Starting solids

How old is baby? My son didn’t start to actually enjoy solids till he was around 8 months and now he’s eats everything in site.

I started weaning at 6 months and he didn’t eat anything for 3 months 🫠 so different to my first, so it was stressing me out , but have seen loads of people in similar situations on here now.
He turns 1 next week and I can count the things he’ll eat on one hand.
Some babies take to it really quickly and others you just have to keep offering and they’ll do it when they want 🤪

A few months TBH but we weren't doing full meals or really pressuring food. It was just there as we ate and if she took a bite great, if not oh well maybe next time. But if your kid is crying depending on age they may just not be ready to start solids yet

aww that’s so good! She’s 6 months on monday. She eats what I give her but just cries a lot while she’s eating. I don’t force her or anything, I try entertaining her and making silly sounds which will make her smile for a second and then she’s back to her groaning

that’s actually really comforting to hear. I’m stressing out because I’m not sure if I should take a break with the solids but at the same time its like she’s nursing every hour?!! I’m just so tired. Was really hoping she’d take a liking to food so someone else could help with the feeding

she’s six months and I’m not really pressuring her (I think). She likes putting food jn her mouth (and making a big mess) but when I actually give her some that’s mashed up, she doesnt open her mouth and pushes it out

Yeah you may just need to wait another week or so and just bring her to the table to watch you eat. Sometimes they need that little extra time to put it all together. I used to sit there and be really exaggerated with my bites and make mmmm noises and it started to get her interested in what I was doing and wanted to mimic.

As for pushing it out that's their super sensitive gag reflex. It takes a few weeks to months for it to be pushed back. Maybe try some harder teether type foods to help map her mouth so she's less likely to push it out immediately.

When he showed a liking for anything it was always solid food that he could hold himself, over anything from a spoon (and still now will only eat weetabix and porridge from a spoon 🤷🏻‍♀️).

So in the early days when I wasn’t sure on his chewing, I’d give him melty sticks (with my first, I followed a strict veg only plan in the beginning, but with this guy I just wanted him to eat something 🤪).

Then I started making porridge fingers (really easy, can Google recipe) and oat pancakes, which some days he liked and others he wouldn’t even pick up.

It was all really slow and tedious. But I offered three “meals” a day from 8 months because it gave him the extra opportunities to practice. I usually kept breakfast the same (porridge, dabbed on his lips 🤦🏻‍♀️). And then experimented with new tastes and revisited things at lunch and dinner.
Then one day out of the blue he opened his mouth for the porridge 🥳

It will happen, just keep persevering 😊

thank you! I usually make exaggerative eating noises while she’s eating, never thought to do it while I’m eating so thanks for that idea.

thank you so much for the advice. I’m sticking with a strict veg n fruit diet too but lets see how long that lasts 😅

Mine hasn't ever tolerated purées, only baby porridge of the smooth options, but bits she can hold she loves. Pear quarters peeled, celery sticks, big hunks of chicken breast, well boiled roasted parsnips, whole strawberries, she's all over it all! Especially if she sees us eating it while she is. She still has no teeth but gets through a surprising amount too

We started weaning around 5 months as that’s when he was ready. We didn’t actually give him anything, he helped himself so our food and we never stopped him. He has done BLW since then. Maybe wait a little longer until she is ready?

I’ve started off with mashing veg so she hasnt really tried purees before. She doesn’t doesnt have teeth either so I guess I’m scared to give her food she can hold incase she starts chiming

the weird thing is so she does eat it. She would gag a little and then shed eat some more. The only issue is she’s just moaning the whole time. Sometimes it feels like its out of tiredness even though I’ve given her lunch after waking up from a nap

Oh you know what, the one time my son is guaranteed to not eat is if he is tired. I have to make sure every main meal is given at least an hr or two after he woke (2 for dinner) otherwise he will be really ratty at the table. Maybe give her 30 mins to wake fully and then feed her, better yet, feed her from your plate or let her help herself. My son is always grabbing at everything🤦🏽‍♀️

I’ll give that a try, thank you!

Big hunks of food help them to map their mouth out and practice using their tongue and teeth and moving food around, so it's protective against choking if anything, and gives them more control- something firm like a celery stick where it's hard to break bits off and nice and cool on the gums is a good reassuring place to start if you're worried!

I always thought big chunks would make her choke? I’ve given her cucumber before but when she manages to bite a chunk off I take it out her mouth. Should I not do that?

No, your fingers can actually knock it back into their throat and little pieces are much more likely to slip down- they have a super strong gag reflex at this age which helps them automatically eject anything they can't handle, and chunks they've gnawed off themselves they're better able to handle. Look up the differences between gagging and choking as it's easy to tell which is which once you know. Something softer than cucumber like well cooked peeled courgette halved, or a banana cut the same might be easier for her to gum through once she's got a chunk off though

thank you! I’ll try it x

My baby is 7 months and I boil sweet potatoes peas sometimes throwing apples then blend it he loves it!!! Every bite he says mmmmm.....I've boiled potatoes mashed he kinda liked it. This week I aldo gave him spaghetti I cut it up with scissors he loves spaghetti!!!

cut up spaghetti is a good idea!

Yes and he loved it by far his most fave.

U can even add broccoli and of course cut into tiny pieces as well