Refusing solids- how long can I wait to feed solids?

[llcoddington]

I've been introducing solids for about a month now and Lauren has ZERO interest in solids. I have tried brown rice, sweet potatoes, peas, avocado and banana. She might eat a couple of bites and then spits it out or cries. I've tried feeding solids at different times of day. I've tried nursing first or nursing after. She's just not into it.

At her 6 month appt., a new ped said that if I don't get her going on solids, she will start losing weight. Is this even true? I am feeling a bit paranoid about the whole thing.

Should I just continue trying once a day and if she takes one bite that's ok? Or, should I just wait a while longer and try in a month or so? At what age is it a must that she be eating solids? Is she going to get enough iron just through breastmilk? The doctor scared me about that too, saying she needs rice cereal.

I think Lauren is perfectly content with just breastmilk!

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[Laurelsmom2002]

Yep- we did the exact same thing- she was not into it at all until about 8 mo- our ped said that bm is adequate nutrition for the first year and solids are just practice, and learning. DD didn't lose weight, she maintained growth curve until about 9th month when she went down for weight, but ped said thats normal when they start taking more solids and she will probably always be long and lean-

I would try one bite a day just so you know when the day is that she becomes interested, but I wouldn't pressure her, and create issues and tension when it comes to meal time

[jbowman]

Our ped said the same thing--that solids are just for practice during the first year. In fact, he encouraged me not to start them until 5 1/2-6 months or even later (I started them when she was a week shy of her 5-month birthday--I could tell she was ready).

I wouldn't worry about it. Like the previous poster said, I'd just offer bites each day and see how she does. Do you offer rice cereal now? Do you mix it with EBM? That might get her more interested. Have you tried oatmeal? Ellie eats that or rice cereal (mixed with EBM) every morning and loves it!

Good luck!

[llcoddington]

Oops, I should have clarified. I am offering brown rice cereal mixed with either EBM or formula. She doesn't seem to care for either! I haven't tried oatmeal yet.

Ok, I'll just view this as practice. And practice makes perfect, right?! Well, I am pretty sure Lauren will not be 18 and exclusively breast fed! (yuck!)

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[stillplayswithbarbies]

we didn't even start offering solids until 8.5 months. All they need for the first year is breastmilk (or formula).

I would either keep trying once a day, or wait awhile a try again. a week, a month, 2 months, whatever.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[barbarhow]

Jack was a late bloomer, too. We offered at 6 mos. but he had no real interest until about 8-9 months-even then he much preferred the boob.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03

[sadie427]

She will let you know when she's ready! I wouldn't even try once a day--I think even at that age they can sense your tension and how much you want them to do something. Most likely when she's really ready she'll be grabbing the food off your plate. I would try once a week, or in a month, rather than every day.

[papal]

Lana, if she is spitting it out, maybe she is not ready. Has she lost her tongue-thrust reflex? Does she swallow the food well? Has she shown any interest in the food YOU are eating?
Also, Leela did not like rice-cereal.. she did like Earth's Best Oatmeal though. Have you tried applesauce?
If she hates everything, that is fine, breastmilk has all the nutrition she needs. You can keep trying a spoon a day.

[puppymom]

I completely agree with everything already posted here. We started our baby on solids only at 6M, and at 8M he is still not into it very much. We offer solids 1-2 times a day, and it is mostly a tasting party. BF babies do *not* need any supplemental foods until 9-12M, when iron starts to become an issue (and you can always ask your ped to test for this if it's a concern).

[mamicka]

Lana,
Just to jump on the bandwagon here... I wouldn't worry about it a bit (I know, easier said than done). But my DS has just turned 1 & still only eats about the equivalent of 10 goldfish crackers a day. It's still all about the boob for him. Our ped isn't worried at all (& neither is my father, who is also a ped - who keeps reminding me that my mother would've kept nursing me past 3 if I had had any say in it). He just said to keep up with the vitamins w/ iron. DS has never really liked any cereal, rice or oatmeal, & now it's all about finger goods.

As far as how often should you offer... as often as you can without stressing about it. If you can be truly relaxed, try offering her every time you sit down to eat. Give her a spoon & set the cereal down in front of her. She will most likely not eat it but she'll learn from exploration. At this point, she doesn't NEED anything but you. You're doing great!

ETA: I completely forgot to give DS the vitamins with iron for about 4 months... & his iron level is fine. Just started them again this week to be safe, but DS doesn't eat any solid foods with iron & he's just fine.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I never gave vitamins or iron drops to Logan and she was breastfed exclusively for 8.5 months. Her iron was fine when she was tested at 9 months. Breastmilk has enough iron in it for babies.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[Vajrastorm]

Aine is very interested in solids, but not in volume. So at 8 1/2 months she has tasted and enjoyed all sorts of foods, but she still lives off breastmilk. She has never eaten more than 2 tablespoons of solids at a time, and that is not a common occurance.

We will have her iron checked at 9 months, but Im not worried.

And - as for weight - she's 22 lbs :D

[llcoddington]

Hi Mamicka! Good to see you here again. These posts have made me feel much better. I talked to my mom and she said I was not much of an eater either. So, I think I'll just offer solids and not worry if Lauren doesn't want anything to do with them. Of everything I have tried, she did seem more interested in the peas!

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[llcoddington]

Thank you all! I feel much better now. Being a mom sure is nerve-wracking! I worry so much. I appreciate your advice and support!

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[mamicka]

Thanks Lana! Glad you're feeling better about the feeding stuff. Since you mentioned that Lauren likes peas, a couple peds have told me that if you find something that your child likes & you'd like them to eat more solids in general, give it to them often, at every sitting. Don't give her ONLY peas, still offer her other things, but don't worry that she's not eating a variety of foods. As long as other things are offered, she'll branch out when she's ready.

Allison

edited to fix grammar

[AugBaby]

I just wanted to add that contrary to popular belief, eating iron-fortified foods reduces the amount of iron that is absorbed by the body from foods which are much more bio-available and healthy for the body. Some foods such as bm and meat have a type of iron that is very easily absorbed by the body. Even though they don't contain a great deal of iron, it isn't particularly significant because the type of iron the y docontain is almost all absorbed. On the other hand, rice cereal which is fortified with iron contains an iron which is not only very difficult for the body to absorb, but that type of iron interferes with the absorption of the iron which is easily absorbed from bm.

As others have mentioned, bm is "the perfect baby food" for your baby and meets her nutrional needs 100% up to the first year. Even after that, it takes a dip to 85% or something like that (just in case you have a later start with solids). I can't think of a more complete food! A very small percentage of bf babies need iron as they approach the one-year mark, but you can read the signs of anemia and begin iron-rich foods at that point if it is a problem (or have your baby tested). And even in that case, eating a food with bio-available iron will yield better results than something fortified with iron. Another interesting fact about absorbing iron is that the body does a better job when the iron is combined with Vitamin C. So, for that day way in the future when you're feeding solids :-), you may want to offer spaghetti with meat sauce. The meat contains the iron and the tomato sauce has the Vitamin C.

Sorry if this is way more than you wanted to know, but so few people know about how iron absorption works and use fortified infant cereals for the iron.

Enjoy your days of exclusively bfing. :-)

Chrys

[papal]

Hi Allison! Just wanted to say that it is good to see you again!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

>Enjoy your days of exclusively bfing. :-)
>

Yes, enjoy it! It's so much easier when all they are eating is breastmilk. Once you start solids, you have to remember to take food with you when you go out. We are planning to go away for the weekend, and I am trying to figure out what I need to pack in the cooler for her to eat in the car and for meals while we are on the road. It was much easier when all I had to do was open my bra. :)


...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[mamicka]

Thanks Rashmi! That really means a lot. :)

[Marisa6826]

Haven't read any other responses yet, but just wanted to add:


>At her 6 month appt., a new ped said that if I don't get her
>going on solids, she will start losing weight. Is this even
>true? I am feeling a bit paranoid about the whole thing.


That is SOOO not true. Solids are only for practice during the first 12m. She should be getting the vast majority of her nutrients from breast milk.

For what it's worth, Sophie didn't take any solids till 8m old.

You're doing great!!!

-m

[llcoddington]

You know, I was thinking today that I trust all of you and your advice more than my ped! Well, actually, I do like and trust a few of the peds in the practice I go to, but not all of them. Usually, when they tell me something, I run it by the ladies here too! It's great to have such a resource as this board.

I took Lauren in to the doctor today because she is sick and spoke with one of the peds I like. He said not to worry one bit about the whole solids thing. Just to offer and get her used to a spoon. He also mentioned that she might just skip the whole baby food stage and go straight to finger foods.

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[llcoddington]

Interesting. Thank you for the explanation. Seems there is so much conflicting info out there. I have heard similar explanations about drinking cow's milk and calcium absorbtion.

Yep, I am beginning to think that exclusively breastfeeding is SO EASY compared to the whole solid foods thing!

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[HelenD]

You may have noticed a topic I started about my 8.5 month old still not wanting solids. <sigh> Trust me, I know how you feel.

Here's what I've learned:

I got some progress if I waited. That is, if she refused pretty clearly, I would just not offer solids for a couple of days. And if I offered in 2 days and she refused, I waited 5 days. That seemed to work in combination with always having her sit with us in the high chair while we ate and giving her a sippy cup of water (which she loves) as well as a spoon to play with. She'd at least try things, and then sometimes she'd be really into it. Then she'd stop. So I'd wait awhile and try again. Offering every day when she's not interested just seemed to worry me and frustrate her. Waiting in between refusals seem to get her a bit more interested.

Also, I read this article this morning which would have been nice to see 3 months ago but....

http://www.parentstages.com/index.asp?header=news&partnerid=75&content=article.asp?id=3433

The conclusion I finally came to was that developmentally DD is right on target (or before) for everything. She's just not into food just yet (although she really wants my afternoon Oatmeal raisin cookies some kind of bad).

I called my pediatrician and she suggested trying some of the softer, easy finger foods as well. I just had a feeling it was a bit of a control issue with her. I think she wanted to do it herself - my doctor said to try but to be cautious. Prior to this, I had been trying to do everything home made or using Earth First, but my sitter suggested I try the Gerber Veggie Puffs since I was freaked out about DD and teething biscuits (which she would eat, but scary fast). I got some Sweet Potato puffs last weekend and took them on a picnic with us. DD LOVED them. She is now SO into those it's amazing. She still doesn't want me to feed her, but she loves peas and the puffs. I've started putting a bit of strained food onto the puffs (like a little hors d'oeuvre) and that's working really, really, really well - although a complete mess.

I guess the point here is that, 1) I feel your pain (you are not alone), 2) Try waiting, don't push it, 3) there's nothing wrong w/ your DC as long as everything else developmentally is coming along, and 4) trust your instincts w/ DC. If you think it's what your feeding her, or that she wants to do it herself, or whatever, it probably is.

Good Luck.

Helen