Need to hear success stories for 7 month old picky eater

[ck1]

My son just turned 7 months old and is EBF. We started solids with him when he was 6 months old; it didn’t go well. We tried a variety of things for weeks off and on, but it just stressed him out and he got to where he would turn his head if you tried to feed him, push away, and cry (sometimes). So we gave up. But, I just figured out he is interested in solids, he just wants to feed himself. That’s fine, but he only wants to eat dry foods like rice puffs, muffins, and toast. He does not, in any way, want anything mushy - bananas, avocados, apples, oatmeal, baby yogurt, etc. It doesn’t matter if I put it on a spoon, put it on his tray, let him hold it, feed himself, he doesn’t want it. If he touches it he looks like he’ll gag, pick around it, drop it, or turn his head.

Does anyone else have experience with this? At what point did your LO decide to eat “mushy” foods?

I’ve come to terms with him bypassing the whole baby food stage (I was really looking forward to making his purees and everything!). But I’m not sure where else to go from here. I hate watching him eat the same dry foods over and over again. It’s so dry he won’t even take a sippy cup, regular cup, or water in a cap, or bottle… not breast milk, or water. So I nurse him after he eats to help wash it all down. He’s happy with what he’s got but I’d like to broaden his tastes to other foods because he is interested. As it is, I have plans to bake a variety of muffins: banana, squash, carrots, etc., because I don’t know how to introduce these foods otherwise. Oh, I did bake sweet potatoe fries the other night, he got in a bite. But the next day the fries were mushy in the fridge so he didn't want them: I hate to bake fries every day for the one that he'll eat. (Hum, I just realized I might be able to put them in the frying pan to firm it up...)

Help!

[LadyCatherine185]

Just follow your baby's lead, don't try to force anything, and try not to worry. A lot of 7 month olds aren't eating much solids. DS didn't start really eating until 12 months + and toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. Start good habits now of not making a big deal out of it. It is your job to offer healthy foods, and BF, and your DS's job to eat what he wants and nurse when he wants. Solids are just for exploration until 12 months anyway, they are supposed to be fun and for learning, not nutrition.

I would just back off, offer little bits of whatever you are eating, and follow your baby's lead. He is getting all he needs from your milk.

[innerself]

I totally agree with comment above about solids being for trying and exploring till 12 mth. My DS just turned 7 months as well. I don't know what advice to give but I can share my experience. I let my ds to try his first "adult" food ( apple) when he showed curiosity about it, staring at me eating one, he was about 5 months then. I think its the most important not to push anything in but to wait till baby shows interest in foods. He will, earlier or later. Especially if he is seating at the table with you when you're having your meal. Also I try not to shovel a spoonful up to his mouth but let him open his mouth and reach for it. If he doesn't do that- he isn't interested in eating, so we postpone it for later. I give him solid food twice a day and when he is hungry, so this way he is extremely interested in what's on a table and is very exited when just put in his highchair and put his bib on. He eats anything I offer usually but
there are some things he didn't like, like beets for example.

[ATruck]

I would not at all be worried about a 7 month old not wanting to eat mushy foods.

If you want a success story, here it is. We introduced food with BLW with my older DD-- no purees, just started handing her fruits and vegetables, initially. She was not very into mushier things-- bananas, avocado, etc. She likes them now, but it took a while. She was probably a year old or more. She much preferred lightly steamed veggies (broccoli, zucchini, etc) and fruits like peach and melon (it was summer). I could just see the banana texture grossing her out when she had it in her mouth. She is 3 now, and may be the least picky child I know. She does really like things that are crunchy (she will even eat raw onions) and often shies away from pureed soups.

We just started BLW with our 8 month old about 2 weeks ago. She is not wild about banana, either-- apple and pear are her favorites, it seems. Not that she is really eating yet- it is all about taste, play, exploration. No rush.

[Denae524]

I don't think you need to worry about this right now. Your baby will eat, don't worry. Right now he is getting what he needs from you. Before 1 it is just for fun!

[Aufilia]

He is only 7 months old. It is way to early about his eating habits and if he is "picky" or not. I don't think it's really even possible to be picky at such a young age! Many babies are not really interested in much food yet and since he's nursing, you don't really need to worry about him not getting good nutrition.

With my DD, who is now 4, she couldn't have cared less about food at 7 months. She seriously did not eat anything resembling a "meal" of solids until she was a year old. She was 15 or 16 months before she'd eat 2-3 meals a day on a regular basis. She didn't drink anything but water and breastmilk until she was almost 2. We did not push it or worry about her eating habits. She was till nursing 4-5 times a day until 2, and she was plenty healthy. At 4 she is a great eater. She will eat nearly anything. At preschool this week they had a funny foods day and she was the kid sitting there eating sushi rolls and vegetables.

[ck1]

Thank you for the support & stories. Sometimes I just need to hear it so I will not worry I have since backed off... I wasn't really pushing it, but I could feel myself trying to be more "encouraging" about eating. Now I just put it on his plate and let him explore.

I just run into problems when I see that he's interested in something I'm eating, but when I offer, like yogurt, he doesn't want it. Or he will see me drinking from my cup very intensely and when I offer, he turns his head. But if he watched me eat pancakes and I offered, he would eat that! So how to deal with that? I don't know.

I looked into BLW for the first time. That looks like what we have to do with him, and I kind of like the idea actually! It's sort of what we have to do anyway. It just plays on you when other babies around you are downing a variety of baby food like it's the greatest creation. I know you shouldn't compare children, but still, you do! I'm happy with nursing my son, he's just on the low end of the weight curve and started crawling, so his caloric intake has noticeably increased.

Thanks for the advice! You guys are very wise

[Comtessa]

My DD wasn't interested in purees at all until after she hit 8.5 months. She would eat a bite or two of something IF it was mostly mama milk with a little fruit or veggie mixed in, but that was it. Now, though, she'll eat almost everything we give her. Purees, finger foods, you name it, she'll try it. She always fights the first bite of anything we try to spoon-feed her, though. She'll turn her head, block the spoon with an arm, clamp her mouth shut. You'd think she would never want it! What we learned to do is dab a little on her lips and wait for her to lick it off, then decide to open her mouth for the spoon. Inevitably she ends up eating the whole serving eagerly; it's just that first "I don't know what's coming" bit that freaks her out. I don't blame her, actually, now that I think about it.

At 7 months, she was barely eating anything at all, so it's totally nothing to worry about! You'll wake up one day and suddenly he'll want to eat all sorts of things.

[NiteNicole]

My daughter wasn't really interested in purees, ever. I might get a bite or two in her, but the whole thing with starting to try to feed her mushy "meals" from spoons a few times a day? Not successful. HORRIBLY frustrating. I finally gave up. She wasn't interested in food unless she could pick it up with her own fingers and put it in her own mouth. She wouldn't eat smushed bananas from a spoon, but she would eat small cubes of banana she could pick up. Same with avocado or sweet potatoes or whatever.

She's now four and a very adventurous eater.

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by ck1

Thank you for the support & stories. Sometimes I just need to hear it so I will not worry I have since backed off... I wasn't really pushing it, but I could feel myself trying to be more "encouraging" about eating. Now I just put it on his plate and let him explore.

I just run into problems when I see that he's interested in something I'm eating, but when I offer, like yogurt, he doesn't want it. Or he will see me drinking from my cup very intensely and when I offer, he turns his head. But if he watched me eat pancakes and I offered, he would eat that! So how to deal with that? I don't know.

I looked into BLW for the first time. That looks like what we have to do with him, and I kind of like the idea actually! It's sort of what we have to do anyway. It just plays on you when other babies around you are downing a variety of baby food like it's the greatest creation. I know you shouldn't compare children, but still, you do! I'm happy with nursing my son, he's just on the low end of the weight curve and started crawling, so his caloric intake has noticeably increased.

Thanks for the advice! You guys are very wise

He's just being nosy! Get used to it, lol! He probably likes the puffs and pancake because they're sweeter and have a melt in your mouth quality to them. There's no odd texture, not much work involved. My DS wanted everything but ate almost nothing until about 10 months, when he slowly got into it. Now he's 14 months and eats 3 squares a day plus snacks and lots and lots of breastmilk. He loves steamed veggies, and I FINALLY got him to eat a few pieces of banana the other day. Still hates most fruit though. He's such a weirdo but hey, he can taste anything he wants and eat what he chooses. I know that as long as he's bfing he's getting adequate nutrition.

[taramoon13]

ds is 2.5 and still isn't big on mushy foods! he ate bananas for a while, then just got sick of them i think and never would even try yogurt or applesauce. since he didn't really start eating til about a year i ended up mostly bypassing mushed foods. he munched on lots of crackers and breads and fruits that were already mushy or easy to mush. in the beginning too, it's more experimentation than anything.it's funny how you have all of these "plans" of what they are going to eat and it never works out that way!
one thing that helped me was just getting used to the fact that a certain amount of food would be wasted (which i hate).
another big thing is i read that it can take 15-20 times before a child can decide they like something, so don't give up; just try something again in a couple weeks.
also, don't go to too much trouble yet fixing "special" stuff for them, you're setting yourself up for disappointment when you go to all this trouble and they won't even touch it. i never liked the idea of making special stuff for lo and other food for the rest of the family, too much, IMO, and so i would just make a soup that i hoped he would like and if he didn't i'd give him bread w/ melted cheese or something simple and eventually he came around. now he's a great eater, will eat almost anything put in front of him, especially fruit; except still doesn't like yogurt & bananas!!!
as everyone also said he's getting all the nutrition he needs from your BM, so don't even look at food as a source of nutrition for now.

[clairelamar]

thanks for this thread! my DD is 7.5 months and has not swallowed a bite of food yet. we've only tried purees so far. glad to see that's totally common! at what age could i start to give her some not mushy stuff w/o her choking, and what foods would y'all suggest? btw, i'm trying to avoid wheat until she's older, so anything besides that would be a welcome idea.

[Comtessa]

DD started on finger foods around 7.5 months, I think. We love love love Cheerios at our house, but I think they might have wheat in them. As for other finger foods, DD (8.5 months) has had (and loves):

- cooked black or pinto beans, cut in half (not from a can, though - cans are lined with a BPA-containing plastic)
- peas, smushed flat so they don't roll away (and aren't as much of a choking hazard)
- bits of steamed carrot
- cooked green beans, cut in tiny pieces
- plain cooked rolled oats, barley, rice (fair warning: this gets pretty messy!)
- small bits of buttered toast
- bits of steamed broccoli (she'll only eat it if it has butter on it though!)
- small bites of fresh melon
- sliced black olives (I know these are really salty. But she loves them!)
- potatoes boiled in coconut milk (I often boil potatoes, carrots and peas in coconut milk with a little turmeric - turmeric is really really good for you and it's a mild spice for babies)
- roasted zucchini and acorn squash
- banana

She's just started on small bites of cheese and loves it. She hates nectarines and peaches, and I'm sure there's other things she won't eat but i can't think of them at the moment. Oh, steamed parsnips. But then, I tried one and thought it tasted awful too, so I can't blame the poor kid for making that awful face.

Someone on here suggested rolling slippery fruit bits in Cheerio powder (you could also used crushed Rice Krispies or something, maybe even plain baby rice cereal?) to make them easier to pick up. It works like a charm! She's finally managing to eat bananas; they were too slippery for her before! Thanks for that tidbit!

[Asiago]

Originally Posted by ck1

I just run into problems when I see that he's interested in something I'm eating, but when I offer, like yogurt, he doesn't want it. Or he will see me drinking from my cup very intensely and when I offer, he turns his head. But if he watched me eat pancakes and I offered, he would eat that! So how to deal with that? I don't know.

One thought, I may be totally off but he may be interested in the cup or the utensil and not the food in it.
Perhaps offer him an empty plastic cup or plastic spoon to play with while you sit next to him. (Just a thought)

[JMJ]

When DD turned 6 months old, we dutifully bought an organic avocado, sliced it into nice BLW slices, and gave it to her. She enthusiastically licked it and then didn't want any more. It was another month before she ate anything and a few more months before she decided that she liked avocado. At 10 months old, she only eats a little a couple times a day. I give her what I'm comfortable giving her out of what I'm eating, and she eats a tablespoon or 2 at each meal. She eats so little that I wouldn't dream of making a whole batch of something and expect her to eat it. I make what I want to eat and offer her some.

Babies are so different on when they are ready for solids and how quickly that take to eating solid foods. DD has a friend who is the same age whose mother had to hold her back until 6 months, and she took off eating everything in sight right away. It's so individual.

Clairelamar, I've heard that the gagging reflex is initially triggered pretty far forward on a baby's tongue, far in front of where it would be a problem as far as choking is concerned, and as they get older, it moves further and further back. DD still gags from time to time, but the gagging with every bite thing didn't last long at all for us. Again, though, your baby is an individual, so I wouldn't worry about it even if it goes on longer.