Attachment Parenting

BLW - doesn't put food in mouth?

I guess I know that if L isn't putting food into his mouth then I shouldn't force it, but he puts everything in his mouth EXCEPT for food.  We have tried banana, broccoli, sweet potato and pear.  He did mouth on the banana for two days, had a little broccoli and then refused it, same with sweet potato as with broccoli and wouldn't even put the pear in his mouth this morning.  I've tried not feeding him too close to the time we're trying solid food and feeding him only a little so he isn't overly hungry.  Any suggestions or stories?  I am trying to make this fun, but honestly DH and I don't even cook for ourselves so we're making special steamed pears for him and he doesn't even want them.
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Re: BLW - doesn't put food in mouth?

  • Just keep offering. Stick to things that are easy for you to offer, like banana. Save cooking for later when he starts eating. You don't need to steam pears, FWIW. Just cut it up and offer it, or offer the whole pear.

    Kids don't know they're supposed to eat solids at 6 months. Mine took nearly a year of offering to really get into food at all. He was fine with a primarily milk diet.

  • If you're worried about wasting food either offer him things you would eat (avocado, mango?) or just take a break for a few weeks and try again 
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  • Thanks! That makes sense, ladies. Getting up early to make sweet potato fries he doesn't want to eat is making mommy and daddy cranky! Just wanted some reassurance that I should keep BLW. :
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  • What does he do while you & DH are eating? Is he in your lap? In the high chair watching you? Or playing with his toys on the ground? My daughter became interested by seeing us eat and eventually just grabbed food off my plate. She did that at on the early side, but at 6.5 months, there's certainly no rush. Just continue to include him in mealtime and let your food be within reach. When he wants some, he'll grab it. 

    Now, if you really aren't eating anything healthy enough to share with LO, then I would rethink BLW. You don't need to offer mushy things like steamed pears, but you could snack on some fresh pear slices with baby in your lap. When he sees you enjoying them, he may decide to try it. If not, no worries. He's got the rest of his life to eat. 

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  • welly01welly01 member
    We are doing BLW.  Instead of trying to feed him less milk/formula so he'll be "hungry" make sure he is full and well-rested.  Solids right now are not to fulfill hunger, just for play.  When my DS is tired/hungry, he gets fussy and doesn't seem interested in the food.  But if he's full and well rested, he seems to do better.  Also, I agree that maybe he is just not ready yet.
                                                                                              BFP #1 3/2/12, T born 11/7/12
                                                                                                 BFP #2  7/2/14, CP 7/6/14
                                 BFP #3 8/28/14, MMC 10/2/14 @ 9wks - misoprostol 10/6/14, D&C 11/3/14 for retained tissue
                                       BFP #4 12/25/14, EDD 9/7/15 - please stick baby, you are so loved and wanted!!!!!                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                   
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  • IMO one of the big benefits of BLW is NOT making special food for baby.

    What we did is whenever we sat to eat, if LO was awake, we'd put him in his high chair and offer him some of what we had. He enjoyed throwing it around, mushing it in his hands, smearing it across his face, etc. but he really didn't start eating substantial amounts until around 8+m. At 6m we didn't even offer LO solids every day.

    Before age 1, milk - whether formula/BM, should be primary source of nutrition so don't worry about getting LO hungry to eat solids. Like PPs, our LO didn't start dropping milk feeds in favor of solids until around 11-12m. 

    Don't worry about LO eating x amount, or a set number of meals.



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  • Ditto the idea of making this much easier on yourself.  You don't have to steam or prepare foods specially. 

    My two kids were totally different when it came to solids.  My DD was interested in real food from about 3 months.  She would watch DH and I eat, and would try to grab for our food.  I started giving her stuff to nibble before 6 months.  It just seemed right to me at the time.

    DS showed absolutely no interest in solid food, even at 6 months when I introduced them.  He has a sensitive gag reflex, and this made swallowing solids a challenge. I thought he was never going to start eating finger foods!  Honestly he was probably closer to 8 or 9 months when he got the hang of it. 

    So, if he's not interested, just hold off for a while. No biggie! 

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
  • We offered at 8 months but DS wasn't interested in actually putting anything in his mouth until he was 11 months. Just try once a week or so and see if it gets any better. They will let you know when they are ready.
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