Input on feeding?

[kit_kats_mom]

Well, my little peanut will be 8 months old next week and we are having a problem with solids.

First, a little background. She is breastfed and I nurse her after meals. She won't take a bottle but she will take a sippy cup with ice water in it, but no juice, formula or ebm. She is sitting very well and cruising the coffee table. We tried to introduce solids slowly starting at 4 mos but at her 6 mo appt she was rather small so the dr recommended we lay off solids and just breastfeed alot. So 7 months rolls around and we try to introduce solids again. This monkey HATES them. The most she has ever eaten in a day was about 2 T of food (1T rice cereal w/ water and 1T squash over the course of a day) which she did twice this month. Anything that is not plain watery, she gags on. According to Gerber.com, she should be eating like 18 Tablespoons of food per day by now.

Oh yeah, anything warm will only go in her mouth once before she shuts down. I had some success feeding her 1t of cold green beans last night...where is that barf icon? after she went after my frozen yogurt like it was the baby gold. She really liked the yogurt but I don't want to start feeding her that stuff already. LOL Finally, we sit her in the highchair when we eat and she eats much better when daddy is there telling her to "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH". I usually can't get her to open her mouth for me though she just looks at me with pursed lips and pushes the spoon away. She ate the green beans last night while standing at the coffee table. Any input? Should I just keep trying? I am throwing out alot of baby food since she eats so little. It goes bad before she finishes it.

I'm ready to try just about anything at this point.

Cary

[MommyToAshley]

Maybe she doesn't like baby food? Maybe try some table food... smashed carrots, or smashed banana. Ashley won't eat carrots out of the baby food jar but she loves smashed carrots from the table. Just be careful about salt...they can't have a lot of salt at this age. It's best to use fresh, but if you can't do that, use frozen not canned.

Ashley isn't a big solids food eater...until the last couple of days. She has been eating 1/2 jar of veggie and 1/2 jar of fruit at each meal. Prior to this, it was maybe 1/3 jar and a couple of bites. We've also gone to 3 meals a day instead of 2...so maybe she is like Ashley and she will just start eating more one day?

[5littleladies]

Are you giving her fruit? I know alot of people will hold off on fruit just in case their baby won't take veggies if offered fruit first but I have never had a problem with that. Otherwise I would just be patient and keep trying-she is getting all the nutrients she needs right now from breastmilk and she will eventually take solids. (at least I hope you won't have to breastfeed a 16 year old. lol) If you want to, just take a break for a couple of days and try again. Good luck!!

[kit_kats_mom]

QUOTE (3littleladies @ Apr 30 2003, 02:03 PM)

Are you giving her fruit?

I have tried fruit. She hates it. Fresh bananas, baby food bananas, peaches, pears & apples (both homemade and babyfood), prunes. I've even tried mixing them with rice cereal but she doesnt like em. She makes the funniest faces then clams up. So far, the only things I've had any success with are; homemade sweet potatos, homemade butternut squash, rice cereal and green beans and avacado. BTW, avacado, if you puree it with water and put it right into ice cube trays, won't turn brown and tastes the same as fresh. Just a tip.

I guess I'll just continue to try 3 meals a day until she finally starts eating more. Thanks for the tips. Any others are welcome

Cary

[supermom]

Yep, what they said - especially the one about the baby food - Anders HATED the texture of baby food, even if it was "big people food" like pudding and mashed potatoes. In fact, it took him a long time to like those kinds of things. But he would eat small bites of what he could self-feed (canned no-salt green beans were a favorite - easy to gum and not too un-healthy - )

Anything like that you can put on her tray and let her have a shot at - and if it's not warm, then so be it, obviously she doesn't care!!

[MommyToAshley]

Oh...another thought. I read this, but it didn't work for us. However, all babies are different so it might work for you.

Have you tried feeding her at different times? For example, feed her when she is hungry and hasn't nursed for a while? Or feed her when she isn't starving and only thing she wants is BM....maybe nurse, wait 1/2 hour then try solids. I read that you should try to experiment with the time of day and how full their tummies are to see what works for you.

[jdkjd]

When Bailey wouldn't eat something, I would mix in formula since it was a familiar taste. Have you tried mixing in EBM? Then gradually adding less EBM?

Good luck!