Weaning struggle

I would speak to ur HV for advise but also maybe baby is just not ready yet for food..well done for persevering though.

Was she born on term? I have read that premie babies can take longer to get used to solids and should be really starting with solids at their adjusted age.. even if not, she may not be ready just yet. I also had to lower my expectations as my wee man seems to be often preferring to play with the food rather than eating it 😄 I'm hoping that perseverance is the key and it's all part of their unique experience transitioning to food. What helped me was to read Ellyn Satter's division of responsibility theory that ..'gives parents control of what, when and where a child eats, while your little one chooses exactly how much they want to consume at each meal and whether they eat the foods you offer'.

Sorry hon - don’t be anxious or worried. Easier said than done but my LG has days like yours where she’s not interested (like today, spat out everything) and days where she’d eat more. Just keep introducing food to her - we’ve still got another 5months before they’re 1. That’s when solids are more important for their development. On days you can’t be arsed cos she’s rejected it, just try snacks I.e tangerine when she’s sat playing on the floor or couch etc, you’ll be surprised she maybe more interested in eating when you don’t have the full high chair setup etc.

It’s hard not to stress when things don’t go as planned. Especially when you’ve tried so many different ways to interest her in weaning. Sounds like you’re doing a brilliant job trying to expose your little one to foods. I sometimes find online posts can give us unrealistic expectations of what our little ones will eat. Hard not to compare though! We’ve been weaning for 6 weeks now. Took about 4 for my 7 1/2 month old to actually properly eat! He mostly mushed things, tasted them or just played with them. I wrote down what I tried with him to find things he liked and used those as his ‘safe’ foods that I give him everyday and slowly introduced new foods. Nothing fancy, usually just buttered toast and half a banana for breakfast etc. It did feel like a lot of waste at the beginning but also helpful to figure out how much he’d actually eat and adjust portion for the next time made something for him. If you’re concerned I’d reach out to your HV.

You’re not a failure. Would they like things like natural yogurt, hummus? More liquid like foods??

Not a failure one of my sisters 4 kids honestly didn’t even attempt food until 10 months HV wasn’t concerned as milk is main nutrition. Just keep trying but I’d maybe do finger foods than offering babe a full meal. Do you eat together? Are they interested in your foods? Maybe get them to nibble a bit of yours if they look interested. I posted on another post the other day about how I personally believe with weaning it’s mainly about time some just get it early some don’t. Mine wasn’t really interested at all, gagged a lot when trying BLW & now smashes 3 meals a day and will try anything 8 weeks later. But definitely ring HV for advice x

I’m in the exact same position. My LG is 8 months next week and shows very little interest in food. I was stressing about it for a while but I suppose she’s not ready. She’s very touch and go with food. I used to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for her. She’s shows no interest in dinners so we just try for breakfast and lunch, each day varies in how much she’ll have so we’re sticking to having 5 bottles of milk a day. It’s just trial and error until she’s ready. In no way are you failing and every baby will be ready at different ages. Keep preserving and doing what you’re doing ☺️

Some are later into than others. Does she show any interest in what you’re eating? Try sharing what you have and being exaggerated in your movements. Also messy play with food is an important step so playing with it is still good! Try before milk too so she’s hungrier 😊 definitely ring health visitor if you’re concerned and they can help x

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments. I’ve spoken to HV and she wasn’t concerned at all. She suggested sitting at the table myself when eating breakfast / lunch and have her in the high chair next to me so she sees me eating and can hopefully copy. She said to take the pressure off just give her a little taste of food from my plate such as porridge etc rather than making her own specific meal. Will give that a try tomorrow and see how we go. Thank you again everyone ❤️

We sat our daughter infront of us initially she found us eating hillerious and then I sat pretending to eat what I was giving her and she loves to copy. She found food the first week a bit odd, but she loves the food I give her, we are now on lumpy puree because she doesn't like BLW. The texture jump from liquid to solids was just too much for her. Once she's used to lump I'm going to try whole foods again and see what she thinns Try not to worry too much. Food before one is about exploration (apparently pre 1920 the averagr weaning age was 11 months) . Milk should be their main source of food until 1 anyways