When your baby won’t eat solids, it can be stressful. Learn why your baby is refusing food and how to get them to eat solid foods with 7 simple steps!
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The spoon hits the floor.
Your baby makes a nasty face.
They might even shudder or gag.
All from a bite, or an attempt to feed your baby solid foods. It’s totally unexpected when babies respond with such disdain for baby food or table food. As parents, we’re often excited about this new milestone and it’s shocking when your baby won’t eat solids.
In real life though, it’s quite common for babies to gag on solids, seem uninterested, and outright refuse food.
While knowing it’s “normal” for babies to not seem interested in solid foods, even though everyone else’s baby seems to be gulping it down by the jar full, it still leaves the question, “How do you get a baby to eat solids?”
Well, I happen to know a thing or two about that. First, because I’ve personally helped a lot of families get their babies eating solids as a pediatric occupational therapist with over a decade of experience, but also because I’ve been there with my own son…
Going through it as a mom was a whole different ball game.
Of course, I knew that it was normal for babies to refuse baby food when it was first introduced, and I also knew that some babies didn’t much prefer baby food, but my Momma heart was worried. The worrying got worse when I watched my son act like he could’ve cared less about the delicious homemade sweet potatoes that I whipped up, as he turned his face away and threw the spoon across the room.
Meal after meal.
Day after day.
And, week after week.
With each passing day that he refused to eat solids, I got more worried, and more frustrated as I’d watch the food I’d prepared literally go down the drain. There came a point when I knew I needed to do more, to put some of my OT skills to use in my home, and that’s what I’m going to share with you here, because I know how stressful it is when your sweet adorable little baby won’t eat solids.
By the end of this guide, you’ll know :
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- Why your baby is refusing solids
- Why they used to eat solids, but don’t anymore
- How to get them to eat solids and table foods
- Ways to get them more help (if you need it)
We have specific guides as well for toddlers that refuse to eat and preschoolers and school aged kids that refuse to eat.
Why Your Baby Won’t Eat Solids
There are a lot of factors that can actually play a role in any baby’s refusal to eat solid food. We’re going to walk through each of them below, but know that the reason your baby isn’t eating solids could be any one or combination of them. With a little detective work, you’ll figure it out!
Also, age has a little do with it, and will help you hone in on what’s going on.
6 or 7 Month Olds That Refuse Solids:
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- Baby isn’t ready yet – 6 months of age is the perfect time to introduce baby to solid foods, but sometimes the baby isn’t ready. Actually, this is really common when the baby is closer to 4 and 5 months old if you’re starting a little earlier, but is still totally normal at 6 months of age.
Babies are still learning how to move their tongue and bring toys to their mouth, which helps them get used to having foreign objects in there. Each baby is unique and yours may just need some practice if they are in this age range.
They also may still be developing good trunk and head control, without it, eating is difficult!
Check out the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for introducing food and make sure your baby is ready for solids. You can also find my guide to Introducing Solids with more details on milestones to look for when 6 months old.
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- A strong tongue thrust reflex – Most babies usually lose this reflex that helps them not choke if something accidentally gets into their mouth around 4-6 months, but it may linger for some.
If you notice that your baby still thrusts their tongue out every time you touch the spoon to their lips, they may need a little more time. It’s really hard for them to eat when they keep shoving their tongue out of their mouth!
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- Doesn’t like the way food feels – Solid food is something so new and unfamiliar to babies, it can take a while for them to get used to the new texture in their mouth. Many babies do in fact get used to the feeling of solids, but some don’t.
Read more about that below under sensory.
8, 9, or 10 Month Olds That Refuse Solids:
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- Sensory – By 8 months of age, most babies are ready from a developmental standpoint, and at this age, it’s definitely time to get the ball rolling, but some babies (like my son) still refuse. One of the most common reasons why older babies still won’t eat solids is because they don’t like the texture.
This boils down to the way their brains are thinking about (or processing) the sensory input they feel (aka the food in their mouth).
This isn’t a bad thing and doesn’t necessarily mean they have any kind of diagnosis, but it does mean we need to take some extra steps to help them tolerate the texture of food better. You can head to sensory issues with food to learn more.
Babies that are sensitive to different textures usually gag immediately at the sight, touch, or taste of food.
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- Coordination – Eating actually requires a lot of muscle coordination from opening the mouth, pulling food off of a spoon, closing the mouth, and effectively swallowing.
We take this for granted and don’t even think about it, but for some babies, it just isn’t coming natural.
Babies that are having difficulty with coordination, or oral motor skills (find exercises with that link,) usually gag when trying to swallow or after getting the food into their mouth.
Or, the food may fall out frequently, and babies won’t eat solids because they just don’t know how. When they don’t know how to eat, it isn’t that fun, and there isn’t a lot of interest.
If gagging is something you’re concerned about or is happening often, read more in guide on baby gagging.
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- Food allergies – Believe it or not, sometimes babies will avoid certain types of foods because they’ve associated an upset tummy with the yogurt or cheese for example. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s something to consider, especially when it’s very specific allergenic food.
The most common types of food allergens are dairy, egg, soy, wheat, tree nut, peanut, fish, and shellfish. Severe eczema is another indicator that food allergies might be present.
Sometimes, signs become more obvious when cow’s milk is introduced.
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- Not into baby food – While this is probably the least likely reason your baby is refusing solids, it is possible.
If you’ve consistently offered baby food or infant cereal with no interest from your baby and you don’t see any of the sensory or coordination signs we talked about above, then you might just might want to move on to table and finger foods.
One way to do that is using a Baby Led Weaning approach, before you do that though read my BLW pros and cons.
Why Baby Won’t Eat Solids Anymore (They Used to?)
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- Some teething babies won’t eat – While it’s not as common, some babies start off eating baby food and then suddenly stop. A frequent cause of this is teething, and some babies teethe for a very. long. time. If your baby’s teeth are swollen, red, and seem to hurt, then this is likely the cause.
Try putting some teething gel on their gums 15-20 minutes before a meal. If you see an improvement, this is likely the culprit. Here’s a natural teething gel I like, but check with your doctor first.
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- Going through a phase – Babies may get a little bug or slight cold that we aren’t even aware of or have some negative experience with food that seemed too minor to us as the parent, but makes them leery of eating.
If it’s the latter, some sensory sensitivities can develop if a baby goes for a while without eating any food. If this is the case for your baby, you’ll want to follow the steps below and focus on not pressuring your baby to eat. It’s really important that mealtimes are a positive experience.
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- They’ve outgrown baby food – If your baby is later in their 7th month or older, they may just be sick of solid baby food and ready for the real deal table and finger foods. That may mean it’s time to change up baby’s diet!
I know that seems scary and makes some parents nervous. Don’t worry though, if you think this is why your baby suddenly won’t eat solids anymore, then head to how to transition to table foods.
How to Get Your Baby to Eat Solids
1. The absolute first thing I do with a baby not eating solids is to put a scoop of baby food or some other pureed food like yogurt onto the tray of their high chair.
I know, the mess. It’s soooo important for babies to get messy though! If you’re skeptical, you’ve got to read: Why Babies Should Get Messy Eating. It will totally change your perspective and give you the inspiration to embrace the mess.
2. Encourage your baby to touch the food, but don’t force. Be silly and keep it light. Demonstrate.
If they refuse, try and try again. In fact, at every single meal, put a dollop of that food on their tray or even in a bowl that they can play with and touch. If they won’t touch after a few attempts, offer a spoon for them to stick into the food too.
This is one of my favorite beginner spoons that makes it really easy for baby to get some food onto it.
3. Once your child touches the solid food, you’re on your way! Allow them to touch, spread, and put it all over the tray and themselves. This is wonderful for their sensory processing and will make a huge difference in helping them get used to the texture of solids.
If they get upset once they’ve touched the food, or that they are now all messy, be very calm and reassuring.
Have a wet washcloth ready and quickly wipe them down. And, if this is how they respond, it’s a sign that you need to practice playing with these foods a lot! The more they touch and interact with the food, the closer they’ll be to eating it.
4. When baby has the food on their hand and they’re at least tolerating it, show them how to take their hand to their mouth, so they can taste it. You may need to demonstrate if baby won’t let you guide their hand.
Repeat this several times. After they eat from their hands several times, offer them some solid foods from a spoon.
5. You can also give them a large whole raw carrot or celery stalk at meals. I mean the whole darn thing. The point isn’t for them eat it (and if they can get pieces of it off, take it away), but for them to put it into their mouth.
When they do this, it helps desensitize their gag reflex and they get to practice biting, chewing, and moving their tongue around. It’s amazingly powerful and can make a big impact in a baby accepting solid foods. Make sure you demonstrate and keep offering at every meal.
6. Be consistent and patient. I can’t stress this enough, even though it’s often easier said than done! Have regular meals and follow the above steps 1-3 times a day for every meal. You can find sample schedules for babies ages 6 – 7 months, 8 – 10 months, and 11 -14 months if you’d like a guideline to follow.
7. Focus on meals being positive experiences for the baby, even if they aren’t eating anything. As parents, we can bring a lot of stress with us to meals, which can be hard to hide. But, this is definitely a “fake it til you make it” kind of situation.
Take a deep breath, put on a happy face, and work on the above steps. Going into the meal with no expectations of them eating anything will also help keep your frustration level down.
I highly recommend grabbing a seat in my free online workshop to help learn more…
In it, you’ll learn 5 Easy changes parents can make to help babies and toddlers eat table food well! It’s an eye opener and will help you take steps to give them the best start with eating table foods well (even if it already isn’t going well):
Strategies to Use Outside of Meals for Baby’s Refusing Solids
There are a few really powerful strategies you can use away from the highchair that will directly impact your baby eating solids during meals. Might seem strange, but if you suspect your baby is refusing because of sensory or coordination difficulties, doing these activities can be total game changers:
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- Brush their teeth – If you haven’t started yet, brush their teeth, and when you do, make sure you’re getting all over their gums and the sides, as well as the top of their tongue.
It only takes a few seconds, but it helps to both desensitize their mouth and improve coordination because the tongue gets practice moving in different directions. If your baby doesn’t like it, take it slow, and try often.
The more often you brush, the bigger the effect. Try for one to three times a day, and consider a vibrating toothbrush (yes, even for babies) for more powerful input in their mouth.
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- Play in sensory bins – That may be a new term to you or you might be wondering what the heck that has to do with eating, but playing in different textures is super powerful and helps the sensory system understand different textures better.
This correlates directly to eating. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a kiddo that plays in sensory bins frequently, suddenly start eating more foods (my son included). Head to Sensory Bin Ideas to learn how to set one up.
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- Chew on toys – So many babies that won’t eat solids never put toys or teethers in their mouth, which is really easy to overlook. If this is your baby, pull out a bunch of different teethers and have them around the house.
Demonstrate. Dip them in food or juice. Play with them in the bath. The more often they get teethers and toys into their mouths, the more it will help improve the coordination their mouth muscles need to eat and desensitize their gag reflex and sensory system.
I really love this teether because it gets in the back of the mouth and this one vibrates (all my friends get it from me at their baby shower).
Help for the Baby Not Eating Food
I’m not just talking about solid baby food or purees. You may have a baby that won’t eat any type of food, like puffs, cut up fruit, or toast. They’re getting older and older. You’re getting worried.
Following the above steps will be incredibly important for your babies too, especially the strategies for outside of a meal. But, you’ll also want to use the steps I outline in getting your baby to eat table foods.
That’s a whole different animal all within itself, and there are some targeting tips that can make all the difference in your baby eating food.
You’ll want to focus on small pieces, and by 9 months of life be attempting table or finger foods.
While I don’t want you to worry, I know it’s tempting to keep waiting it out, and unfortunately, some doctors advise this quite often. This often does not help your baby to learn to eat wide variety of foods.
Babies instinctively learn to chew between roughly 8 and 11 months of age, when they move past that, it can be much harder for them to accept foods. It’s not impossible, and the same steps apply for older children, but it’s much better to be proactive then taking a “wait and see” approach.
Puffs, lil cheese curls, and baby mum mum’s are all great for baby’s first foods.
When to Get More Help for a Baby Not Eating Solids
If your baby doesn’t like solid baby food and won’t accept any table foods of finger foods by 9 months old, it’s a good idea to get an evaluation either from the free early intervention program in your state or from a feeding therapist.
You can also read more about typical feeding milestones for babies just to have a reference point. As I said earlier, all babies develop at a different pace and needing a little more help is very common.
Get My Free Printable: Learn to Eat Table Foods Cheat Sheet
There seem to be more questions than answers when you’re under the daily stress of your baby or toddler not eating table foods. Not to mention all of the well-intentioned bad advice that’s often given. Let’s clear that up.
I’ve created a free 4 page guide that clearly lists the steps to teach your baby or toddler to eat table or finger foods, plus a FAQ guide for parents to ease their worries when their babies won’t eat!
More on My Baby Won’t Eat Solids
How to Teach Your Baby to Self-Feed
How to Teach Your Baby to Drink from a Straw
The Best Mealtime Utensils and Tools for Babies
Click here to Pin This! (You’ll have as a quick reference)
Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 19 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
My 8-and-half-month-old still has his tongue thrust reflex strong and nothing that goes in his mouth gets swallowed. The most that has ever gone down him is three or four spoons of yoghurt that were gently prodded by me to the back of his mouth but he clearly did not like that and that was after a long time of trying. its been the most iv managed until his patience is totally gone. i have been to the doctor who claims that i should be slowing a lot his milk intake and advised what he called “shock therapy” – to refuse to breastfeed him and literally starve him so that he will be forced to eat solids! i found that far too extreme and can definitely not bring myself to do that to my poor little baby for goodness sake! He did also refer me to a Feeding Clinic but that looks like it will take quite a long time for us to be seen there. Besides for all your wonderful advice in the article, what would you advise being that his tongue thrust reflex is so strong still?
I really appreciate your response, Alicia, and of course all your wonderful articles and am waiting to hear from you. Thanks a lot.
I would also advise against withholding milk, especially when it’s obvious that there’s a reason for his difficulty. I would try to put bites on his gums, where his molars will be, instead of the center of his tongue. This will encourage active, not reflexive tongue movement. Also, I’d brush his teeth several times of day, as this also encourages tongue movement. And lastly, if you live in the states, check out the free in home early intervention services.
We also have a printable you can find above for kids having trouble eating- sign up so you’ll be first to know about some new resources I have coming soon:)
I’m very happy I’ve just stumbled across this website, dealing with the exact issue I’m having with my 8 month old. We’ve started weaning when he was 6 months and he just doesn’t want to open his mouth for food ever. He’s really only opening his mouth when I’m making funny faces. Once the food is in, he does swallow it, but he’s clearly not keen on it, often shaking his head in disgust even (he doesn’t spit it out though). He then gets impatient after a while and even the funniest of faces wouldn’t work anymore. I am guessing he doesn’t like the soft texture of baby food as he’s happily munching away corn puffs, which I’m giving him every day. I’ve also tried baby led weaning, giving him softly cooked veg and fruit. But all he does is mashing it all in his hand and smearing it all over the table, not even trying to put it into his mouth. (I’m always showing him, eating the same things he’s got in front of him, saying YUM and smiling – makes no difference, he couldn’t care less) We are definitely going to incorporate your tipps into our meals – let him get messy with porridge this morning:)
His gag reflex is very sensitive as well, if food is just a little bit too lumpy or doesn’t dissolve quickly enough in his mouth, he’s gagging a lot and often vomiting straight away.
I’ve got a few questions: I’ve recently been advised to cut down on the amount of milk he’s getting (he’s bottle fed), giving him just a tiny bit upon waking and also just a tiny bit inbetween breakfast and lunch. So that he’s hungry and would eat more of the solids I’m offering. I’ve tried this for a couple of days and it just made everything worse. He was super hungry and hence super impatient, literally hated it in his highchair and screamed his head off – he wanted his milk! Plus he woke up during the night for milk, because he didn’t get enough during the day. What’s your take on this idea, do you think it could work longterm wise?
And another question: when we follow your ideas, letting him get messy with the baby food etc., should we still try to feed him as we did before at the same time? Or just let him play and not really eat anything for a while?
Thank you!
Hmm, I think that it can be helpful at times, but how it’s working right now doesn’t sound like it is helpful at all. I’d try to give him half of his milk, and also serve it at meals. Then, I would give him the rest of his milk after his meal if he didn’t eat well or drink well from the bottle. These transitions can be really hard. BUT, it sounds like he has some underlying difficulty that’s making it hard for him to eat. I’d check out How to Transition Your Baby or Toddler to Table Foods. There are some steps in that post that will be really helpful. As well as seeking out a feeding therapy:)
Oh and I think it’s still good to offer food, just don’t force it.
Hello. My son is 18 months and only drinking juice. He doesn’t want other food at all and he is 9.2kg too much lean and doesn’t have power. I tried giving him vitamin syrup and still doesn’t want to eat. Plss help me
Have you tried some of the tips from the post? These steps should give you guidance. Also, check out How to Transition to Table Foods for even more tips.
Hi Alisha,
Thank you for taking time to answer all of our questions! It’s very interesting to see how each kid is unique.
I have a newly one year daughter who we unintentionally took the bottle from cold turkey about two weeks ago. I work FT and she was receiving 12-16 ounces of breastmilk with maybe tablespoon or two of breakfast (yogurt with fruit puree, oatmeal, smooth things) then lunch which has moved from pureed veggies to mashed/chopped table foods. Since removing the bottle she is slowly beginning to accept breastmilk from a sippy cup and also loves water from an open cup. I also think that during this time she is trying to “recoup” some of her lost bottle feeds by trying to nurse more at night (another issue). I’m happy that she will try most things and seems to like a variety of foods. My concern however is, is she eating enough? With the reduced breastmilk during the day she is having probably 2 tablespoons of breakfast, 2 tablespoons at lunch, snack (few cheerios or puffs, we’re still working on fruit bits) and then dinner maybe another tablespoon or two. When I search the web for one year old menus, the recommendations seem like full spreads! I should also say she is maybe a little smaller than the average 1 year old but not by much. Thanks again!
From what you’ve told me, it sounds like she’s doing fine, but I’d definitely check with your doctor for their recommendation. They are likely to say that she is all good, especially if she is getting dairy from other sources. I’d keep offering the milk at meals!
My 7 months and 10 days old daughter does not open mouth for solid food. I have tried different kinds of cereal, pureed food, and soft chunks of sweet potatoes on her tray. She locks her mouth and turns her face to other side to refuse food.
She’s exclusively breast fed and that’s what she only likes. She does lick the baby cookie and plays with it.
But she does put all of her toys/ everything in her mouth.
Why does she locks her mouth for solid food???
Sometimes babies don’t like the texture of baby food or they aren’t sure what to do with it. I’d follow the steps in this post, especially the steps that encouraged her to touch the food and get messy.
My daughter is 14 months old she will not eat anything she will drink her bottle with formula and baby food mixed into it but she will not eat baby food by itself if I try to put food in her mouth she gags or throws up she will not even try any table foods shes already lost 3 pounds since her last doctors appointment I can tell she’s hungry but she refuses anything but her bottle ive tried everything i let her play with it ive tried to force feed her ive tried a thousand different textures of food she wont even let me get a spoon of food close to her mouth she was such a chunky baby but now she’s lost all her rolls I can tell she’s lighter I asked her doctor about she just told me to try plain shredded chicken or plain white rice and that didnt work I dont know what else to do I’m a single mom of 2 doing this completely alone with no help and I feel like I’m failing her with her not eating its got me so stressed that I dont eat anymore any advice would help ive read all of the articles on this site and tried all of the tricks please help
Hey Lindsay,
You have not failed her as you are looking for options and how to help her!! First I’d keep letting her play with the foods, as this is a really good first step and having them explore the foods in a no pressure environment can be very powerful. You can always reach out for a feeding evaluation and if you are located in the US can look into Early Intervention, but learn about all the Feeding Therapy Options Here
Best,
Desiree
My newly 12 month old has always struggled with eating solids and also taking bottles. We started with solids when she was 5 months by introducing pureed avocado. She seemed to like it and then we introduced new food items every 3 days. Sometimes feeding her was a nightmare and some days she did great. She’s tried everything under the moon within reason. After 5 months she started disliking the homemade baby food, so we decided to buy pouches. We eventually stopped purchasing those after reading an article about baby food pouches. Then we tried little bites of food. She loves chicken, avocado, hearts of palm, puffs, mum mums and cheese. Over the past two months, I’ve noticed a lot of gagging and only a desire to eat one or two bites of food and no desire for anything like yogurt or applesauce. I bought a bunch of new foods last week and she won’t even try them. Today we tried a goldfish and I noticed she was having issues chewing. So, I showed her how mommy chews and she loved it. But she still continued to gag or choke. Please help! I’m worried she’s not getting enough nutrition and would really like to wean her off my milk. Could she possibly have a sensory issue? I’ve tried the pureed food on the try and she touches it and puts it in her mouth. Then pushes it to the floor.
It’s very possible that there’s a sensory issue going on! Did you sign up for the free printable above, I think that will be very helpful for you. I’d also check out this post on sensory issues with food, I think this could help too.
My son just turned 7 months. He still nurses on demand. We started with solids at 6 months. At the beginning fruits (mashed banana, raped pears, cooked and mashed apples). He seemed to love them. A week after (following our pediatrician’s indications) we started with purees at lunch (rice, potato, vegetables, chicken, following the 2 days rule). At the beginning he seemed not to like “salted” food, but he eat fruits on the evening. We thought we should discover his preferences. Nevertheless, things are getting worse and worse. In the last 5 weeks he has accepted 3-4 little spoons of food only three or four times. He refuses eating lunch. In the last few days, he didn’t even taste the vegetable/chicken puree. He cries. Sometimes I put some puree on his lips, so that he tastes it, but it’s even worse, he cries and won’t eat. He doesn’t seem to have issues with the spoon. He plays with the spoon and likes putting it into his mouth, unless with pureed/mashed fruits on it. So frustrating.
I tried a couple of times finger foods, but I’m really stressed about chocking.
Today I tried to put some potato/zucchini puree on his track, as you mention. He has touched it, but he didn’t want to put the food in his mouth (but all toys go to his mouth, it’s not a motor skill issue, I guess). He has played with the spoon. I gave him some puree with my finger, but soon after he wanted down. I try to be calm and positive, but I’m worried he doesn’t eat enough (and no meat, no cereal…). In a couple of week I start working, so I won’t be able to feed him at lunch most of the days and he will not be breastfed on demand, as until now.
Any further suggestion?
I know that is frustrating Sita, but you still have some wiggle room. He’s still very young and he may come back around on his own. Babies completely rely on milk for nutrition until around their first birthday. I’d keep an eye on this and if the problem still persists, I’d talk to your doctor. Also, make sure you signed up for the free printable in the post above, I think it will give you some guidance. I’m also creating a free workshop right now for babies having a hard time eating. It should by the end of the month!
We have an 8 month old daughter. We started trying solids at 6 months. She doesn’t like to have someone else put anything in her mouth, but will freely chew on anything and everything. We are working with a feeding therapist and doing some exercises twice a day at meals. We do some facial touching/massages, touching the spoon to her lips, letting her chew on a clean spoon, and dipping the spoon in some purées. If the purée gets into her mouth she will make a face and then doesn’t want it again. She will let me brush her gums with a rubber toothbrush and she laughs (I’m guessing it tickles). She is very mobile: crawling, pulling up, standing, and starting to cruise.
Do you have any other suggestions of things we could try?
Hi Julie, It sounds like you’re doing a great job! I love using the rubber toothbrush/Nuk Brush with a firm pressure right before meals. Keep up your hard work and let us know how it’s progressing!
I’m so desperate for advice. I have a 16 month old that wants to eat and is excited for meal times but chews and spits out everything expect for ice cream. Won’t drink anything but milk. Pretty much always been this way. I’ve been to gastro doctor and that wasn’t helpful. We are suppose to go for swallow test but I have mixed feelings. Everyone I have read or know that have done the swallow test have never gotten to the bottom of the problem from it. Part of me believes that he will sort this out on his own when he is ready but then I feel like a bad mom if I don’t seek medical help. Any advice is welcome.
Oh my gosh, I totally get the mom guilt but please don’t beat yourself up. When toddlers are having a hard time eating it can become totally consuming. As a feeding therapist this is something that I’ve seen many times.
The swallow test may or may not help, but I’d suggest getting started with early intervention, the link for more help is above in the post. Also, did you see the new free printable? I think that will be very helpful!
Hi! My daughter is 6 months old and she loves oatmeal and breast milk via bottle. We have attempted to introduce some puree foods and she has gotten to the point more where she won’t open her mouth (even with singing songs/distraction methods) and will cry if I try to bring it to her mouth. She loves pacifiers and puts anything she can in her mouth during playtime, but when it comes to puree foods, she refuses! I would appreciate any suggestions. I’m thinking we will put it on her tray next and let her play with it based on what I read on your post?!
Yes, that’s definitely what I would try! Then, I’d also focus on using a big raw carrot or celery too like I talked about in the post. She’s young and it’s okay at this age, I’d give her a month or so with these other techniques:)
Hi
With my 11 months old I never had any problem feeding her anything.puree food , breakfast,and chunky fruits.she was eating pieces of fruits like watermelon,banana apple anything by herself, she was eating so well.but when she was nine and half months she started being fussy with food I used to take an hour to feed her even small amount but now she completely stopped eating solid foods even fruits(only eats berries when she wants) .i am so frustrated, sometimes I even cry begging her to eàt a spoonful,I try to play music when she is eating ,I take her to deck to divert her mind,I sit with her to eat my lunch and dinner.it’s been one and half months off from solid,please help me what can I do?I m trying everything I could just not working.
I am always questioning myself what made her like this?
Okay, two posts I want you to read:
And:
I think this is going to answer you’re questions! But, I’d also follow the steps in this post to help her accept to eat and see the link for transitioning to table foods, there’s a tutorial there too. Have you looked into early intervention as well?
I just realized the links didn’t appear for you, I’m so sorry about that! I’d check out this post: https://yourkidstable.com/best-strategy-picky-eating/
And, this one: https://yourkidstable.com/how-to-transition-your-baby-or-toddler/
My son is 14 months and for 3 months he didnt eat nothing -solid food only drank milk-formula milk. I am so worried about him. He passed a cold moment but now he is ok and doesnt have problem with teeth but he doesnt eat anything. When he saw food he started to be angry and very nervous…. about the article -my son doesnt like keeping food or biscuits or bread in hand and also doesnt like taste them….please help me i am dissapointed and worried about this problem…
I know this can be incredibly stressful! Can you start by having him just play with the foods? Also, see how to transition to table foods, there are more details there that I think will be very helpful.
Lastly, do you have the option for feeding therapy? If so, I’d highly recommend it.
Hi Alisha. My son is 7 months old and he started out eating cereal at 4 months and loved it! Then at month 5, I gave him some mashed avocado mixed with breastmilk and he hated it. I gave him some cereal immediately after and he hated that. Since then I cannot feed him anything with a spoon. He will play with the spoon and teethe on it but he will only be fed a few solids via the squeeze bag. Additionally, he will only tolerate apples and pears out of the squeeze bag (not sweet potatoes or carrots) but he will eat puffs. I’ve let him play with the food but he won’t put it to his mouth, even when I’m guiding him.
Kam, I’d focus on more table foods that are solid for now! Check out the link in the post about “how to transition to table foods” You’ll find a lot of details inside!
my baby is 9 months old.last 2 day she is not eating Solids.just rejecting d food. before tat she was eating very well.don’t know wat to do?
Start with the 7 steps in the post as a starting point to get things back on track.
My little is being fussy now with food. He doesn’t want baby food anymore but whenever I eat he is interested in the food and even takes food from my plate and eats it. Should I get him off baby food and feed him table food? I’m worried about how the food should be prepared to make sure it is healthy for him.
It sounds like he’s ready for table foods, that’s great! I’d double check with your doctor to make sure he’s old enough, but it sounds like he’s ready!
Thanks i will check with the doctor. He will be 10 months in exactly 2 weeks
Hi, my daughter is 7 months old and she is still refusing solid food. I think she doesn’t mind the taste, but she just pushes it out with her tongue. Is it a reflex you mentioned in the text? How long does it take to lose it and to learn how to eat? Just to mention that she is breastfed, and always has refused bottles regardless of the content inside. Thanks
It definitely could still be her reflex. Give it a couple of more weeks and keep trying daily. If it continues I’d let her dr know!
HI my daughter is 1 and she will only eat 4-6mnths jar baby Food nothing with lumps she won’t put finger food or toys extra to her mouth she bites teddys and blankets only she holds her hands to her ears and eyes with certain noises and objects
Yup, those are all red flags… there’s hope though! Did you see the link in the post about how to transition to table foods?
hi my baby 1 and I’m trying to give her table food because that is what I’ve been told she needs now but she refuses to chew and swallow she eats puffs banana any purray what do I do
I know it’s overwhelming when they aren’t eating, this post will be very helpful, it’s step by step instructions: how to transition baby to table foods