Eating?

Katie - posted on 12/26/2010

My son started doing this around the same age and come to find out he was ready to start eating with his hands like cheerios and such ( we would still try to get him to eat some baby food) Now he is 9 months and he eats whatever we eat lol he won't eat the baby food or rice cereal anymore, so why force him lol he will eat the baby cheetos and stuff like that but he would rather have what we eat which is fine with me lol

Melissa - posted on 12/24/2010

When is it okay to start stage 3 baby food. At 7 months Emma was on Stage 2 and she loves to eat. The Gerber is good or the organic brand she loved. Just try different foods. Emma is now nine months and I think she is more hungry. Patience though dont try to get the baby to eat things too fast. :)

Jessica - posted on 11/05/2010

Just keep trying... the first few times we tried feeding him solids, he got bored with it right away, turning his head or refusing to eat it. We just divvied up the containers into smaller portions and froze them for later consumption. We just continued to try different foods until we got him used to eating and swallowing. If you've tried veggies and haven't had much success, try fruits... most babies love apples and bananas! Also, try the new baby yogurt... our son loves it!

Good luck!

Susan - posted on 10/28/2010

My first did that! There were a lot of tears by her and me. I would try different foods all the time. Sometimes she would eat 2 times in a row and I would think we are off to the races and then the third she would have nothing to do with it. I took food breaks. I wouldn't feed her solid foods for 2 weeks and then go back and try. I was even cutting back the amount of formula she was drinking. She was still gaining weight, and hitting all the milestones! After the battle from Sept-Jan she starting eating a few finger foods. Oh and she got all six front teeth in from Nov-Jan. Possibly might have had something to do with it! After she was 11 months I couldn't keep her full. Now at she eats sometimes and other times not so much. Kids for the most part will never starve themselves. As long as he is gaining weight, hitting milestones, pooping and peeing alright, the medical people told me not to worry. It will come dont worry. In a little bit you can try finger foods.

Liz - posted on 10/26/2010

i'd say he's just not intrested yet, which is totally fine still
my son was showing an intrest in our food before i tried feeding him rice cereal he didn't love it at first, but he kept opening his mouth for it. he very quickly went to 3 meals a day of cereal and now we're on about 6 diffrent kinds.
from the begining though when he would get bored of it i'd give him the spoon and he loves it. u can tell by the look on his face he's soooo proud of himself when he feeds himself, it usually makes it easier to feed him more after words too

Emily - posted on 10/23/2010

If your baby is growing well, I wouldn't worry too much about not getting enough solid food since this early on solids are really meant to supplement breastmilk and not take the place of it. We're skipping spoon feeding altogether and using the Baby-Led Weaning approach by Gill Rapley since it emphasizes allowing babies to take to solid foods when they are developmentally ready and helps avoid the negative reactions babies can have to being forced to eat foods versus feeding themselves. It's an interesting read, even if you spoon feed it has great info on foods and development.

Farah - posted on 10/22/2010

my son is also in the same track I have to make lots of silly things to get him laugh till I can shove a spoon in . I see kids acting the same aound the world , my lil one is teething and i have lots of problem feeding him solids , I read many helpful things here , I will not force him for solid anymore till he gets ready for it . Thanks all .

Emily - posted on 10/22/2010

My little girl loves to eat her solids. I give her a bottle for her first feeding when she wakes up, & then oatmeal mixed with a fruit for the next meal. She gets another tbsp of multi-grain cereal with 2 veggies for dinner. She is almost 7 months, & I'm just starting to introduce a 3rd feeding of cereal/veggies for lunch. I know she's hungry b/c she yells at me from her high chair, lol, but still gets distracted. I let her watch whatever she is interested in, then she turns back to open her mouth. If she is too distracted I call her name & ask her if she wants carrots or whatever I'm feeding her. She usually looks at me & smiles then opens her mouth. They sometimes just need time to explore all of the new things around them. I also make sure I have her attention before putting food into her mouth so she doesn't learn to eat mindlessly.

Amber - posted on 10/22/2010

yes! my baby just decided this week hey i might like to eat! haha! up until now she would always turn her head or close her mouth. keep trying everyday though so he can remember. and eventually he'll eat.

Darby - posted on 10/21/2010

Don't worry! Baby food is more of an introduction to eating than for nutrients. Just keep trying. By 9 months (as long as they had plenty of teeth) my first 3 children were eating mostly what I was eating just chopped up into tiny pieces and smaller amounts. My first child is the only one I didn't have a problem getting to eat baby food - she was only breastfed for the first two months and then formula fed thereafter. My other 3 children were exclusively breastfed (#2 and #3 for one year - #4 we plan on a year, currently almost 7 months) and I'm wondering if that doesn't have some weird connection. But, seriously, keep trying. It sometimes requires a lot of patience!

Myriam - posted on 10/21/2010

My little guy (7 months on the 31st) does the same and I've been a little worried too cause he just spits everything out that I give him! But I guess he's just not ready yet and will eat when he's ready. My daughter was very different and loved to eat as soon as I started giving her solids, so I think that's why I thought he should like eating too. I do keep trying every day to see if he likes it or not, and I guess that's all you can do!!

Carlie - posted on 10/20/2010

My wee guy does the same. My plunket nurse said not to worry as remember that milk is his most important food at this time. She also said to not worry about the spoon feeding and just try finger foods - I am just not trying to worry about it and let him guide what he wants and when. I offer lots of different finger foods - toast, cooked veges, cruskits, sandwiches and he loves eating these things himself but turns head for spoon. I do try and trick him sometimes when he is finger feeding and sneak a spoon in when he opens his mouth, I get a few mouthfuls in this way and just leave it at that. He will soon come round and start opening his mouth, just might take a little longer than others!! The best thing is to not to worry... I think as mums we constantly worry whether our children are eating enough....

Van - posted on 10/20/2010

My son eats well but I only feed him 1-2 a day and only about 2 ounces of food at most. I also stop if he doesn't open his mouth or turn away. There are days that I have to throw out the food but if he doesn't want it then there is no reason to force feed.
From everything I read, babies don't really need the food. The food is only extra. I've read that some women will stop and try again in a few days or weeks until their babies are ready for the food.

Najma - posted on 10/20/2010

It could be that your baby is teething. My little one has been very fussy at meal times, turning his head and just refusing his food. Turns out he was teething, 2 lil teeth popped out at 6 months.

Fiona - posted on 10/15/2010

my daughter who is nearly 7 months old, i started her on tin custard when she was 3-4 months old and she loved it...since she was bout 4-5 months old i was able to give her baby porridge and she has it in morning then followed by the rest of her bottle, for lunch she will have the apple or fruit salad tin food and then will drink juice in her sippy cup,plus inbetween that an dinner she will have a biscuit or 2 then dinner she will eat more porridge maybe a bottle too and then nothing till bout 9-10pm when she goes to bed has her last bottle till the next morning around the same time..she does get abit distracted at times but she is learning..and making some sort of noise to get their attention really does work for me...when they laugh their mouth opens and in goes the food....

Kelsey - posted on 10/15/2010

I started giving my daughter rice cereal at 5 months on my doctors advice...she wasnt interested in eating it from a spoon so I put a tablespoon of it in her bottle a tnight before bed and again in the morning and then at 6 months introduced her to fruit and veggies...shes now 7 months old and some days she eats so much so fast and other days will only have a few bites...dont force your baby to eat and make it fun for him as well...play the airplane game or make funny noises or sounds...I also gave her her own spoon to play with and put it in her mouth and when she opened her mouth for her spoon id put mine in instead...keep it fun and dont get upset thats hes not eating. they can tell your upest so they get upset too...make sure he knows that its okay. Pick a time when he is happiest like in the morning after hes had a good nights sleep. hope this is helpful :)

Ashley - posted on 10/14/2010

Well for the first year they get all their nutrients from formula/breast milk. Baby food is only there for practice..

My daughter does that too and when she does, I put the lid on and put in in the fridge and give it to her a little later.. I don't force her. IF she's hungry, she'll open her mouth for the spoon. If she's not, she'll turn her head away or try playing with the food.

Jill - posted on 10/14/2010

My son is almost 7 months old. I introduced food at 6 months. He did not seem too interested in the food and fought me. I tried feeding food to him for a week, then ended up taking one week off of solids and when I offered him food after the break...he couldn't get enough. He loves food now. I think I just pushed him too hard too soon. Also, the solid we are feeding our babies now is not so much for nutrients as it is for the experience of eating and expanding their pallets! He will be just fine. He is getting nutrients from breast milk/formula. Also, if you are breast feeding...D vitiman with iron...like trivisol will give him what he needs....otherwise formula includes these. Hope this helps....also if you are still worried call and talk to his doctor or nurse.

Vanessa - posted on 10/13/2010

ur baby shouldnt need multi vitamins unless a doctor suggests it....

the nutrients babies need come directly from formula or breast milk....especially at 6-7 months..

Rachel - posted on 10/13/2010

My son is a really good eater i had problems at first but now he is great. To keep his attention i do airplane noises and other silly stuff. Sometimes he is not interested in certain items so we try something different. Your son may just not be ready yet. If u are worried about nutrients they make infant multivitamins in liquid form. One of my cousins didn't eat any baby food till he was almost a year and he is healthy as a horse so i wouldn't worry too much.

Rachie - posted on 10/13/2010

my little girl will be 7months on the 22nd and i would suggest shoving the spoon in his mouth or just entertaining him like making noises making it into a game :) while his grinning shove the spoon in his mouth :)

Arianne - posted on 10/12/2010

My mother-in-law exclusively bf one of her kids until she was a year. I am still just bf. My son will be 7 months on the 22. We have tried food, but he pitches a fit. cries and turns his head. We tried one time at 6 months and again over this weekend. Both attempts were unsuccessful. I am going to wait a few weeks and try again or just wait until he seems more interested in food. You can always weigh him to make sure he is still gaining weight or at least not loosing any.

Kristy - posted on 10/12/2010

When I'm feeding my baby rice cereal she opens her mouth for it a few times, but then gets distracted by looking out the window, or banging her hands on the high chair tray.. so I sing things that make her smile and laugh, and when her mouth opens I put it in. As soon as it's in there she knows what to do, just needs a little help getting it in there.

TIFFANY - posted on 10/12/2010

my baby prefers solids over formula

Lisa - posted on 10/12/2010

When I started my baby on solids I just gave the baby farex in the morning about half an hour after her first bottle. I just did one feed a day to get her used to eating and I found she was hungriest in the morning, Sometimes she wouldn't open her mouth at all and sometimes she did. If she didn't I would leave it at that and try the next morning. The way I see it is they will eat if their hungry. It didn't take long and she got used to it, once she had been having the morning feed for about a week and a half I introduced an evening feed and after about a week I introduced a lunch feed.
When your feeding your baby you could also try having a spoonful of something before you give them a spoonful of their food, babies love to copy people.
Hope this helps a little bit

Melissa - posted on 10/10/2010

Ya so I have had to resort to turning on his fav. baby einstein show while he eats...thats the only way he will open his mouth...I have also cut back to only feeding breakfast and dinner so he will have more formula!

Allie - posted on 10/10/2010

Don't force your baby to eat. Not all babies are on the same time frame. If he doesn't want food that means he is not ready for it. In Japan they breastfeed for a year before solids and this is okay because all the nutrients they need comes from breast milk. Solids are only for a little extra, never to be in place of milk.

ASHLY - posted on 10/09/2010

Thanks Vannessa yes that does help thank you very much.

Vanessa - posted on 10/09/2010

are you formula or brest feeding???

im from australia. From my understanding from 6-9 months their source of nutrients is from formula or breast milk. solids arent meant to replace any nutirents (unless ur breast feeding - in which case they might need iron enriched rice cereal) because their(baby) stored iron begins to diminish...
So i spoke to my midwife, and she basically eased my concern and my formula fed child gets all his nutrients from him formula (he needs minimum of 600mls day) and then when i give him solids its usually rice cereal in morning and then an afternoon of another type of food...and thats where i introduce him to diff tastes and will be doing different textures when he is around 8months...

not sure if that helps .. but basically babies nutrients need to come from formula or breast milk, at this age. the solids u feed are purely experimental and given to introduce ur baby to eating. :) with the aim to have child eating normal food by 12months.

ASHLY - posted on 10/08/2010

Thank you! Yeah i started shoving the spoon in his mouth too lol but i felt kinda bad! I dont feel so bad now that i know other moms are doing it! :)) And my little guy does know how to put the little puffs in his mouth but ill try that anyway. Thanks :))

Melissa - posted on 10/08/2010

Ya my little guy does that aswell.....sometimes I just shove the spoon in his mouth and he will finish a jar that way and sometimes he is ready to go and opens his mouth and sometimes he is just not at all interested! Our LO will be 7mths on the 14th. One thing I do to keep his attention that works most of the time is put little puffs down for him to play with, he isnt ready to eat them but this way he can practice picking up small foods!