Frustation with Eating Solids

Hi A..

My son did the exact same thing. He was eating solids really well for the first couple of months and then bam he started to refuse. It was really frustrating. Then one morning I noticed a tooth had popped through and that same day he began to eat again like he used to. Just hang in there, it is likely because he is teething and he will eat when he is ready.

Good luck!

It is likely just the teething. My little girl did the same thing for about three weeks when she was getting her teeth at about 8 months (she was a late teether). After the teeth came in, she resumed eating solids.

More info would help here A.... what are you feeding him? Is it the same food day after day? At 6 months he can hold things - are you giving him food he can pick up and play with or feeding him with a spoon?

Meal times are exploration time for babies. They need to feel their food in their hands and taste different flavors and textures in order to stay interested.

If you aren't doing it already, abandon the spoon feeding as his primary source of solid food. Cut up brightly colored vegetables and fruit (carrots, potatoes, watermelon and bananas, etc...) and let him explore them on his tray.

When meal time is more interesting, you can get spoonfuls in while he explores with his eyes and hands the fun stuff in front of him.

And of course, yes, he could be teething.

I agree with Jessica, it may be teething. My 4 month old has been eating baby food for 1.5 months happily, but recently he's become very fussy when eating anything. When the first tooth cut through last week his behavior began to make sense.

Sometimes he won't take a bottle - he wants "real" food, and other times he doesn't want "real" food, he wants a bottle. It does seem to be cyclical in terms of time of day. Early in the morning/later at night he wants his bottle, during the day he wants "real" food. Let him be the guide on what he wants to eat right now. As long as he's eating something - bottles, food - and gaining weight/growing appropriately I wouldn't worry about his choices until he's older.

L.

ps. Is Nathan short for Nathaniel? Just wondering, as my 4 month old is named Nathaniel. :-) Coolness.

Whilst my daughter was teething she often refused to eat. She would press her lips tight and refuse to open her mouth or she would just spit the food out. We didn't force her to eat on these occassions. What was the point? As long as your son is having his bottles regularly then there really is nothing to worry about. This is just how kids are. Sometimes they eat sometimes they do not.

Hi A.,

I read through all the responses so far as to not be redundant with this advice. I think Annette said the majority of what I was thinking, however I'd like to elaborate.

My 11 month old daughter went through a similar phase after two months of amazing eating ( 2 servings of fruit, 1 cereal, 2 green veggies AND 2 orange/yellow veggies, virtually EVERY day. This was in addition to breast feeding!). Then she simply started refusing the spoon after a bite or two. This was about the time she got her first tooth (7 mo.), so we too had heard that it was probably teething related. I looked to mamasource and sure enough there was a post regarding the same issue, and boy was the advice right on! We started giving her an extra spoon during meal time and letting her "practice" holding it. It worked wonders. We also had been giving her 1/3 of a fresh banana (w/breakfast), and a large section of fresh avocado (w/dinner) in those netted, hand held feeding aids- a pain to clean up but well worth the trouble. The cut up veggies (I admit I buy the frozen mixed veggies) are also a good idea, as soon as you're comfortable with his ability to mash and swallow them without choking. Oh and the Gerber graduates puffs and crunchies were good first pick up foods too, as they both dissolve right away and give your baby a sense of mastery of self feeding.

Hope you have the same success as I've found with my excellent eater! Good luck and enjoy the process! (I've got some great photos of my daughter, face and hands covered in mushed avocado!)

Best Regards.

As I was reading your post, I was thinking "is he teething?". Since you stated he is I would think that has a lot to do with it. Don't force the food; it is important that meals are pleasant. If he seems frustrated when you put him in his chair, he's already seeing meals as a stressful situation. Relax, Nathan can sense your tention. Continue to offer meals on a schedule. As long as he's taking breastmilk or formula, don't worry about it.

Another thought, is he feed himself? Try small bits of cooked veggies or canned fruits that he can pick up. He may just want to be more hands on.

I don't think you need to worry. At his age, most of his nutrition should be coming from either breastmilk or formula anyway.

Wow 4 1/2 months is early; My Dr had us start solids at 6 months and it took a bit for them to really get the hang of it. Maybe is just isn't ready; don't push, children will do things when they are ready. Talk to your Dr.

I'm sure it is a lot of things, teething being one, but I know at that age my kids loved to eat at first when it was something new to them, but after a couple weeks got bored really quick with it. They liked to do it themselves too, but then you have huge messes to clean up when they start throwing food across the room. I would give him a toy to hold that is not a big deal to get dirty, and keep on trying. I had to sing to my daughter to hold her attention longer. My son liked to build blocks while he ate. My other son would feed himself cheerios while I followed his cheerios in with a bite of veggies. At one point I would bring them in front of the television while they ate. Baby Einstein videos are great when feeding them! Good Luck!

Let him be the guide for when he wants to eat, what he wants to eat and how much he wants to eat. Kids that age are not capable of starving themslves or gorging or eating Cheetos. Their bodies go thru spurts and stops and they are very intuitive about how much they need to eat. And don't worry - Nothing wrong with introducing solids at 4 1/2 months. The recommendation is between 4-6 months with the caveat that if your baby doesn't want it, don't force it. My first, born at 10 lbs, was a good nurser but started solids at 4 1/2. My second was also a good nurser and pretty much turned up his nose at solids until 6 months.

A.,

All kids go through this. Sometimes my children can out-eat my husband and I, sometimes they can survive on air. It is almost unbelievable, but that is how kids are. The less you make out of it, the better. If your son senses your nervousness, the problem is likely to continue. He will probably start eating more when his teeth and gums feel better.

Good luck,
S.

My son always eats less when he's teething. It's always a sure fire sign for us that that's what's going on!

A.
most children do go through the stage of not eating like we would like them to but it is not the end of the world sometimes they are just not as hungry. I too was woried about my children when they went through this, ask the Dr. he said they will eat when they get hungry even if they eat a few bits that is enough for them and you did say he is drinking his bottle and eating for your mother-in-law. now if he was not eating at all and loseing weight then I would be worried maybe he is getting tired of the kind of food you are feeding him have you tried diferent kinds of food? his taste could be changing and might like to try something new.

until age 1 a baby gets the majority of his nutrition from formula or breast milk. Right now your baby is just learning different foods, taste, and textures. I wouldn't worry at all about his eating habits at this point. I have 4 children and 2 of them didn't start on solids until 7 months of age. They just weren't ready and so I didn't push it. ALL my children have been big, healthy babies too.

Whenever my baby doesn't want something then I just take it away. I just keep offering it later. Your baby will let you know when he's hungry and wants more food. Just relax and enjoy him! 6 months is a fun age!

Teething can cause all kinds of issues, which pass when the gums feel better. If he only takes a few bites, that's fine, let him out and try again later. Trying to force a little one to eat is counterproductive. If he's hungry, he'll eat - don't worry so much about how much or at what times. Kids self-monitor much better than adults. We tend to worry about how much they eat and set up patterns of eating by the clock or social eating that are unhealthy in the longterm. Teething can be very uncomfortable for some kids and the feeling of solids on their gums is just too much. The bottle or nursing is much more soothing.

SAHM of seven

A.,

My son always eats less when he is teething. That might be it. He could be coming down with something, or as you mentioned, maybe the timing is off. If he is over tired, he may not have the patience to finish a meal. Try playing with the timing of his meals. My son often ate his dinner at 4:30 or 5:00 when he was younger (say 7-8 months) just because he was ready for bed by 6:30, when we were often sitting down to eat.

J.

HI A.,

I have a similiar problem. At this age they get so excited and want to look around and move around that sitting in a high chair to eat becomes frustrating to them. I figured they will eat when they are hungry and will let you know when they are not. My daughter still takes her bottle and eats solids 2x a day but lately it's a bit less than normal. She tries to grab the spoon, looks for the dog, bangs on the tray, etc and it's quite a feat to get her to eat. I think it's a phase and I wouldn't worry about it. Appetites change and it's just knowing when he is hungry. Teething may have something to do with it but when you go to the Dr. mention it and they will let you know if your child is losing weight. If not, nothing to worry about.