Has anyone any experience with their babies refusing solids. My 7 month old baby is refusing to try solids. She simply refuses to open her mouth to even taste the food. She has lost weight as a result. Also would appreciate feedback as to how much formula a 7 month old should be taking. Mine only takes about 500 ml a day.
Baby refuses solids
- Thread starter momo
- Start date
Hello,
I had a midwife come to my house in Australia when my daughter was 7 months old and they recommend between 7-10 months a baby should be having 4 bottles a day of at least 180mls per bottle. At this age, I was giving my daughter 5 feeds at 180mls per bottle. They say at some stage you need to get this up to 240mls. My daughter is now 91/2 months old and I dropped one of these bottles at 9 months. She now get 4 bottles a day, 2 are 180mls and two are 240mls. I only started the 240mls today so I'll see how it goes. She took her one in the morning very well.
On top of this, she has 3 meals of solids a day (and was also having 3 solid meals at 7 months).
What solids have you tried? Perhaps she just doesn't like what you're trying. I found pureed pear worked well as it is nasturally sweet and they like the taste. Perhaps advocado with some milk? Baby rice with fruit?
Hope this helps. Best of luck.
I had a midwife come to my house in Australia when my daughter was 7 months old and they recommend between 7-10 months a baby should be having 4 bottles a day of at least 180mls per bottle. At this age, I was giving my daughter 5 feeds at 180mls per bottle. They say at some stage you need to get this up to 240mls. My daughter is now 91/2 months old and I dropped one of these bottles at 9 months. She now get 4 bottles a day, 2 are 180mls and two are 240mls. I only started the 240mls today so I'll see how it goes. She took her one in the morning very well.
On top of this, she has 3 meals of solids a day (and was also having 3 solid meals at 7 months).
What solids have you tried? Perhaps she just doesn't like what you're trying. I found pureed pear worked well as it is nasturally sweet and they like the taste. Perhaps advocado with some milk? Baby rice with fruit?
Hope this helps. Best of luck.
Thank you Strong for your information. My baby refuses to open her mouth to even taste what I have to offer so it cannot possibly be due to her dislike of the food being offered. She simply refuses to even taste what is on the spoon/on my finger. I am taking her to see a padiatrician tomorrow and hopefully will have an answer for his exasperating problem. I just wanted to see if any other moms had similar experience with their baby.
hunger strike
momo,
I've the same experiences w/ my boy when he was around 8-10 months old. One day he would eat nicely, 5 other days he would be on hunger strike! Thank Goodness he was willing to drink more of the formula. I talked to his PD and she said most kid go through this stage when they are teething. As long as she drinks a little more milk, she should be okay.
The PD also recommended formula for kids who do not eat well. I don't remember the name for sure now, but I think it was "Pediasure". It's made by Similac/Abbott but is geared towards non-eating babies.
momo,
I've the same experiences w/ my boy when he was around 8-10 months old. One day he would eat nicely, 5 other days he would be on hunger strike! Thank Goodness he was willing to drink more of the formula. I talked to his PD and she said most kid go through this stage when they are teething. As long as she drinks a little more milk, she should be okay.
The PD also recommended formula for kids who do not eat well. I don't remember the name for sure now, but I think it was "Pediasure". It's made by Similac/Abbott but is geared towards non-eating babies.
I have a pair of twin girls 7 mths old - while one would eat whatever given to her the other just love to be contrary. We usually sing nursery rhymes/make funny faces to her (the stubborn one!) or give her a toy/flashcard/ or anything to entertain her. It usually works - she finish her meal, not as fast as the sister but at least mealtime was not a battleground.
They take 5 feeds daily:
1 solid (porridge wz fish & carrot)
2 milk feed (mix wz steamed oats & cereal)
2 milk feed (just plain milk)
Total milk intake about 18oz/540ml. Like all moms, I feel they need more milk but they seems to be healthy & thriving - their energy is boundless!
They take 5 feeds daily:
1 solid (porridge wz fish & carrot)
2 milk feed (mix wz steamed oats & cereal)
2 milk feed (just plain milk)
Total milk intake about 18oz/540ml. Like all moms, I feel they need more milk but they seems to be healthy & thriving - their energy is boundless!
Jdang, how do you feed you twins the milk which has been mixed with solids? Do you use bottle? I have tried to distract my baby but nothing works. She cries and get very upset when I managed to "sneak" the spoon with food into her mouth and she would spit it out. I am at a loss as to what to do. Hopefully the paediatrician will provide some answer.
Momo
I used Dr. Brown bottles wz the Y-Cut cereal teats. You probably wouldn't be able to put in a lot of cereal but I find it helpful & less troublesome when feeding a fussy baby.
BTW, my baby decided she doesn't like feeding fm the bottle anymore today. So I had to pour everything into a bowl & spoon feed her again. Sigh!
I used Dr. Brown bottles wz the Y-Cut cereal teats. You probably wouldn't be able to put in a lot of cereal but I find it helpful & less troublesome when feeding a fussy baby.
BTW, my baby decided she doesn't like feeding fm the bottle anymore today. So I had to pour everything into a bowl & spoon feed her again. Sigh!
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svasbt
Registered User
momo:
Sometimes our boy doesn't eat either, but he does drink a lot (of formula). When he was about 7-8 months, he drank between 800 & 960 ml. a day. Now at 18 1/2 months, he drinks 3 cups of 240 ml. daily. His weight is just a tad above average.
When he doesn't want to eat anything, he is still receptive to yoghurt. And we just have to be happy with that. We give him full-fat fruit yoghurt (even at dinnertime), and a lot of times can sneak small pieces of steamed apple in with it. We also give him a bowl of dry Cheerios to play with. And yes, some of them do end up in his mouth.
What did the PD say?
Sometimes our boy doesn't eat either, but he does drink a lot (of formula). When he was about 7-8 months, he drank between 800 & 960 ml. a day. Now at 18 1/2 months, he drinks 3 cups of 240 ml. daily. His weight is just a tad above average.
When he doesn't want to eat anything, he is still receptive to yoghurt. And we just have to be happy with that. We give him full-fat fruit yoghurt (even at dinnertime), and a lot of times can sneak small pieces of steamed apple in with it. We also give him a bowl of dry Cheerios to play with. And yes, some of them do end up in his mouth.
What did the PD say?
Thank you all for your feedback. The pediatrician decided to first check if she has urinary tract infection first. Personally I doubt that is going to provide the answer to her refusal to eat. I have tried to compensate by giving her more formula but she does not even finish 180ml. Incidentally how do you all fit in the solids and the formula. What are your time intervals between bottles and bottles/solids? My daugther has her first bottle at around 8am (she refuses any earlier even if she is awake). Her next bottle is noon, then 6pm and 10pm (if she wakes for it). I tried to give her solids around 11am and 4pm (without success).
Momo,
My kids (7 mth) schedule:
if up before 6:30am - 3 or 4 oz milk (depending how early it is)
8-9am breakfast - cereal mix wz 5 oz milk & strained oats
12-1pm lunch - rice porridge with fish & vegetables
4-5pm snack - 4 oz milk
7:30-8pm dinner - 5 oz milk with strained oats
12 midnite - 5 oz milk (they sleep but I still feed them)
I try to get them to sleep shortly after each meal. They sleep better with a full tummy. When they get up, they play for an hour before I feed them coz they're never hungry immediately.
HTH - let me know how's your little girl is doing...
My kids (7 mth) schedule:
if up before 6:30am - 3 or 4 oz milk (depending how early it is)
8-9am breakfast - cereal mix wz 5 oz milk & strained oats
12-1pm lunch - rice porridge with fish & vegetables
4-5pm snack - 4 oz milk
7:30-8pm dinner - 5 oz milk with strained oats
12 midnite - 5 oz milk (they sleep but I still feed them)
I try to get them to sleep shortly after each meal. They sleep better with a full tummy. When they get up, they play for an hour before I feed them coz they're never hungry immediately.
HTH - let me know how's your little girl is doing...
Jdang, thanks for your very helpful information. Still no luck with getting my daughter to eat. I just came across HKFooey's reply for the Thread "Baby refuses breastmilk and bottle" where she says her baby did not start solids until 7months and only really started eating at 9 months. Hopefully this is the case for mine. Nothing medically wrong with her and she seems happy so I guess she has her own schedule.
traceykwong
New member
if it's any consolation, my daughter started taking solids after at 1.5 years old. Children have their own time in doing the things they do. I suppose it applies to your little one too. They will eat when they are good and ready. Meanwhile, just continue with milk and don't force food into your baby's mouth. The last time you want is let them have a negative impression of food. All the best.
Tracey
http://claudiacheng.livejournal.com
Tracey
http://claudiacheng.livejournal.com
Momo, I agree with Tracey. Your baby will tell you when she's ready for solids. My 7 months old daughter showed her interest (when she was about 4 months) by mimicking our mouth movement when she saw us eating. How long has she had this problem? Maybe she's just teething so her gum is sore? Do you use rubber spoon? I bought mine from Sogo (Piyo Piyo) and have been using it for 3 years now (I bought it in 2001 for my first daughter). What did you give her? Maybe you should try something closer to "milk" taste - like rice cereal mixed with milk?
Jdang, where can I find the oat/cereal that can be mixed with the milk? I'm using Avent bottles. Do you need teats with bigger or more holes?
And, by the way, Strong, how do you fit 4 bottles and 3 solids a day? My daughter is taking 3 bottles (morning @ 8, snack time @ 4 and night time @ 11) and 2 solids (lunch @ 12 and dinner @ 7), and I already find it too much. It's like I'm stuffing her with food all the time
and I still have to introduce breakfast????
Jdang, where can I find the oat/cereal that can be mixed with the milk? I'm using Avent bottles. Do you need teats with bigger or more holes?
And, by the way, Strong, how do you fit 4 bottles and 3 solids a day? My daughter is taking 3 bottles (morning @ 8, snack time @ 4 and night time @ 11) and 2 solids (lunch @ 12 and dinner @ 7), and I already find it too much. It's like I'm stuffing her with food all the time
and I still have to introduce breakfast????traceykwong
New member
Momo,
My cousin's baby girl (10 m.o) refused to take solid at all at 6 month. What I mean by solid is any type of baby cereal or jar food. On the contrary, she always watched family members who were eating intensely and would ask for the food. Once given a bite, she would ask for more. However, when it's her time to take meal, she would tightly close her mouth, making feeding totally impossible. Apparently the solution is the person who feeds her, has to pretend that she is actually eating the food, ignores the baby and let her ask for it. That way, baby does not feel like being forced eating.
Hope this idea helps.
My cousin's baby girl (10 m.o) refused to take solid at all at 6 month. What I mean by solid is any type of baby cereal or jar food. On the contrary, she always watched family members who were eating intensely and would ask for the food. Once given a bite, she would ask for more. However, when it's her time to take meal, she would tightly close her mouth, making feeding totally impossible. Apparently the solution is the person who feeds her, has to pretend that she is actually eating the food, ignores the baby and let her ask for it. That way, baby does not feel like being forced eating.
Hope this idea helps.
ollyvia
Well, I saw oat cereal for babies (Quaker brand) from Taiwan available here where I am. Haven't seen it in HK though.
Another type would be Earth's Best Organic Oat Cereal available in some Park N Shop stores and CitySuper. But I make my own using my MIL's recipe. Way much cheaper & pretty quick too. Don't know why, but most babies seems to love oats this way! E-mail me ([email protected]) if you want the recipe.
I'm not familiar with Avent teats since my kids (twins-7 mths) used Dr Brown's bottles from the start. I usually try to spoon feed the cereal but on fussy days, used Dr Brown's Y-cut cereal teats for cereal feed. I use Level 2 (bigger hole) to feed milk mix wz strained oats. For plain milk, I'm still using Level 1 teats. I tried Avent bottles with my twins but they didn't quite like them. Think the teats were too short & hard for them. Bumps to Babes at Pedders Bldg have a good stock quantity of Dr Brown's bottles & teats the last time I was there.
Well, I saw oat cereal for babies (Quaker brand) from Taiwan available here where I am. Haven't seen it in HK though.
Another type would be Earth's Best Organic Oat Cereal available in some Park N Shop stores and CitySuper. But I make my own using my MIL's recipe. Way much cheaper & pretty quick too. Don't know why, but most babies seems to love oats this way! E-mail me ([email protected]) if you want the recipe.
I'm not familiar with Avent teats since my kids (twins-7 mths) used Dr Brown's bottles from the start. I usually try to spoon feed the cereal but on fussy days, used Dr Brown's Y-cut cereal teats for cereal feed. I use Level 2 (bigger hole) to feed milk mix wz strained oats. For plain milk, I'm still using Level 1 teats. I tried Avent bottles with my twins but they didn't quite like them. Think the teats were too short & hard for them. Bumps to Babes at Pedders Bldg have a good stock quantity of Dr Brown's bottles & teats the last time I was there.
barbwong_130
Registered User
I have four children and they all started solids at a different age and in a different way. I was at a BBQ with my eldest and she was getting bored sitting in the pushchair so my father gave her a lamb chop bone to play with. She was much more interested in this than any of the toys I?d brought with me for her to play with. Later I decided that this was probably the normal first solids for babies in the caveman days. I don?t remember exactly how old she was but she was able to sit up in the pushchair unaided and eat/play with the bone.
When my second child was about five months old I left him with his aunt while I got his sister to sleep in the bedroom. When I returned they were sharing a banana. I took one look at him chewing away and decided that he was ready for solids.
With my third child I started to offer solids once a week from six months onwards. But he wasn?t interested at all. When he was nearly nine months he swallowed the food rather than push it back out. After that I offered him food everyday ? some days he liked it and others he didn?t ? by the time he was a year he was regularly eating some solids each day unless he was ill.
When my last child was a baby her elder siblings were very anxious to feed her. I managed to hold them off until she was six months by explaining about the health benefits of waiting. But on her six month birthday they all started to feed her. I know that the baby books recommend that one food be offered at a time so that allergies can be caught. My husband, however, told me that offering twenty foods at a time was the quickest way to find out that she wasn?t allergic to anything!
I think that it is important to follow the baby?s lead with starting solids because some are ready before others. Often if a baby doesn?t want to start solids at a young age there is an underlying reason, for example allergies ? in these cases delaying the start of solids is beneficial.
Best wishes,
Barb
When my second child was about five months old I left him with his aunt while I got his sister to sleep in the bedroom. When I returned they were sharing a banana. I took one look at him chewing away and decided that he was ready for solids.
With my third child I started to offer solids once a week from six months onwards. But he wasn?t interested at all. When he was nearly nine months he swallowed the food rather than push it back out. After that I offered him food everyday ? some days he liked it and others he didn?t ? by the time he was a year he was regularly eating some solids each day unless he was ill.
When my last child was a baby her elder siblings were very anxious to feed her. I managed to hold them off until she was six months by explaining about the health benefits of waiting. But on her six month birthday they all started to feed her. I know that the baby books recommend that one food be offered at a time so that allergies can be caught. My husband, however, told me that offering twenty foods at a time was the quickest way to find out that she wasn?t allergic to anything!
I think that it is important to follow the baby?s lead with starting solids because some are ready before others. Often if a baby doesn?t want to start solids at a young age there is an underlying reason, for example allergies ? in these cases delaying the start of solids is beneficial.
Best wishes,
Barb
I've also had problems with solids refusal. My baby is now 10 months old and happily eating some finger foods, mostly still in small quantities but the other day she ate 10 pieces of pasta in one sitting! From the age of 5 to 7 months she ate almost nothing, refused to let us put anything in her mouth. Stopped trying after a while. You can let, say, a week pass and then try again, but if baby is not interested there is no point in forcing, that will probably only make things worse (it did for us).
The first thing she started eating at about 8 months were baby rice cakes and dry toast, which she liked to suck on. Don't be put off if baby gags a little at first, and may cough or spit up; this is normal as they're not used to swallowing lumps. Then gradually she has been progressing to steamed veggies, pasta, cheese, fish. The most success we have is when she is sat on my lap, grabbing things that are on my plate; you can push baby-friendly items to the front. Also when we have a family meal and we're all sitting around the table eating the same thing. The day after she ate 10 pieces of pasta in sauce (same as parents were having), she wouldn't touch the leftovers on her own!
The first thing she started eating at about 8 months were baby rice cakes and dry toast, which she liked to suck on. Don't be put off if baby gags a little at first, and may cough or spit up; this is normal as they're not used to swallowing lumps. Then gradually she has been progressing to steamed veggies, pasta, cheese, fish. The most success we have is when she is sat on my lap, grabbing things that are on my plate; you can push baby-friendly items to the front. Also when we have a family meal and we're all sitting around the table eating the same thing. The day after she ate 10 pieces of pasta in sauce (same as parents were having), she wouldn't touch the leftovers on her own!
Having started this thread I thought I should post the lastest update lest someone else should go through the same thing. My daughter eventually showed willingness to take solids (cereal, blend sweet potatoes) at 9.5 months. Thank you to all who had given their input thus giving me some peace of mind. Given the responses it seemed that it was not that unusual for baby to take solids at a much later stage than the usual 6 months. What surprises me is that the paediatrician which I took her did not tell me so (or perhaps did not know). Thank you all once again and thank goodness for Geobaby forum.