Baby ambivalent about solids?

[Choose2Reuse]

Has anyone else's kid flip-flopped on whether they'd eat solids? My 9 month old DD is basically still EBF...she was eating miniscule quantities of solids till last week, when she suddenly started eating a couple spoonfuls of food a day. This week she's back to refusing to eat solids at all. (Maybe because she's teething and doesn't feel well? She seems to want to nurse and cuddle a lot.) It doesn't really matter, we're in no hurry and aren't pushing her, I'm just curious...is this normal or is it another instance of baffling baby weirdness? :) Thanks!

[skycheattraffic]

Totally normal. Some babies are not ready for solids until much closer to 12 months and they instinctively reject solids. Keep doing what you are doing: offer but don't push. Also if you are offering purees, try table foods instead. A lot of babies hate baby food but love to eat off mommy's plate. My DD took to solids readily but I know moms with babies who were practically EBF until their first birthday.

[TiredX2]

Totally normal.

You're really in an ideal situation--- she is getting *perfect* nutrition from your breastmilk and can take time getting into solids (also, as she gets older it is easier to just allow her to eat whatever she wants off of your plate).

Neither of my kids were eating significant amounts at that time and they were both wonderfully healthy.

[Choose2Reuse]

Thank you so much! My DH and I figured it was normal (and she's stupendously healthy and active) but we had a trip to a (new) pediatrician yesterday for her 9-month checkup and man...the pediatrician gave us this harangue about how she NEEDED MORE SOLIDS OR ELSE OH MY OH MY and basically what a bad parent I was for not getting her to eat more (what am I supposed to do, stuff it down her throat?) and how I should give her rice cereal and fruit juice, which in my humble opinion is a terrible idea. Ack. (And then followed it up with unsolicited advice to let her cry it out at night...we have no problem with her sleeping arrangements, thank you very much.) Needless to say, we will be finding another pediatrician...but I'm feeling in need of reassurance! Skycheattraffic, thanks for the advice--I tried giving her some steamed veggies and slices of pear, and she was happy enough to gnaw on them for a while! Not sure how much she actually ate, but more than nothing, at least! :) We felt we had to start with purees because she has a super-sensitive tummy, but now that she seems to be doing okay with a couple of things besides sweet potato and oatmeal, at least, we're going to go with the chunks-o-veggie approach. Messy but fun!

[HiMumumum]

My daughter is also ambivalent about the purees.  She's not into the spoon-feeding approach and is much more happy to grab and eat off of our plates at mealtimes. Before I learned this, I just figured she was utterly uninterested. Obviously she doesn't *need* solids for nutrition but she would much rather have little bits of a whole banana than eat it pureed and on a spoon. I am jealous of parents who can get their babies to eat off of a spoon. My world would be much less messy and full of crumbs.

[katelove]

We did BLW and our LO wasnt particularly interested until after she turned one. Occasionally she'd wolf down a whole apricot or something but mostly it was just getting used to tastes and textures and practicing her motor skills. Repeating the mantra "food before one is just for fun" helped to keep me relaxed about it :-)