Anyone else having trouble with solids?

Sascha3 · July 2012

I cannot get her to eat solids! I have been trying for two weeks. I only do it once a day because it has been such a pain so far. I tried brown rice cereal, mashed banana, unsweetened applesauce and homemade sweet potato puree. She refuses to open her mouth. If I manage to sneak some in she spits it out. If she manages to keep any in she starts gagging...and these are purees!

She is on the small side...just under 15 lbs at her 6 month checkup. I even tried a tiny bit of rice cereal in her bottle a couple times for extra calories even though I heard it is a no-no and then she can't get anything out of the bottle. (Is there a special nipple for that?) She won't ever drink more than 5 oz of her formula...usually 3 oz.

I gave her a bit of mashed avocado when I was out to lunch the other day and she actually swallowed it, so I do need to try that next. And last night at Chuck E Cheese someone gave her a saltine and she loved it and cried when I took it away. Am I correct that she shouldn't be eating those because of the extra salt and the wheat at this age?

I think I need to do some research and reading, haha. I feel at a complete loss with this feeding issue! I am intrigued by BLW because she seems to prefer to grab her own food, but it scares me because she is already gagging on purees and I am afraid she will gag on solids.

She constantly stares at me when I eat and makes chewing motions, yet when I feed her she is absolutely uninterested.

Does it normally take this long to get a baby to eat? I don't know if I should just stick with what I am doing or develop a new plan.

Huahine · July 2012

re: salt - the baby led weaning book was pretty specific about not letting little ones have salty foods. Their kidneys can't handle it. But I have been known to suck the salt off of a sweet potato fry and give it LO to nosh on.

re: wheat - my pedi said this was a no-no before 1. She sees too many kids with gluten issues. Before we had our issues with sesame and egg I would have let LO have a saltine, but now that I know he has food sensitivities, I'm holding off on any bread products.

re: avo - did you offer her the mashed avocado on a spoon or on the tip of your fingers? I ask b/c my LO will sometimes refuse something on a spoon, then accept it from my hand. But he is happiest feeding himself.

re: your food (sorry for all the re's - I'm still in work mode) - it makes sense - if mom (aka the center of her universe) will eat something, then it must be good, right?

bigbear · July 2012

Dont' worry it's totally normal. Technically she doesn't need solids yet so if she's not ready it's fine. Try it a few times a week and make it as fun as possible, not need to push it. The gaggin is normal and part of the baby figuring it all out.

Avocado is great and if she likes that it's a great first food!

Also, you can totally put some rice cereal or oatmeal in the bottle. It is perfectly ok. and since it's thicker just make the nipple hole a bit bigger and she will not have a problem sucking it. You can use a toothpick and just widen the hole out.

My DD is still hit and miss with solids. She loves bananas, avocado with bananas and sweet potato. She doesn't like oatmeal, spits out squash and peas. We are trying carrots next so lets see how that goes.

I'm sure somebody will tell you more about BLW. It may be a good option for your LO

Good luck!

Sascha3 · July 2012

I love re's! I love logic and order, haha. I am glad that my memory served me correct in taking away her cracker. She was so mad about it though.

I gave her the avocado on a spoon and she actually took it. I bought an avocado but apparently I don't know how to buy them because it is not ripe yet. Soft next time!

Also, she won't drink out of a sippy cup either...she just chews the spout.

What BLW book do you have? Do you recommend it?

talitha712 · July 2012

Sascha3, the books is called Baby-Led Weaning and the author is Gill Rapley.

Huahine · July 2012

talitha712:
Sascha3, the books is called Baby-Led Weaning and the author is Gill Rapley.

That's the one. https://www.babyledweaning.com/ is the affiliated website.

JonathansMommi2010 · July 2012

I am going to make a suggestion you should go out and by a bottle food feeder they have it any store you can even ask someone to show you what it looks I use to put my son cereal into when he was like 2 months old.

sanbry · July 2012

We've been doing solids since 4.5 mo and I can literally count on one hand the amount of times she's actually opened her mouth and cooperated. Otherwise she fusses, or locks her gums together or spits. She doesn't understand the sippy either. I plan on talking to her ped about it at her 6 mo well tomorrow.

aboynamedbarry · July 2012

Huahine:
re: salt - the baby led weaning book was pretty specific about not letting little ones have salty foods. Their kidneys can't handle it. But I have been known to suck the salt off of a sweet potato fry and give it LO to nosh on.
re: wheat - my pedi said this was a no-no before 1. She sees too many kids with gluten issues. Before we had our issues with sesame and egg I would have let LO have a saltine, but now that I know he has food sensitivities, I'm holding off on any bread products.
re: avo - did you offer her the mashed avocado on a spoon or on the tip of your fingers? I ask b/c my LO will sometimes refuse something on a spoon, then accept it from my hand. But he is happiest feeding himself.
re: your food (sorry for all the re's - I'm still in work mode) - it makes sense - if mom (aka the center of her universe) will eat something, then it must be good, right?

this has been the case for me as well. first foods i gave her were just to play with. i mashed up banana on her tray, let her hold it, she ate it off her fingers and mine. however, when i actually gave her any purees on a spoon it was like a ridiculous amount of work to get it in, and then she would make awful faces at me

like i was punishing her haha. Anyways, I was at the pedi today and told her all this and she said that if that is the case, go ahead and give her more actually solid food and just watch her closely. The gagging isn't so much of an issue it's more choking to watch for... because the gagging is normal and she will learn how to handle the food quickly i'm sure

velveena · July 2012

-I'm thinking your little peanut just may not be ready yet! My ped said that it's around 17 lbs that kids start needing the extra boost in calories from solids. I googled a lot of "How to know when your child is developmentally ready for solids" type info, and my baby started hitting all the milestones right around 18 lbs, and it was a lot worse than just staring. He was grabbing for cups, plates, and looking really frustrated and mad at us for starving him. The 6 month thing is really just an average - it's plus or minus.

- Try the mesh feeder! Might get her palate used to new tastes.

- Yes I think saltines are not a good idea for the reasons discussed above.

- Gagging - has she lost the sticking her tongue out reflex? A lot of sites said they really won't be able to swallow because a younger baby's reflex is to repel foriegn objects.

- Playtex makes Y-shaped nipples for rice cereal, but I'm not sure the cereal isreally necessary for you. I think it's more for super hungry kids who simply aren't getting their caloric needs met. Again, I've "heard" but also need to read up on it, like you... but I think it is linked to satiety & childhood obesity, diabetes, etc.

MrsAMB07 · August 2012

We're going through the very same thing. We've been trying for about a month now. We've tried oatmeal, rice, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, avocado, pears, peas, and peaches. My doctor said to keep offering new things and try a little each day just for practice. I'm lucky if she takes 1/2 a tablespoon. One day she ate a whole tablespoon of peas and I was beside myself with excitement thinking we turned a corner - nope, back to her old self the next day. She does seem to do better at night rather than in the morning, but by better I mean she lets me put it in her mouth like 2-3 times instead of just spitting it out.

I was so excited to try solids because DS was a pro instantly. He was a huge eater. My concern with him was he never seemed full. She's the exact opposite. Yet she dives for our food if we're eating. She loves to play with a spoon and puts it right in her mouth. She does will with a sippy cup (for her age anyway). I don't get it! I think she'd love BLW, but it also terrifies me.

Sascha3 · August 2012

Thanks everyone...I feel much better knowing it is a common issue.

Velveena...I am thinking you may be right that she is just not ready for solids. She is healthy, only slightly below the 50% with her weight, so I guess there is no reason to push it. The mesh feeder sounds like a great idea to get her used to tastes though. I am just going to continue trying and also look into BLW for her. I don't want to force the cereal down if she doesn't really need it. Like I said, she doesn't seem hungry, she will barely eat more than 5 oz ever, so she is satiated.

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