9 mo will not eat any solids

[moongloe]

not anything, in any form. he whips his head back and forth to avoid the spoon (or a finger), makes faces if something does make it into his mouth, then spits what he can out. i've tried a few different foods, and today (thinking perhaps it was textural) gave hime a little rice puff. he gagged until he got it out of his mouth.
this is a child who constantly puts things in his mouth, and who last month ate a piece of a board book. so i don't think it's some strange oral aversion.

i delayed solids initially because he had problems with many foods through my milk: nightshades, legumes, and all grain except rice.

now his ped is freaking out that he's not eating anything but breastmilk. since his appointment 2 months ago, he's only gained 1/3 of a pound. and tests today show he's slightly anemic. of course she's insisting both are a result of him not eating solids.

i'm not freaking that she's right; after all, what could have more calories than bm? i am concerned that he won't eat anything though. he's 9 months old!

anyone else experience this? how did you get your lo to eat?
~peace, kat.

[maptome]

We went in a couple of weeks ago for our 9 month checkup. DD had gained very little weight since the 6 month visit. She also does not eat solids, EBF. I asked if it was because she was breastfed, and dr said no. He said that he sees low weight gain often at that age, and everything is okay as long as the baby doesn't lose weight. He asked about solids, but didn't seem concerned at all that she wasn't eating. He told me to just follow her lead on solids.

This is coming from a pedi who tells me to CIO as a solution to almost everything. So, I've learned to follow my instincts and listen to what I agree with and ignore the stuff I don't agree with.

If your babe won't eat, your babe won't eat. Try to relax and not force the issue. It will happen one day, for sure.

[Bokonon]

At 9 months, my EBF baby did the same thing. She just turned 1, and she still only eats crunchy things she can feed herself, and not very much of it. It's frustrating and kind of annoying, LOL, but it's not really problematic.

She is anemic and we are supplementing with iron drops, which I hate doing, but she was a preemie and her iron is very low (and yes, I've tried Floradix, but she won't take it because the dosage is 5x what Fer-in-Sol's is, and I just can't get it in her).

Low weight gain has nothing to do with eating solids. Does your doc really think that a couple of tablespoons of pureed carrots are going to make your baby pack on the weight??

My baby gained 14 pounds in her first 6 months and 3 in her second 6 months. Totally normal.

I just keep trying with different foods. Sometimes she'll take a few bites and sometimes she won't. At 9 months, we were nowhere near that. She would gag to the point of vomiting. Even now, if I tried to give her pureed food, I may as well just put my finger straight down her throat!

Hang in there!

[hollytheteacher]

my ds was almost EXCLUSIVELY bf til 14 monthish other than tiny tastes here and there. He didn't actually choose to eat much for solids until 18 monthsish and then his apetite exploded and eats everything and lots of it lol.

Your ped is a moron if he/she thinks solids will help with weight gain. Any solid your baby is eating is gonna be less calories/nutrients then he is getting in your milk.

Seriously don't worry about it. I'd tell your ped to get over it LOL

[averlee]

My baby was stealing and scarfing food when she was less than 4 months old, but I've known several babies who didn't do solids until the 12-15 month mark.
I've had great success limiting my exposure to pediatricians. If you need immunizations or if your baby is ill, taking them to a clinic where they will see whoever's on staff is pretty great. They don't know you, don't pretend to know everything, give you your service and get you out of there. If they say annoying things you can just look at them blankly- you'll never see them again.