7 months... Is this the time to refuse food?

[mrs f]

I know there have been loads of weaning threads but I couldn't find the answer I was looking for.

After previously eating like a maniac baby f has decided not to eat.

He is now 7 months & lost his appetite whilst he was sick but now he is better (mostly)& meal times are getting worse & worse.... He now refuses to be spoon fed (unless it's apple when he will make an exception for 3-4 spoons) so it's all finger food. He starts off ok but then it quickly gets worse & worse & he just screeches or cries whilst I try & amuse him....

So my question is it normal to stop eating around this time & should I carry on with 'formal' mealtimes or offer snacks etc for a few days as he seems to tolerate these? I really don't want to create an issue arround food & he is still managing to sleep 7-6:30 so not bad (usually it would be more like 7:15) but it would be nice if he went back to eating everything!!!

Thanks!

[Fuschia]

When did you start weaning?

[Ruth_Baldock]

Very normal. Seb did this. I was just consistent and calm in my approach (although frantic and stressed inwardly) and eventually he went back to eating normally. It still happens after he's ill. He's a fussy eater anyway but I've hard of even champion eaters doing this sort of thing. Remember it really doesn't make much difference what they eat now; under one food is "just for fun" and they still get the bulk of their nutrition from milk.

[snowboarder]

Seems to be normal but tedious. Littlest snowboarder will only have yoghurt and fruit off a spoon atm and squeezes finger food rendering it inedible. I just keep going normally (as have toddler too, so have to re/what we are having and maybe even an ellas or something to hand, so we get by! He also has 4 bf a day.

[mrs f]

Started at 5 1/2 months as couldn't get by on 6 bf a day... Now on 4 bf a day

We just managed some toast & half a pear whilst in my arms after consuming nothing at breakfast...

[Fuschia]

The only child I ever had much luck feeding was no 1, 4m till about 7m

The others were weaned at 6m and I didn't persevere with spoon feeding ...

I do think as soon as they have the dexterity (or even if they don't!) they want to DIY

Try spreading purees on rice cakes or give them a tommee tippee cup and short spoon with a splodge of mash in, if you don't fancy the blw approach? Or a bit of each?

IME they eat very little till over a year

Try to think of it as bf them still while offering lies of tastes, textures and practice at feeding technique

I don't think there is any link between compliant acceptance of the spoon at 6-9m and later fussiness

In fact I think if you make a big deal of it, child likely to be more fussy later on

Good luck

[Fuschia]

Ps might improve if currently teething

[Yak]

We're having similar issues - I've put a lot of fussiness and clear preferences for easy food such as apple, yoghurt etc as down to teething. Agree frustrating when before they've been hoovering porridge, mince pie, pasta, couscous and all the rest!

I give the yaklet a few bits of rice cakes and breadsticks, brocolli, pear etc throughout the day to gum on, though this is probably more to stop me worrying too much about how much he's taking at each "meal" than for actual sustenance. I reckon it all comes out in the wash at the end - they won't starve themselves. Babies are clever like that!

Also I don't sit with him while he's doing his finger food stuff - I potter round the kitchen doing other glamorous chores. It seems to take the pressure off him (though I caught him feeding the cat the other day...). Worth a try?

[BellendenBear]

Teeth?

Baby BB has only been eating for a few weeks but has fluctuated between hoovering down whatever I offer her to totally refusing anything off a spoon and only wanting finger foods. After each episode of spoon refusal a little tooth has appeared. I seem to remember the same thing with 1st daughter with going off spoon or bottle when teeth were coming.

Controversial perhaps, but maybe 4 BFs between 7am-7pm is too much for him to be hungry for food as well during this time? I am still BF 4 times per day but give 3 feeds during day and then still a dreamfeed. Maybe you could switch one of daytime BFs for a dreamfeed in the hope that he will become more interested in food and then gradually phase this one out over the next few weeks?

[hellosailor]

Hi, I also started a thread on this 2 or 3 weeks ago, pretty much in the day my baby turned 8 months she started refusing to be fed by spoon, and was fussing through meals only wanting to squish finger foods in her hands, thrown them on floor etc.

As you say, was more than a bit nonplussed when she had been hoovering back everything you put in front of her until then.

Like others have said, I tried to remain calm at meal times rather than show my frustration (the first few days she was definitely picking up on my anxiety and I felt like it was becoming a stand off - the last thing I wanted) and after about 10 days she started eating much more like she had been before. I was very keen for her to take the spoon again rather than deciding just to stick to finger foods, as I was finding it hard to get much into her other than toast and didn't want her to eat purely bread! Also her sleep was being affected by the drastic drop in food intake as she physically could only get a fraction into herself of what she was used to. Also freezer is full of stuff I've made for her so I was keen for her to want to eat it again!

So I kept offering the spoon, even if she only took a mouthful before she got hacked off and then stopped offering, and eventually she just started taking it cheerfully again. It worked best when I acted very nonchalant about whether she took it, barely making eye contact, humming to myself etc!

[mrs f]

Thanks everyone, I don't think it's teeth, we have just had two through and I don't think there are any more on the way (but I could be wrong... I didn't know he was teething last time either!) I think this morning it was a mixture between tiredness & still feeling ill... as lunch was much more sucessful and actually he ate some shop puree stuff from a spoon and some apple (of course!)

But generally, the spoon is a no no and finger foods make him angry after a few minutes

I do usually give him finger foods whilst I potter about in the kitchen getting more food for him to eat so there isn't that pressure and I generally eat myself even if it's only a snack so he copies / understands that is what we are doing...

I'm not really worried about him but it's annoying... and he is loosing his chub! nooooo!

BB, funilly enough C refused his 11am feed this am... 1st time to refuse the boob EVER!

[Bumpkin]

I started weaning around 5 1/2 months and it went ok if slowly until 7 months when I introduced meat as well. At that point, baby B just refused to eat, was complete nightmare until had holiday in Italy with baby boltholes and all the kids had their meal at the same time. For the first couple of days, my son still refused to eat, but by the end of the week he was stuffing his face and we never looked back. Who knows, could have been we were more relaxed on hols or that he was just having a phase but I think him realising that everyone else ate food just like him helped him get on with it a bit more. Doesn't really help much I guess if you don't have an imminent communal holiday booked! Good luck, I remember how awful it was, but the time does seem to have gone v quickly in retrospect.