athomeontheprairie Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 My ds is 8.5 months. he's always been exclusively breastfed, I would like him to eat some solid food... but he can't seem to figure out how to move his mouth. or he doesn't like the taste of it and spits it out. Or clams up and refuses. So here's the question: at what point do I worry? I have plenty of milk for this boy! and have no intentions on stopping nursing, all of my kids were eating real food around 6 months... That's 2 and a half months later than what I've done before and4.5 months after when the books say to start. is it really okay that he is still only on milk at this point? Or should I be concerned? Also, he crawls, he talks, he pulls up, he sleeps through the night. Tia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I wouldn't be concerned unless there was some other issue. I'd just keep giving him opportunities. Both of mine were past 7 months when they first started and that was just for fun. They weren't actually getting nutrition from it for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 It's very very much okay! Just keep offering. Let him play with it. He'll figure it out when he's ready. I met someone whose son didn't eat solids until he was 18 mo. Turned out he had severe food allergies. Not that yours does, but I say this to show that mama's milk is all he needs, especially at this age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Under one, food is for fun. Nutritionally, he only needs milk. He isn't spitting it out. He still has his tongue-thrust reflex, which prevents him from accepting food before he's ready. If he begins to lose weight(dropping on his own weight curve), acting unsatisfied after feeding, or if your supply begins to drop, you should be concerned. Otherwise, keep doing what you are doing. He will let you know when he's ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I wouldn't worry. Some babes are hungry for food, some aren't. My oldest was trying to self feed at 5 months, and DD5 couldn't have been bothered to eat food until she realized there were cupcakes at her 1 year birthday party :). Are you feeding the your baby, or letting the baby eat table food? My experience has been that it's easier and far less stress to let the baby feed himself. (Note: far less STRESS not MESS!) You know, the books say you can start at 6 months, but no that you have to. Our ped likes to remind us that maternal iron supplies start to fall around 6 months of nursing, and there's some indication that other minerals (zinc, I've recently been reading) aren't available in breast milk in the proportions that babies may need, but I've also been reading about how babies intestines are designed to be super efficient at extracting nutrition, so who knows? I guess the concern might be that your baby has a swallowing aversion, but difficulty in breastfeeding is a common sign of this. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/swallowing/feeding-and-swallowing-disorders-in-children/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 My DS 15 mo didn't start solids until 8 months and didn't EAT solids until around a year. He's fine :-) He sounds like your son - lots of food in the mouth, very little actually stayed in his mouth. Even now when offered a new food he'll taste it, mouth it, and spit it out. It's not been a sign he "dislikes" the food; it just seems to be his way of exploring taste/texture. We did start with table foods, not purées, since he was well over 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Do get his iron levels checked, my babies tended to be a bit anemic around that age, I usually started feeding them some ground beef to get their iron up. Babies are usually born with extra iron stores but those tend to run out by six months or so and the amount in breastmilk is not always enough (breastmilk has very low levels of iron though what is there is highly absorbable). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 Thanks! we've tried pureed, mashed, and chopped. Not a big fan. He is spitting it out (blowing raspberries) not pushing it out with his tongue (though, that occasionally happens). again, thanks for telling me its ok and normal. He has been on such a different time table than the rest were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 My baby #6 wasn't eating much solid food at eight months. She was very resistant at 6-7 months, and at eight months would eat a few small bites. Just keep offering. He'll catch on eventually. Right now his main food is mother's milk. Solid food is just a condiment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 With my last two babies, I didn't even offer solids until a full year. No problems, and they're great eaters. My current baby is nine months old, and I haven't offered solids. He's doing just fine on breastmilk alone. With my second baby, I offered solids at about nine months, but he didn't really take to them until a year, and he's the most sensitive to textures overall so far. Did your baby get deep suctioning at birth? My second baby did, and I have read that that can contribute to oral defensiveness. Keep offering if you want, and you could try him with a straw cup to increase muscle strength in the facial muscles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 My ds is 8.5 months. he's always been exclusively breastfed, I would like him to eat some solid food... but he can't seem to figure out how to move his mouth. or he doesn't like the taste of it and spits it out. Or clams up and refuses. So here's the question: at what point do I worry? I have plenty of milk for this boy! and have no intentions on stopping nursing, all of my kids were eating real food around 6 months... That's 2 and a half months later than what I've done before and4.5 months after when the books say to start. is it really okay that he is still only on milk at this point? Or should I be concerned? Also, he crawls, he talks, he pulls up, he sleeps through the night. Tia! When to worry? Oh, hmmm...not for a long time. :-) Put him in his high chair, put the food on his tray that the rest of the family is eating (although not honey, and probably not dairy, not yet), and let him have at it. Don't try to feed him. Letting him feed himself is messy, but it's good for his fine motor skills and his hand-to-eye coordination. It will also keep him from giving up nursing too soon because not that much will actually make it to his mouth yet, lol. I don't know which books you've been reading, but you've been reading the wrong ones. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Along with dairy, you might want to wait on wheat too. Sometimes babies who are reluctant to eat solids have non-obvious food allergies, and the refusals are their bodies being smart, even if they can't communicate that. Somewhere I read that infants can't digest wheat until about 18 months, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinchick Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Ds was exactly the same way. He never are baby food (even my good homemade stuff) or cereal. He ended up going straight to table food at around 10 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Don't worry at all. My younger dd (exclusively bf'd) didn't want anything to do with solid food until she was over 9 months. And when she did finally eat, she wouldn't touch baby food (cereal or jarred). She would only eat what dh and/or I were eating - and Cheerios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 My daughter's pediatrician told me at her 6 month appointment that she should be eating 5 solid meals a day. I snickered, possibly rolled my eyes, and explained that my older child tried food starting at 6 mo. but didn't eat anything resembling a "meal" consistently until at least a year. He has always been in the 95th-99th percentile for height/weight. I have since changed pediatricians (for this and other reasons). Dd (now 10 months) is eager to taste real food but can't figure out how to swallow purees, yogurt, or liquid from a cup yet. She chews and swallows chunks of table food, but not smooth stuff. She thinks spitting is funny and has been doing it for laughs since before she tried solids so even foods she likes come out that way when she's not hungry or looking for a laugh. Some days she eats a "meal" or two; other days it's milk only. I'm not worried in the least. Right now solid food is mostly to keep her occupied so the rest of us can eat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsJewelsRae Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 My youngest was not able to eat any solid foods until he was fully 10 months old. My doctor said it was totally fine as he was obviously thriving on breastmilk alone. It wasn't just texture and spitting foods out, he literally would throw up to the point of dehydration if he ate solids before that, even the usual beginner foods. We never figured out why he reacted so strongly, we would have done testing if it went on longer, but I guess he just needed more time. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 One of my kids didn't eat solids until about 1 year old. I would try once a day though. Every morning is put her in her high chair while I made breakfast and give her a little bit of finger food. She'd usually play with it, but eventually she started eating it. She's actually my best eater now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I nursed my oldest exclusively till he was 13 months since he gagged on everything except breastmilk till then. It was so much easier to entirely skip the whole baby food stage that I did the same with the next two also, except they did eat a little solid food before they were one since they could handle it. But I nursed around the clock for over a year with all three because they was their only real source of nutrition. I have never, ever regretted that I haven't spent any time buying baby food, making baby food, mashing up our food to make it loook like baby food, taking baby food on trips, or covered in baby food. They just breastfed till they could eat regular food. All three have always been healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 My youngest dd was exclusively breastfed for the first year. She just wasn't interested in any type of solid food, not even applesauce. About 1, she started eating nibbles of food like chunks of cooked veggies, applesauce, and yogurt. She picked up eating quickly but continued to nurse until she self-weaned at age 2. She was always on the high end of the weight chart. I figure I had super milk. The pediatrician wasn't in the least bit concerned that she didn't start eating solids until she was 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 I don't know which books you've been reading, but you've been reading the wrong ones. :laugh: I ignore the advice that is ridiculous :-). When my dd was 5 months, I work part time and she went to the daycare. they told me that they had to feed her according to state laws. I told them they absolutely were not feeding her. They made me go to the doctor and get a signed note saying it was okay.. when I brought in said note they told me they couldn't accept it because it wasn't on their letterhead.. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! the director and I had words! Seriously? ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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