How to encourage an 8 mo to eat

[Josiegirl]

I have THE sweetest little boy. Couldn't ask for a better baby. But we've been trying to get him introduced to foods for quite awhile now. He just clamps his mouth shut and refuses to budge. Any suggestions? We've tried the mesh feeder, just giving him very soft foods on his tray and of course the spoon feeding. Nothing's really working.:confused: Sometimes it seems he doesn't even want his bottle; dcm says he never has issues nursing. He's certainly not FTT but just no interest whatsoever in solids. Dcm has had him take a couple spoonfuls 2-3x but that's been it.

Any suggestions? Thanks!!! I'm thinking maybe teething is going on but there's little indication of any erupting soon although he's constantly gnawing on his hands.

[jenboo]

I would just put soft foods in the front of him and let him be. If mom is more concerned she can talk to the ped or get an evaluation.
Food is new and foreign and some kids take a while to warm up. I wouldn't force anything or create a negative experience

[flying_babyb]

puffs! I have a kid who wouldn't touch baby food, found out moms chewing up the childs food in her mouth then spitting it out to feed her child... Yikes. We are trying mashed table food now but when we started I would put puffs amonst what I was feeding her. Puffs look "cool" to the babies i think. never had a kid refuse puffs, and i use that to transition to real food.

[knoxmomof2]

I've never had an issue with a baby taking solids... until my own 😂 My first 2 children were formula fed, all but 1 of my daycare babies was FF. The BF one did just fine, but my little girl - not so much! She's exclusively breastfed and she has dragged her feet!! She's 14 months now and she has her favorites (savory stuff, tomato sauce and pasta) but she doesn't eat a ton at lunch or breakfast. Thankfully, the breastmilk fills in a lot of the blanks. Apparently most breastfed babies do this. Mine is in the 93rd percentile for height and weight, so she's doing just fine otherwise.

At meal times in the daycare (and out), I put food in front of her and give her a chance to eat. I'm license exempt since I keep less than 5, so I just give her a little sprinkling of stuff. If she eats all of anything, she gets more. If not, I let her go play when she's done and she'll ask for her "muh" (milk) later. I have another 14 month old, I started him at 9 months. He had all of his front teeth and was already on diced up solids when he started. My little girl had maybe 1 tooth and would barely take more than a few bites of purees. I tried BLW, she vomited the banana and avocado I tried (she doesn't now, so I think it was an issue with the food proteins not being cooked / broken down) so I gave up on that for a bit. Used the mesh feeder with frozen fruit/ veg squeezie cubes and had hit and miss experiences with that. She liked the Gerber Lil Bits (only the savory, none of the fruit or ones with cereal in them). She lived on those for several months and I made some purees of some of some of the suppers she liked. I would also just put a few pieces of cooked solids on her tray. Once I realized she would eat more of certain things that she liked and she was approaching a year, I just went cold turkey with solids. It also helped that I did some reading and learned that it was pretty normal for BF babies and just how nourishing breastmilk is into the second year of life, so I just quit worrying and offer her solids.

[Rainbow]

I've had a few babies that either couldn't (kept gagging on it) or wouldn't eat solid food until 8-10 months. They were all eating normally by 12 months. I wouldn't stress about it yet.

[Josiegirl]

Thanks everybody!! I've never had a baby be so adamant in their refusal to even open their mouth. :confused: I'll suggest the puffs to mom; she said she was going to try again this weekend so we'll see how she does.
I'm just not sure how the food program sees this and if they'll still allow him to be on it, if all he wants is breast milk. I know they say 'food before one is just for fun' and bm is the healthiest way to go. Plus he seems to thrive and is incredibly happy so why ruin a good thing, right?

[jenboo]

Thanks everybody!! I've never had a baby be so adamant in their refusal to even open their mouth. :confused: I'll suggest the puffs to mom; she said she was going to try again this weekend so we'll see how she does.
I'm just not sure how the food program sees this and if they'll still allow him to be on it, if all he wants is breast milk. I know they say 'food before one is just for fun' and bm is the healthiest way to go. Plus he seems to thrive and is incredibly happy so why ruin a good thing, right?

You just have to offer it, they don't have to eat. So offer what the food program says and lig the meal. They don't need to actually eat the food.

[Ariana]

I would just put soft foods in the front of him and let him be. If mom is more concerned she can talk to the ped or get an evaluation.
Food is new and foreign and some kids take a while to warm up. I wouldn't force anything or create a negative experience

Agreed! Most kids don’t start ingesting food until closer to a year so I would just keep putting food on his plate and modeling. He will get there.

[Josiegirl]

Dcm emailed me this weekend saying she tried pouches and he seemed to like them cold. So we shall see.

[Mom2Two]

puffs! I have a kid who wouldn't touch baby food, found out moms chewing up the childs food in her mouth then spitting it out to feed her child... Yikes. We are trying mashed table food now but when we started I would put puffs amonst what I was feeding her. Puffs look "cool" to the babies i think. never had a kid refuse puffs, and i use that to transition to real food.

Yes, dissolvable puffs worked for my daughter. She had been tube fed via a nasal tube, and she had major gagging issues when she got off the tube and was transitioning to all oral. The puffs helped get her past all that.

OP I think it's too soon to panic for dck's age. ITA with just put some appropriate stuff in front of the kiddo (dissolvables and mashables). If he's growing okay on the fluids then he's alright. He'll get it eventually.