6 month old won't eat baby food

Edina - posted on 07/01/2010

I am surprised your doc is pushing for solid food, mine is doing the opposite. My son is interested in food but it upsets his stomach, so we are on hold, my daughter didn't eat solids regularly until she was a year, so you have plenty of time. They don't get most of their nutrition from baby food anyway. If you want him to just get used to it, give him some to play with, without you trying to feed him, the more used to the food he is, the more likely he will eat it on his own.

Kelly - posted on 07/01/2010

Right now it may be more of a power struggle. give it a rest for 2 months and then start with rice cereal with is more breast milk/formula than cereal so it is very thin. Also I believe you can add a spoonful or two into a bottle to beef up their calories. I have not personally done this but I am sure some moms here have.

Janice - posted on 07/01/2010

Leave some soft finger food handy when you are feeding him his milk. I went mad when all mine would eat was cold cooked fish fingers for almost 6 months but that was when he was on more solid food. I got told to let him have it but just to leave an alternative on his plate as well. Eventually it worked. Very frustrating but he is now 28 and a research scientist. So it gave him some brains. He will get there in his own time. Good Luck.

Yolanda - posted on 07/01/2010

thank you ladies for all your help! I will let him eat baby food when he is ready for it.. but i wont give up or stop trying

Danielle - posted on 06/24/2010

My son was the same way. Have you tried yogurt? That was honestly all my son would even go near for the longest time. That and infant cereal. I know it's so frustrating and worrisome but he will be okay with it eventually. I can tell you right now that my son started to do a LOT better when I began giving him table foods. Spaghetti has always been a favourite and you can hide so many vegetables in the sauce. You can actually buy baby "pastina." It's really teeny tiny pasta perfect for little ones just starting out. A box is like a dollar and enough for dozens of meals at their age. He also loved mac and cheese, baked potatoes with sour cream, and almost any type of soup I put in front him, when he was first starting out with table foods. I eventually started mixing unsalted crushed crackers into his soup to give it some more body and texture and he gradually warmed up to the idea of chewing his food. Now he is 14 months old and although I'll never forget the trouble he gave me with trying to get him to eat when he was your son's age, if you didn't know any better you'd think the kid has always been an excellent eater. He eats everything we eat now! So don't get discouraged. One day he will quit being stubborn and try what you give him.

Keri - posted on 06/24/2010

Babies don't actually need food until they are one year of age. Formula or breast milk is nutritionally complete. Food before 1 year of age is totally supplemental. My second and third baby didn't want food until 9 and 8 months respectively. It is suggested that you introduce foods around 6 months. This is not a set rule that babies have to eat food at 6 months. I have actually found that breast fed babies tend to start eating food later than formula fed babies. Don't rush it. When she is ready to eat she will.

Marianne - posted on 06/24/2010

don't worry. if your baby isn't into baby food yet, he's obviously getting enough with your milk or formula. try every few days, or put some cereal into a milk bottle (not a lot, just enough to make a liquidy "slurpy" consistency. you can try some juice too.

Christiane - posted on 06/24/2010

I think between 6 and 9 months is when my children started eating baby foods. I did attempt it every so often like the doctors said, but it was too early. They were not interested in anything but milk and baby cereal. They are 11, 7, and 4 years old and doing just fine. There are some children that drink milk only until 1 year old breast or formula milk. Never a good idea to force a baby to eat they will eat when they are ready.

Erin - posted on 06/24/2010

No problem :) Your baby definitely won't drop weight because he's not interested in solids yet. Solids are meant purely for experimentation at this age - very little actually gets eaten.

Have you done any research on introducing solids and the recommended daily milk intake? A 6 month old still needs at least 900ml/30oz of milk (either BM or formula) a day, so I would seriously question the accuracy of your doctor's advice if they are pressuring you to cut too much milk out of your son's diet.

Yolanda - posted on 06/24/2010

Thanks so much Erin... I guess i feel so left out of the MY BABY IS EATING BABY FOOD poll and I feel he will drop so much weight because he simply wont eat baby food. I guess rice cereal and milk and his only option for now. My Ped. has put the pressure on me that he is suppose to be eating only baby food now and not milk all the time. So i guess thats why i was asking.. But thanks for your response.

Erin - posted on 06/24/2010

Don't push him, He may simply not be ready yet. If he's refusing to open his mouth for a spoon or turning his head away, he's not ready. Don't pressure or force him as he will just resist more. Calmly offer him different things every couple of days and see how he goes. You have a long way to go before you need to worry about how much food he's eating. Babies still rely predominantly on milk for their nutritional needs until the end of their first year.