EAT > Feeding Solid Food

too much, too soon?

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b0nni3:
Hi guys, I'm worried that I might have started off my LO on solids too soon. He did about 2.5 weeks of it happily - about 6-8 tbsp 1x per day (dinner time, in between the 4pm and 8pm bedtime BM feeds). Over the past few days he has just refused it. We think he is teething because we notice some white bumps in his lower gum. I know that sometimes affects their solids intake but we didn't notice the teething until a day or two ago - so before then we were trying to get him to eat his solids, sometimes forcing him so (even unsuccessfully). He started STTN when we introduced solids so I didn't want that to stop! But now I am worried that we might have created a negative assciation with spoonfeeding. He used to grab the spoon and shove it in his mouth with the food, but now he will avoid even touching his spoon! Does anyone have any advice as to what we should do? Put off solids for a week? Wait till the tooth (teeth) appear and try again? Try solids once a day and if he rejects it, just let him be? DH and I have decided not to do BLW for various reasons. Obviously we dont want to force feed him anymore, but how can I encourage DS to like his solids again? He LOVED his food so much for the first couple of weeks so it makes me sad that he is rejecting his food now.

DS is almost 6.5 months (we started solids at 5.5 months because he seemed interested in our food and showed all signs of being ready) and EBF. He gets about 4-5 milk feeds in 24 hours and weighs 21 lbs.

wonderwoman_001:
Thanks Vikki, jolly helpful!

Sorry Bonni, haven't had that problem to offer any advice just yet, hope very much that someone will xx

~ Vik ~:
Hi! Believe it or not, I had the same problem for a different reason. We started ds on solids at 5 months (he was already 18.5 pounds and was nursing all the time!). He was doing really well, eating a couple tablespoons of rice cereal mixed with breastmilk for breakfast and lunch. We also successfully introduced sweet potatoes and carrots. Then I bought the rice cereal that was "just add water" (so I didn't have to pump every time I wanted to feed him) and he broke out in hives. We had to take him to emergency, and it turns out that he has a milk protein allergy.
Anyway, after that he wanted nothing to do with food. Mouth closed, head turned, fussing. I did the same as you, tried everything, including forcing :(, to get him to eat. He wanted none of it. So what I did was take a week off. No food, no high chair even for a week. Then I reintroduced the rice cereal with much fanfare ("oh Dylan, look what yummy treat mommy has for you!!") and it worked! He was still a little gun shy at first (only a few bits the first few times) but now he eats like a champ :)
Teething can definitely affect their appetite for solids too, so I wouldn't worry too much. Take a couple days off if you want (I did a week because I wanted it to be all new given his alergy experience) and try again. If he doesn't eat, no big deal, try next meal. The more relaxed youare, the morerelaxed he'll be.
HTH! Good luck :)
 

b0nni3:
Thanks Vicki. Our LO loved his solids - within 3 weeks we had done sweet potatoes, roasted peppers, zucchini (summer squash), peas, carrots, and spinach mixed in with potatoes, and pears and apples and avocadoes. He was such a champion eater (I cap it at 8 tbsps - I think he would have eatn more if I would give him more food) which is why it's upsetting that he doesn't eat now. Thanks for the encouragement, we'll just take a break and go back to it later. Also, a few nights ago (a day or two before he refused solids) we gave him tomatoes mixed in with potatoes and he vomitted later in the evening so I wonder if that made him afraid of eating, too. (I didn't realize tomatoes was a 10 month+ food...it was listed in the Annabel Karmel cookbook as "first tastes", so I gave it to him, and later my friends told me that the acidity might have caused the vomiting.)

Mimi 2:
It's normal to have a lack of appetite for solids even when they loved it before.  Like Vikki said, take a few days break if you need to and offer solids again.  Teething, illness or too much distractions can make eating not fun.  Also remember to ensure bm/formula is still the main source of nutrients and solids shouldn't be a replacement for any milk feeds yet.  There are so much more calories, vitamins, minerals and fats in bm/formula than puree veggies, cereal or fruits. 

This is a fun stage but it can also be frustrating for us when they don't eat or decides to decorate the floor/walls with food.  Just remember to keep offering healthy choices and take a relaxed approach.  In the end, your lo will pick up your attitude and have a positive association with eating.

HTH

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