7 months and refusing solids

[Heavenly]

My daughter is 7 months today and she still won't take any solids at all. She is breastfed so I know she is getting the nutrition she needs but it seems as if she is the only baby this age that doesn't eat any solids. I have tried various things over the last month but she either clamps her mouth shut and won't take it or, if it gets in her mouth, she gags severely and one time even vomitted. Is it possible there is something wrong? Should I just not worry about it? Everyone around me is acting like I am starving her and raising her wrong because she is still just breastfed. I actually had my MIL say that I was withholding food from her because I wanted to feel important! Help!

[kimmysue2]

My son would not taste any soilds until he was 8 months old. He never ate more tasted the food until he was 9 months old. At 14 months old he eats 2 meals a day but nurses tons.

[mamacrab]

A seven month old who doesn't want solids is totally, completely normal. Also very very common. My dd wasn't interested in solids until about 9 months or so. Same with ds. And even at 9 months, they just ate a little. Both became hearty eaters at about 11 months or so.

With dd (my first child), I worried about it constantly, felt I had to offer food at least twice a day, frustrated BOTH of us with constantly making, offering, and cleaning up food that dd had no interest in!!

With ds (second baby), I offered food once every week or so, IF I remembered.

Guess which method is much much much less stressful? :LOL :LOL

It helps to remember that babies can thrive on breastmilk alone until 12 months of age. Solids before that are really about learning and experimentation.

Btw, your MIL is uneducated. And just plain mean.

Now sit down, relax, and nurse your sweet baby!

[sadean]

IMHO, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. With ds#1, I didn't start any solids before 6 months and he wasn't eating anything of substance before 9 months. With ds#2, I didn't start any solids before 7 months and would have waited longer, but I was getting ALOT of pressure from his daycare to bring him something solid for lunch and since I didn't want them feeding him their gross daycare food, I caved and brought stuff of my chosing from home. But he wasn't eating much until about 12 months.

And, just as a side note, I had the full support of my doctor (gen practice DO) to wait to introduce solids until 12 months since they were nursing and gaining weight well...Not sure if he is just progressive, but you may want to dicuss this concern with your doctor/ped and then use their support of your decision to ward off your MIL.

[wombat]

Stupid MIL. Smart baby - she doesn't wanna eat solids right, she's not gonna eat solids right now. Why do people have to worry so much and get so uptight about how you feed and care for your baby? Gee, if you weaned right now, no one would jump and down and complain you're withholding antibodies from your baby. Act confident, if a mother seems unsure of yourself, people just jump on her and bombard her with 'advice'.

I'm sure your baby will take solids when she's ready to. To get them off your back, you could give them the 'allergy lecture' - the ped. says wait at least 12 months to avoid future allergies.

[mcsgo]

I felt pressured to give DD solids at around 6 months, but she more often then not would just gag and vomit unless it was just plain rice cereal. But now at 11 months, she enjoys playing with & nibbling on little crackers and she eats a little baby food.

I was worried too but DD is perfectly happy and she's growing and developing well. MIL should keep uneducated opinions to herself.

[Mallory]

It helps to remember that babies can thrive on breastmilk alone until 12 months of age. Solids before that are really about learning and experimentation.

I think it is really more like 18 or 24 months, perhaps even 30, but I agree with everyone here, it's fine for a breastfed 7 month old not to eat solids

[sylviamama]

DON'T WORRY! Tell your MIL to "SHUT-UP" and go sit in on an LLL meeting. You're just hanging out with a crowd that doesn't let you see you are not alone. I also agonized over this until I went to a meeting and heard all the mothers of older children say their children didn't REALLY get interested in eating solids until 14 - 36 months (and they gave lots of information about why solids too early was not good)!

My dd would not take much of anything, would clamp her mouth shut, spit food back out, turn her head, gag, etc. until she cut her first four teeth at 11 months.

You are giving your baby everything she needs! Wait until she shows interest and have some confidence in your own knowledge of your infant. You know her best, but everyone else can have an opinion on what's best...Please!

When you do start solids, give your baby what she can eat without preparation. First foods should be as close to their natural state as possible - very ripe bananas, pears, avocados, etc.

Happy Nursing To You!

[OhMel]

Yeah, my mom started giving me crap about it around 6 months. We tried but he just wasn't interested. Just recently (he's 9 months) he'll take food that I'm eating if I give it to him with my finger. If I actually sit him in a high chair and try and feed him with a baby spoon he still refuses. I got my mom off my back by saying that highly allergic babies often eat later (ds gets eczema if I eat dairy or eggs.)

[Mariposa]

My DD is 11 months old and still doesn't eat a lot of solids. In a typical day she nurses every 2-3 hours, sometimes more often as she likes to snack nurse. In the morning, she eats some dry Cheerios about 10 of them or so. Sometimes she will have a bite of what I am having for lunch. At dinner time, she usually has about what would equal a 1/4 of a small jar of baby food of whatever we are eating. Otherwise she has about 1/6 of an avocado if what we are eating is spicy or something she can't eat.

Don't worry what other's say. You know you are giving your baby the best. She will eat when she is ready. Abby hardly ate at all at 7 months. She is happy, never been sick, superactive and has hit all her milestones including walking. She is small, but that is heredity, not what she eats.

Follow your heart and your baby's needs. Forcing solids could make her not want to eat them. She will show you when she is ready! Breastmilk is perfect nutrition for her right now.

Your MIL is just from a different school of thinking. I looked at my baby book and was started on rice cereal at 3 weeks *yes, weeks*, fruits and veggies at 2 months and by 3 months pureed meats. I was formula fed. But, my DD who rarely eats and is breastfed has weighed almost exactly what I did at each well check. My dad always says I should give her more, but I am the mom and I know he is just uninformed. I have tried to educate him, lol.

I almost think that solids are a waste anyway. Half the time I see them in her diaper, undigested. I think it is just a learning experience for them and tastes, but not for nutrition. Especially for a breastfed baby.

Good luck!!

[Heavenly]

Thanks for the support! I have decided to not bother with solids at all until she is old enough to eat table foods and feed herself - probably 9-10 months. I'm not even going to bother to offer them because she truly has no interest, she is not even interested when we eat. She is a big 21 lbs, chubby girl so I certainly think she is doing just fine with just nursing. To be honest I feel kind of happy that she's not interested because I was only really offering because I was "supposed" to, my mama instincts say there is no need to give my breastfed baby mush instead of wonderful mama milk!

[girlzmommy00]

Sounds like she's growing really well on her current diet
Lily's allergist had told us to hold off on solids as long as we could. Even at 7 months, they still don't "need" solids.
Honestly, my 3 year old didn't start solids until she was 2 1/2 years old, due to her food allergies and our drs said it was all fine (she was on a medical amino acid based formula). She was always growing well (she's 3 now and 46 lbs and 46 in, no growing issues there) and was in good health aside from the allergies.
Sounds like holding off and offering table foods is a great idea. Some babies just don't like "baby food" and go nuts over table foods. Good luck