Solids. Time to switch to something else or give up for awhile?

[ck1]

DS is 6 months old and we just started him on solids (he's EBF). For his first food we chose avocado because it has good fats and is good for him! Well, we tried it the first time a couple days ago and that didn't go so well. We put it aside and gave it a day before trying again today. The poor kid took one whiff and looked like he was going to puke. We managed to give him three spoon tastes but his face said it all: GROSS, GROSS, GROSS, HACK, YOU'RE KILLING ME! (Today I put in more breast milk to make it more liquidy).

What do we do from here?

It's not like he's not ready for solids (though we're not completely sure). The spoon tastes we gave him he opened his mouth for, but with a bit of reluctance (perhaps because he knew what to expect). Do we keep trying with the avocado or move onto something else? Or give it a break for a few days or a week? I guess the problem is – is it the avocado he doesn’t like, or the taste / texture of solid foods?

[sapphire_chan]

We started with broccoli and Lina had a grand time. Sweet potato, avocado, and banana all made her upset until fairly recently (banana she only started eating at Thanksgiving!).

So my suggestion is to put something with more firmness in front of him. E.g. an apple with one bite out, lightly steamed broccoli spears, melon, stick of cheese, a strip of steak, oatmeal, green beans

And just hold him on your lap as you eat.

[blumooned]

Avocado was/is not one of my DS's favorite foods either. Try pear, apple(sauce), carrot, sweet potato - just because he doesn't like one doesn't necessarily mean he won't like others. My DS still won't eat banana (even though we've offered it a few times but it made him sick) but eats other foods just fine!
We offer new foods regularly, to keep his options open. We always do 1 new food at a time, for 4 days, to make sure there are no sensitivities.

[curious&eager]

I'd suggest a different food. We're just starting. First we offered banana and he loved it and ate 1/2 a banana on his second try. Next we did apple and he loved it. Now we're onto sweet potato and he's refusing. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I imagine sweet apple baked and blended would be much yummier than avocado. But, avocado is next on our list after sweet potato, so we'll see.

[tanyalynn]

You can try another food, but I think part of readiness for solids is interest, so if there isn't any, I'd just wait. DS wasn't interested til 7.5 mos, but then it was like a light switch, he was suddenly very enthusiastic.

[lotus.blossom]

I remember being really bummed when DS1 didn't like avodacos. I figured they were the perfect food. He still, to this day hates the taste/texture of them and can pick them out of anything!
DS2 LOVES them. Can't get enough of them! So go figure....

Try something else! Bananas and applesauce are always a fave. But try not to feed too many (along with rice cereal) because thats part of the BRAT diet and will bind him up real fast!

[JudiAU]

I would try one or two other things and then give it a break for a few weeks. DS was very mildy interested and I think we pushed to hard. He then refused solids for two or three months. I won't make the same mistake again. He eventually came around and still eats a ton. Don't stress about it. Food is just for play at this point-- ebf is so so much more important.

[Auraji]

We're doing BLW and I offered avocado as one of her first foods, she was rather indifferent to it and I think it's mostly because of the texture too. It seems to happen with a lot of fruits, they're too slippery and it's frustrating for her to try and grab them. What I did was make a guacamole and spread it in a tortilla, she went crazy for it and is now one of her favorite foods.

From 6 months on I offered food to DD several times a day, mostly to play with and didnt really paid attention to what she ate. I just kept offering whatever we were having and sometimes got her some special things. Now at almost 8 months she will get mad if we dont give her from whatever we're eating and seems to be eating more complete meals, even if it's just a bit of everything.

[phrogger]

I have always started all of my kids with just plain veggies first. Sweet potatoes as well. He will eat carrots, green beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cucumbers all without a problem. He did not like avacado or peas. Which is funny since those are two foods I do not like at all. DH even feeds him solids most of the time and he likes peas and avacados so it isn't like DS picked up on me not liking them.

He also likes apples, pears, peaches and bananas.

So basically, if they are showing interest, keep offering, but try something different. If we had given DS avacado first, I am sure he wouldn't have eatten it at all, yet tonight he riped a piece of pizza out of my hands and tried to eat it.

[MamaPhD]

Avocado and tofu are DD's favorite food! DD is 13 mo now and we started solids at about 7 mo. She did the same Ewww-face at each new food! But in retrospect, I think it was her way of saying I don't know what this is, rather than I don't like it. She would do the disgusted face for the first 2-3 spons/bites, but would be OK after that and continued eating (we did 3 days per new food at the beginning). If she really disliked the food, no way, she would not eat it any more, ever.

It's so interesting what she likes/dislikes. I think it has nothing to do with what I introduced first as there is no pattern. But DD really dislikes certain specific foods (hates shitake mushroom - OK with other mushrooms, hates butternut squash - OK with zucchini and pumpkin, hates banana - loves pretty much all other fruits), and I don't force her to eat those after trying 3-5 different tries. As long as she eats a great variety of foods, I'm OK with her having dislikes.

Good luck!
Oh, and I think someone said to hold the baby in your lap for feeding, but I think it is safest to sit baby in a high chair to reduce risk of choking.

[ck1]

Thank you for all of the suggestions and encouragement. We gave it a rest yesterday and decided to try something new today; it's been 4 days since we started the avocado. We'll probably go with carrots. I think he's ready for solids because when I watched the video (of course we took video!) he does open his mouth and doesn't push the food out with his tongue. He just gags, opens his mouth and refuses to swallow while making some incredibly funny grossed-out faces. Oh well. If we get the same response with the carrots I'll probably just give it a rest and try next week.

[JBaxter]

I have 4 boys and none have like avocado. I usually start with pears. It doenst ever seem to cause constipation I alternated fruit/veggie mixing them if i need to. Sweetpotato is super easy to make ( microwave them) as are carrots, broccoli, .. Green beans have never been an early hit here either. I wait on bananas becuase it caused my 1st 2 boys to have belly pains

[LisaG]

Originally Posted by MamaPhD

Oh, and I think someone said to hold the baby in your lap for feeding, but I think it is safest to sit baby in a high chair to reduce risk of choking.

As long as they're sitting upright, there's no greater risk of choking in a lap vs. high chair. It's when they're reclined or lying down that the risk of choking increases.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by MamaPhD

Good luck!
Oh, and I think someone said to hold the baby in your lap for feeding, but I think it is safest to sit baby in a high chair to reduce risk of choking.

The baby should be sitting sort of sideways to you and the plate so you can see as they take the food off your plate and as they are chewing. It's pretty clear when they need you to help them get food out.

Oh, and you should have a napkin ready so you don't have unmanageable food plorped into your lap.

And you should use your arm to support the baby in an upright position. It annoys me that a lot of high chairs make it so the baby has to work to sit fully upright. Lina had no problem sitting up on the floor from 5 months on, and until recently she'd go all slumpy in her cousin's high chairs.

[sapphire_chan]

And it is really important at this stage that you aren't feeding him, just putting food where he can reach. They take such teensy tiny little bites and have to work sooo hard at getting them that they really need a HUGE piece that they can hold securely and nibble from.

[Plarka]

I agree with Sapphire Chan. Give big pieces of real food he can hold, like big, fat french fry shapes. Put a few different things in front of him and let him explore, choose and try. Steamed broccoli, steamed sweet potatoes, a big piece of banana....

You could have a look at Kellymom.com. They say if baby really isn't interested, wait a week or so and try again.

[ck1]

Okay. Still not going well. We've tried avocado, squash (thought it was carrots, they look the same), and then sweet potatoes. The avocado and sweet potatoes I made.

DS will watch me when I eat and reach for my food, but when I give him some of his food he hates it! One day I let him just play with the food, and often I'll let him touch it and rub it, even doing this he hates the texture and looks like he's going to gag even though he hasn't eaten any of it. I tried really pureed, more textured, and slices. He does better if I put it on my finger and let him suck the food off, but not much better. If I hold him in my lap he turns away and only wants to nurse, even if he JUST nursed.

What is going on? I'm not forcing the issue. I just try a couple times a day, maybe once, and just offer. Today he started pushing back and crying and all I did was dip my finger in the food and hold it up for him. He's a small little guy (3% for weight), he's a happy healthy baby otherwise we'd just like him to add some extra weight, especially when it feels like he nurses ALL the time. It's not a growth spurt; he had one about a month ago that was noticeable. I know that he has some teething issues. Does that affect his like for solids? I know that might be why he’s nursing, for comfort, but he’s really nursing not just comfort nursing.

Help! Kind of don't want to keep introducing foods if he's just not into it now. What do you do when your baby just doesn’t like to eat solids? He's got to come around sometime right? Maybe I should start a new topic on this subject. Thanks!

[Pookietooth]

He sounds like he needs to wait awhile.

[sdbeachy]

6 months is still really young. Babies change so fast at this age; I'd give it a break for at least a few weeks, maybe a month, then try again if you want. I would not be worried at all if he doesn't want to eat solids. If he still doesn't want any when he's a year old, well, maybe that would be cause for concern. But at this age? Nursing is all he needs. And from what I read, the more you push small babies/children (small size-wise, not age) to eat, the less they will want to and you set up a vicious cycle. As long as he's growing don't worry about his percentile. Someone has to be in the 3rd percentile, right?

It sounds like you've been doing great following his lead, experimenting, and not pushing things he doesn't want. If he's telling you he doesn't want you to feed him solids, fine. Make sure YOU get enough good food so you can keep nursing him all he wants.

[georgiegirl1974]

I'd wait a while. DD (now almost 4) wasn't interested in solids until she was close to 18 months old. She was super tiny like your son. Even at a year, she'd only eat a few bites of solids per meal. Now she's almost 4 and LOVES food (especially avocado, which she hated as a 6 mo old...now she will eat an entire avocado in one sitting.) They will eat eventually. I really regret the hours I spent worrying about DD's eating and weight. She finally caught up around age 2. Kids just grow at different rates.

I've given DS (5.5 mo) a taste of avocado and a taste of banana. He seemed to like the banana better. He pretty much spit out the molecule of avocado I gave him...DD gobbled up the rest of it though.

To tell you the truth, I'm too lazy to start solids. It is messy and time consuming...it is so much easier to just pop them on the breast. We are visiting my parents cross-country when DS is 6.5+ mo old, and I'm debating waiting to start solids until after the trip, when he's 7 mo old so that I don't have to deal with feeding him solids when we are traveling.