It's just a easy way to thin/thicken food to get them ready for solids. It'll happen in time.

Francesca - posted on 12/30/2009

Sounds exactly how my little Ella was at 6 months. She is eight months now and I see it as a personal victory if she eats a few mouthfuls at every meal. Although if its foods she can feed herself, its a completely different stories (I know your not their yet, but soon...) I was concerned for her nutrition so I talked to the doctor and he said that as long as I am continuing to breastfeed unrestricted, that there is nothing to worry about. And that the food is just complimentary at this point.



Good luck, I know its frustrating

Cheryl - posted on 12/30/2009

my 7 month old daughter wil not eat cereal, and she is not to fond on baby food, but she loves table food (mashed up a bit) i went through this woth my son also, he would not even touch baby food he went right onto table food

Amber - posted on 12/30/2009

I had started solids right on my daughters 6 mo mark and she loved them but I didnt want my supply to go down and her to early wean so I just feed solids maybe once a week for learning .I did research and before a yr solids arent really for nutrition and I rather her get mostly breastmilk anyways . She has her whole life to eat solids lol ..I am on wic so I just stock up on the jars for later when I want her on solids . Dont worry if ur baby isnt eating them .. its better anyways .. just means more breastmilk:)

Kelly - posted on 12/30/2009

my daughter is going to be a yr next month and i only breastfeed and she only eats solids every so often she will not eat veggies at all. I just try to give her solids when we are all eating dinner or what ever meal and she sees her older brother doing it so it makes her want to. she only started doing this this past month. he will eat them when he is ready he will let you know my daughter did. (she was taking stuff from my sons plate or mine)

Amanda - posted on 12/30/2009

I think everyone here is right. Your child will eat solids when she's ready. Also, my brother would NEVER take baby cereal. He just hated it and to this day (he's 21) he still does not like hot cereal of any kind. No cream of Wheat, no oatmeal etc. I think my mom just moved on to banana's and veggies and things and let him have cheerios when he was ready. Babies have different likes and dislikes just like adults so if she really doesn't like the baby cereal you can't force her. Some babies prefer things they can feed themselves anyway so try not to worry to much about the mushy stuff. Lots of kids skip it and go right to finger foods.

Rachael - posted on 12/30/2009

At 6 months old, it's not important for them to eat. My little guy was crying and reaching for my food at 3 months old, so we started him early and he can't get enough! However, up to about 1 year old, breastmilk or formula is where they're getting their nutrition from, and eating is only practice. No worries, on instinct, she'll eat when she's ready!

Erica - posted on 12/30/2009

My son gagged at everything I gave him and he was breastfed exclusively, he didn't eat much solids until he was 1.5! Now my daughter who is almost 5 months started out good with rice cereal and all of a sudden she started gagging! What gives? Anyways, I don't think there is much you can do about it, just don't give up, keep offering...or you may end up with a child like my son who wouldn't eat much till he was over a year old! I think I didn't persist like I should have.

Esther - posted on 12/30/2009

dont push her. she will eat when she is ready. make sure you eat really healthy for both of you!

Sarah - posted on 12/30/2009

If she is thriving I wouldn't worry too much, but if she seems to have trouble with it still (ie, seems like she can't figure out how to swallow it), I would get her checked out. My second child had quite a few feeding problems that were not really diagnosed until 7 months since he was exclusively breast-fed. If we had tried a bottle, we would have seen that he couldn't handly anything synthetic in his mouth, or figure out how to swallow anything other than breast-milk. Like I said, if she's thriving, give her a couple more months to figure it out, but if you have any concerns about her ABILITY to eat, take her in.

Robin - posted on 12/29/2009

keep offering and she will take it when she is interested.

trying offering her food off of your plate. babies always want what someone else is having!

Julia - posted on 12/29/2009

I wouldn't push her either, they know best themselves when they are ready for solids. My son started getting interested in food when he was about 8 months old and until now (13 months) my milk is a huge part of the daily menu :-) Here is a very nice link that is very worth reading: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T026400... Cheers!

Nikki - posted on 12/29/2009

Don't force him to eat just try everyday you never know when he might just start eating it. But u have to try to feed him everyday....

Daniele - posted on 12/29/2009

Back off some and try again in a week or two. She's probably not ready. We waited until my daughter literally dove into my plate for some cornbread before we ever tried her on food. She liked barley cereal and oatmeal better than rice. And, she liked the whole grain rice better than the single grain. Veggies were a godsend, though. She loves anything green. She'll get there at her own pace. Let her take her time. :)

Minnie - posted on 12/29/2009

My second subsisted solely on my milk until ten months, which was when she began feeding herself. If he doesn't want the food he's clearly not ready.

According to LLLI, signs of readiness for solids include:

Able to sit unsupported
Has developed the pincer grasp
Able to pick up food, put it in mouth, and then swallow it.

Anna - posted on 12/28/2009

That's fine, she's just not ready. You can exclusively breastfeed for the whole first year if you want to.

Patricia - posted on 12/28/2009

You can also try different baby cereals. My son who is about 6 1/2 months refuses to eat the rice cereal but he seems to accept the oatmeal baby cereal better... He also doesn't want to eat much he probably gets one solid feeding a day and spits out half of it. Like everyone said every child is different and increased interest in solid food will come with time. Give her a break for a bit and try again later.
It is also common for an infant to make faces and not like things at first but the key is to reintroduce later.

Becky - posted on 12/28/2009

It took my son about 3 weeks before he would have more than a taste of solids and I started around 6 months. At this point you are just letting her get used to the new textures and tastes. I found that the cereals taste best when mixed with breast milk (sweet taste) and she definitely doesn't need juice yet. My son is a year and has never had juice, he doesn't even know about all that sugar stuff yet. He is now eating most everything....when he's in the mood. No need to rush or worry. She'll get there when she's ready.

Teresa - posted on 12/28/2009

She's fine! She'll eat when she's ready. :)

Ashley - posted on 12/28/2009

Ehhh....then she is just not ready. It is a gross misconception that babies have to start solids before 12 months. They get everything they need from you. I would just keep trying. When she is ready she will let you know. you could also try one of those mesh teethers. I used to put frozen banana and other fruity bits in them and my boys loved them. We introduced solids at 6 months, but they weren't eating more than once a day until like 9 months. Good luck. She will eat when she is ready.

Amanda - posted on 12/28/2009

I waited until my kids were literally grabbing at food on my plate and then offered food. My oldest was about 8 1/2 months old and we started with avocados and bananas. I left them in big enough chunks so she could grab them her self and squish them into her mouth. She still EBF for the next couple of months and just used the food as really a play time with some of it actually making it into her tummy! My son was more of a go getter and was grabbing food off my plate and putting it in his mouth before I could get it at around 6 or 7 months old. I personally think that each child has their own pace and nothing you do is going to speed it up or slow it down. Good luck!
Sara is right..sweet potatoes are great too! I'm suprised my daughter didn't turn orange she loved them so much!

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 12/28/2009

If it makes you feel better my daughter is almost 8 months and isn't on any solids. We offer small peices of food like banana or sweet potato, but she doesn't eat them yet. I found this article very helpful:

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct08p36.htm...