9 month old will NOT eat!

[Lacrymosa]

I've been trying since she was 6 months. I've tried feeding her puree's with a spoon. I've tried really soft finger foods. She thinks the spoon is a toy, and refuses to open her mouth, and the second she puts anything in her mouth (for example, really soft avocado yesterday) she gag's and gag's and then throws up. This has been going on forever!

Any ideas?

[blessedwithboys]

stop trying til 12 mos, and then when you try again offer soft gum-able chunks that your dd can feed herself. a baby can easily and healthily be sustained on milk alone until 12 mos+

keep in mind the solid readiness cues: (not in any special order)

sits up alone
shows interest in food
good pincer grasp
at least one tooth
no gag reflex

solids should never be started b4 6 mos. some babies are ready right at the 6 mo mark, some a little later, some much later. 9 mos is not so old that you should worry.

for the first yr to yr and a half, food is about exploration and play. it isnt about nutrition at this young age.

a baby is born knowing just when to start and how much to take in. listen to your dd and learn from her. spoon feeding takes away the childs autonomy and teaches them to eat when they arent hungry, to eat more than they are hungry for, or to eat bc of social pressure to eat certain foods in certain amounts.

follow babies cues and you will never go wrong. GL!

[Lacrymosa]

Everyone keeps telling me they can't believe she isn't eating yet! (people in real life, that is)

Thank you! I feel better now.

[blessedwithboys]

awww, its hard to listen to the nay-sayers

if it makes ya feel any better, my ds1 hated solids til he was almost 2 and my ds2 couldnt wait to get food into his face and still eats constantly at almost 8yo. both my kids nursed for years, too and now both are slim and fit and super healthy. some just need food sooner and in bigger quantities.

[Abraisme]

It's totally normal. Stop trying to give her solids until she shows you that she's ready. Many kids aren't ready to eat until 12mo++. My best friend's kid didn't eat until 14mo. There's nothing you can do but wait. Breastmilk is all she needs until at least a year old.

[Bokonon]

My baby is the same way. She's 10 months adjusted for prematurity, and 99.9% of her diet is still breastmilk. She will actually feed herself Cheerios, bits of waffle, occasionally little bites of fruit, but she will not allow anyone to put anything in her mouth! It's frustrating but she's doing fine on breastmilk, so I'm not concerned health-wise.

[BlueWolf]

I just want to say, "Me too!" But I'm not too concerned. I just follow with what she wants. I know she'll let me know when she's ready. Until then, I offer, she rejects, and we move on. Although, on Sunday she ate all my sauteed spinach... LOL

[odenata]

My first was like this, and it stressed me out so much. Finally, I just let it go, and she started eating solids regularly after 12 months. Like others have said, it's fine, but I totally understand how stressful it can be when people are pressuring you about it. All those "yet" questions ("is she eating yet?" "is she crawling yet?" "is she sleeping through the night yet?") are so annoying.

[natashaccat]

nerve wracking isn't it? FWIW my 2nd didn't loose her gag reflex until 9mo and really didn't eat much unto a few months later.

[half-pigeon]

my 9 month old is not interested in food at all. he puts everything in his mouth, but food. it is hard to not feel the pressure that they should be eating, but really breastmilk is all they need. i'm sure in another few months they will be interested.

[puamama]

my 9 month old

we started with avo, sweet potato, squash and banana at 6 1/2 months and she loved them until she got sick on banana. She threw up for a few hours and dry heaved for another hour...
Since then she hasn't wanted to eat and gags on anything puree'd. She will however chew on dried Asian pears, dried pineapple, pickles, carrots and anything hard I put in her mouth. I have to fish out any chunks though since she doesn't know what to do with them. I found some organic melting veggie puffs that she can feed herself with and she loves doing it. That being said she's still not into eating food. She loves milk and since my milk supply is a little low (despite all my efforts and believe me I've tried them all), we supplement with goat milk and she loves it and continues to gain weight. Our doc told us to try daily but not to stress since she really doesn't need solids till she's 12 months or so....
good luck.

[donutmolly]

Just wanted to chime in that it's totally fine to take a break and try again later. DD1 was totally not into solids until she was 18mo, and I really regret having spent a year stressing about how she wasn't eating. She's a totally healthy almost 5yo, with an incredibly diverse palate.

It's hard when people IRL bug you about baby's eating habits -- MIL made a special trip to the faraway German butcher to get DD1 mini hot-dogs when DD1 was 12mo, despite my protestations that DD would not eat them (never mind the greater question -- why must baby eat a hot dog?) Amazingly enough, DD1 did not eat them and MIL was disappointed and frustrated. I kept repeating that breastmilk gives all the nutrition she needs... good luck!

[limette]

Another don't worry about it from me.

Both mine had no interest in solids until 11 months.