My 7 month old son hates solids. Any ideas?

Question

My son is 7 1/2 months old and hates solids. He is so hard to feed. He will shake is head back and forth while blocking with his hands, and his lip are closed tight. And when you get some in there he spits most of it out. He also gags and sometimes throws up. I have tired rice, oatmeal, pears, banana, apples, sweet potato, carrots, peas, green beans, and some table food. Anyone have any advice?

Answer 1

He is likely just telling you that he isn;t ready for solids. Give it a break for a month or so and try again. Solids are not really necessary to even be begun until a year old. My now 18 month old did the same thing. Her finally started taking them around 9 months and then it was full so9lids right off of my plate. Once he started I couldn;t get enough into him!!

Answer 2

- If your doc is okay with it, you can double (or increase at least) the amount of formula per water. We did this with our newborn at the doc's suggestion (I had to supplement breastfeeding) because of weight loss, and within a couple of days he'd gained the weight back he lost. This should only be done with the doc's okay and weight monitoring though - all sorts of things could happen otherwise such as dehydration, too much iron, etc. - I like Target's generic better than Wal-Mart's, though we didn't use Similac. Compare ingredients and nutrition on the labels if you're concerned. What we found with Target's was that it was an exact match substitution. - Have allergies, illness, etc. been considered? Did the doc suggest trying a different formula completely (other than just generic of what you have been giving him) such as partially broken down, soy, lactose-free, etc.? The doc would have some explaining to do with me if not...and I might either get a second opinion or switch doctors. - You can mix baby cereal in with the baby food for more calories, as well as mix formula into it. This helps, although again check with the doc to make sure. - When we were trying to increase our son's weight, the doc said to feed him every two hours whether he wanted it or not - to at least try. Did your doc mention possibly shortening the time between feedings? - Your son may not like the taste of the formula, even though everything else is fine. Have you tried a tiny bit of juice (tablespoon or two) or other flavorings safe for babies in it to give him a different flavor? Even if your son stays at the percentile he's at, it's okay. My son has always been 50% or less on the percentiles, yet he's happy, healthy and gains weight. It would be the loss of weight that is a concern. Good luck! (:

Answer 3

When you say solids.. I assume you're talking about baby food solids and not the steak and potatoes you and your hubby are having.. right??

Okay... assuming the solids your talking about is baby food..

there could be a couple issues.. but the one that comes to mind is this.. teething.

My daughter, I taught her to eat from a spoon pretty early. I started her on cereal at 2 months old.. and moved on from there.. she had eatting from a spoon down by the time she was 4 months old..

now she didn't get her first tooth until she was 7 months old.. and all of a sudden during that time.. she wouldn't eat.. she'd do just as you're describing your baby is doing.. tight mouth, shaking head no.. putting hands up in front of the face.. etc.. so it's possible he's teething right now...


If that's the case.. just keep trying.. and eventually his tooth will come in and he'll be more willing to eat.

The other thing it could be. is if you started him on baby food at 6 months, like some mom's do.. then it's possible he's still getting use to the spoon.. and isn't comfortable with it yet..

Either way.. don't give up.. keep trying to feed him every day.. stick to one thing though.. maybe rice cereal or oat cereal..

Either his tooth will come in and he'll be ready to eat... or he'll finally get use to the spoon and allow himself to eat.

But it will all be a matter of time.

There are some things you can do that may help.. like when your son first wakes up.. change his diaper and get him settled.. and try to feed him then. He'll be hungry but not starving, and since he's just slept, he may be in a better mood and more willing to try.

A tired or fussy baby.. they are not willing to give anything new a chance.

So that should help some.

Also, try singing songs to him while he eats.. I do that with my daughter.. sometimes if I'm feeding her when she's fussy.. if I get a spoonful in her.. I'll cheer for her and she'll get excited and more willing to eat despite her fussiness because I'm excited.

So those are some ideas.

And if you feel like you really need to get some food in him.. you can take one of your bottles.. you'll have to enlarge the nipple with an ice pick or something, and you can put rice cereal in his bottle.. the forumla/milk.. thins it out enough to drink.. kinda like a thin rice milkshake...

So at least them you'll be getting one meal in him.

The final suggestion I have.. is try some new things.. are you serving the food cold?? then try to warm it up.. if you're warming it up for 10 seconds.. then try 20 seconds.. or try serving it cooler.. point is.. little things like temperature.. can make a huge difference.


Good Luck and Best Wishes.

Answer 4

Check out this site on nutrition...scroll down to the part about fats and read from there...it is pretty long but it may explain some of the spitting up and gagging.

Second...he needs to learn to eat from a spoon. (Although it isn't imperative he start on solids until after a year.) It is important for hand eye coordination, fine motor skills, proper relationship with food, and that kind of stuff.

Third...my MIL says she had to have her husband stand at the light switch and flip the lights on and off to get my husband to eat. When he looked at the lights in awe...she would surprise him by spooning food into his mouth!!! LOL

You might want to check with your pediatrician just to be sure all is well with the baby.

Answer 5

Mash the stuff up or put it through a blender. Don't worry. Your son will not starve. Solids have to be introduced very slowly. Young children automatically hate something new because they don't know how to accept change. It kind of scares them. Just take your time with your son. He'll come along soon enough. Don't force him unless you want to wind up with a kid who will scream and yell about everything.

Answer 6

Maybe he just isnt hungry???

When my daughter was about that age, she was pretty good with her hands so I gave her her own spoon (I know MESSY!) I helped her dip it into the food (baby food that is, not adult food) and get it up to her mouth. Then it was fun for her! I would give her easy things like mashed potatoes and she loved them! Also you can try the little gerber fruit puffs or cheerios. Teach him how to pick them up and put them in his mouth. Good luck.

Answer 7

try the pureed foods and farex rice cereal mix in a little bit of the breast milk or formula milk in as it will be a familiar flavor

Answer 8

my son is 6months. I give him little suckable bits of egg yolk. then sometimes soya porridge in a very dilute form with lots of milk. its semi solid just to get him used to the idea of solids. then a tiny spoon of mashed avocado.

Do not worry, he obviously has to eat so....

Answer 9

Cover small bits of fruit with corn syrup and use less syrup and larger pieces of fruit as time goes on. Adding cereal to his bottle, you have to enlarge the hole in the nipple. Just a teaspoon added to the bottle at first. Giving him a spill proof glass and let him feed himself

Answer 10

Have you tried cheerios? Is it baby food solids, or people food solids?
Please check with his pediatrician on your concern on this. Could he be allergic to some of this food? Or just not like the taste?
Take care.