Food for 7Th Month Old

It is completely normal for a 7mo old to not eat many solids yet. Anything before a year is just practice anyway! Also remember if a baby doesn't like something, you should offer it ten times (not all at once, but if she doesn't like carrots, offer them to her on ten more occasions) before baby will come around.

Good luck!

You're instincts are right on!
You have the opinion of an allopath. I would seek a second opinion of a homeopath.

Some practitioners would say that a child's digestive system is not really ready for food other than breast milk before a year. It may actually be to your benefit that your child is not interested in people food. Baby is getting EVERYTHING it needs from the breast. More antibodies and nutrition than you could find anywhere else. Consider yourself blessed!! You are right, the crackers & empty carbs are completely nutritionally void and you could be setting your child up for sugar imbalances by feeding them that junk. If she is not underweight, I would hold off on trying to feed her any food at all and if at some point close to a year she seems more interested, I would incoorporate 'good fat' foods like avacados and plenty of veggies. setting your child up for wanting sweet things like bananas and apple sauce will make them MUCH more picky eaters throughout childhood. sugars even fruit sugars can wait a while. maybe even to 2 years.

What about bananas or peeled grapes, shredded cheese, and cheesy potatoes? Gerber has little freeze dried fruits as finger foods too. Cherios are also a great thing. At this point though if you are nursing her that is still where she is getting all of her nutrition. The finger foods are just to help her get used to the flavors and textures of "real" food. If she doesn't eat a lot at first don't be discouraged, just keep trying to give her other things. Oh and try giving her solid foods first when she is hungry before you offer her to nurse. Good luck!

We didn't start solids til 6 months and it took my son at LEAST a month to get used to eating them. He really just preferred nursing. When I talked to the doctor about it, she told me that frankly we didn't NEED to feed our children these "baby foods" and that as long as he was eating and gaining weight I shouldn't worry about it.
He's now 22 months and some days all he DOES is eat. lol
At 7 months I wouldn't worry too much as long as she's still eating and gaining weight. Definitely take her to the specialist, but I'd get a second opinion, too.
Good luck!

When I transitioned my son, now 18 months, to table food I started with finely shredded cheese. He seemed to like it and it is really hard to choke on if given in small amounts. Another thing I noticed is that it helped with his fine motor skills because he was trying to pick up small pieces of cheese to feed himself. Although I do believe your daughter is a bit young for table food. What I did for son and am currently doing with my daughter (almost 6 months) is that I feed them when they are hungry. For example I feed my daughter barley cereal (tastes better than rice cereal) mixed with her formula right when she wakes up in the morning followed by her bottle. I believe she is receptive to it because she is hungry, otherwise I believe she would be content with her bottle. I hope this helps!

Hello G.,

I nursed my son almost exclusively till 9 months (then he finally started eating some table food. He hardly ate "baby food" at all when we tried.) Don't worry about this. Nursing is natural. In some cultures that is all a child gets until 3 or 4 years old.

I wouldn't worry. You're the mom. You know what is best for your child. (My son is very healthy. Now that he just turned 1 he eats almost anything we try to give him. He's in the 80 percent on the charts.) RELAX AND KNOW THAT YOU ARE DOING THE BEST AND HEALTHIEST THING FOR YOUR BABY!!!

I had nurses and people in general tell me the same thing. "He really needs to start eating food." "You really need to get him to try new things." Etc. God made women this way. If our babies were supposed to stop breastfeeding so much at 6 months old we would no longer be able to physically breastfeed.

As a matter of fact. My son slept through lunch yesturday so he just breastfed for lunch and supper... (Had some fresh fruit for a bed time snack though.)

PS. I started pretty much ignoring these comments (and am still ignoring them since he's 1 and most think we should stop breastfeeding altogether.)

Miranda

You could try mashed potatoes, or squash, cooked peas, green beans mashed up. Anything really soft. Just keep trying and sooner or later she will eat when she's ready. I dont think i would be to concerned about not eating much solid food as long as she is growing and gaining weight. I know people who chose not to feed thier babies much solids till there one. My son at 10 1/2 months eats everything. Im sure she will eat more variety when she's ready, just keep trying.

ITA w/Jaci! If your little once doesn't like something once, keep trying a spoonful or two each day or every other day for awhile. Some people just have sensitive taste buds and it takes a while for a new flavor or texture to be okay. By 7 mos old she can eat a lot of what you are eating. Little finger foods - jsut like your dr said - crackers, toast, hard toast, dry cereals such as cheerios. If you are eating dinner, mash up some of what you're eating and share some w/her. The only things she can't have are the restricted items like egg whites, nuts, peanut butter, etc. Even with no teeth, they can pretty much 'gum' it all. :-) Sometimes they make a gagging sound, but they get the hang of it.

really, i wouldnt worry about it too much. nutritionally, babies dont NEED solid foods until after a year. solids in the first year are in addition to, not in replace of, breastmilk or formula anyway... so its no big deal.
i wouldnt worry, stress, or be concerned unless there starts to be any health problems or vitamin dificiencies.

as a mom determined to breastfeed, i actually wished my baby had been as uninterested in food as your baby is LOL. i wanted to breastfeed exclusivly for a year, but when he wanted food, he got it LOL. its funny how things work out.

so, i wouldnt be concerned. just keep offering her little bits of everything once in a while, but dont worry that you are going to harm her if you dont get her on solids. every kid has their own timeline, and im sure she will be eating you out of house and home in no time!

Try the gerber graduates. They have diced carrots, apples, pears etc. These seem to be softer than just the regular canned fruits and veggies you can buy. Try real bananas slightly mashed too. The puffs dissolve in their mouth where crackers don't always! My niece refused to eat baby food for quite awhile as well and when she was about 8 months she decided she would eat big people food. All in all if she is gaining weight and seems happy don't worry about it. Continue to offer food to her before you nurse and when she's ready she will eat it! Good Luck!

I have a 7 month old to!!! They are fun arn't they! I give mine teathing biscets (from walmart.) I also get a small basket type thing. You can put stuff in it and let the kids chew on them and the mesh from the basket will only let small peices through so they will not choke. Also my oldest loved the desert 2nd foods. As he got older I sometimes mixed some veggies and "healthy stuff" into it. He never knew and enjoyed every bite. Also remember that every kid grows at a different rate and does things at differnt times. If he is healthy and growing good (sounds like she is) then who cares if he doesn't chow down yet. My older son never held his own bottle and my younger son started doing this 4 months ago. I was trying to hold the bottle for him and suddenly realized he was fighting me for it! He was not going to let me hold it!!! Good luck!

I would consider finding a doctor who is more knowledgeable about breastfeeding and nutrition. The advice to coerce a 7 month old into eating solids is somewhat dated. You will know when it is time for your daughter to eat solids because she will reach for your food and want to try it. Babies don't need solids until a year old if they are breastfed. If she eats a small spoonful or two, that is perfectly normal for her age - you are just exposing her to different tastes. This is a fun stage - the point is experimentation, she gets her nutrients from her milk.
Also, I would avoid giving her nutritionally inferior things like crackers and focus more on fruits and vegetables. You don't want to spoil her taste for good food. Good luck:)

You just listed the foods that my 6 month old baby doesn't care for. However, there is another long list of foods that she loves. She loves pears, pears and mangoes, peas, green beans, apricots, and prunes. Try not mixing them with rice cereal if that is what you are doing. Your 7 month old is probably too little to start table foods anyway. Just try a variety of foods. I give her the Earth's Best organic food in 1st and 2nd foods. There are so many foods to try, it's almost impossible that your baby won't like at least one of them. If you are worried about the nutritional value of jarred foods, these have no added sugar or salt and are completely natural. I hope this helps!

She may just need time to get used to these new textures. Sometimes babies gag and caugh on new food and the parents think they are choking but really it's just that it's new and baby wasn't expecting that texture or flavore. Let her feed herself try frozen or canned veggies/fruits. When you go to the feeding clinic thay should assess her swallowing.

Hey, G.! I've had a similar problem with my daughter (she's 13 months now) and we've actually seen a feeding specialist. We went to the Feeding Clinic through Children's Hospitals and Clinics. They were the furthest thing from helpful! My daughter was born tongue-tied and it's taken her a little longer to get used to solid foods than most children. She just now starting to be able to eat solids without gagging and vomitting on them. Unless your daughter has issues with chewing/gagging/etc, a feeding specialist isn't going to do anything more than evaluate her and tell you she's fine. Really, at 7 months, she doesn't need solids. Solids are meant for experimentation at that age. So give her things like yogurt, mashed potatoes, etc, and let her "paint her tray" with them. Don't expect much to get to her mouth. She'll eventually decide she's ready to start sticking these things in her mouth to taste them. Just be patient with her and continue with formula or breastfeeding. And if your doctor keeps pushing it, maybe look into finding a new pediatrician who is more supportive of your daughter's individual rate of development.

Try little bits of cut-up tofu. It's easy to chew/mash and has a lot of protein.

I as just wondering if you are nursing or bottle feeding her. You said the dr said they go from nursing to table foods, so I will assume for now it is nursing... I was told that nursing babies (I do not nurse, it was just info from the WIC clinic) that it is not that important to start baby foods. They will get what they need from the breast milk. They just start solids to get baby use to eating... I don't know, but that is what the info I have says. I wouldn't worry too much, and just know that when they start eating things like crackers, they will choke initially since they are not use to food like that in their mouth. They need to learn how to move it around in their mouth, so just give a little at a time.
My son loves the gerber puffs (they look like cheese puffs) in cheddar cheese flavor. He can hold them and they melt in his mouth.
Good luck.

Are you still breastfeeding your daughter? Have her stools changed at all or has she gotten any rashes since you started her on solid foods? If so, she may not want to eat because her digestive system is upset.
I have heard of some moms strictly breastfeeding until one year of age so that their digestive system is a lot more mature and then the transition may be easier (according to our midwife). Her body may just not be ready for other food. My son is 5 months old and strictly on breastmilk, but I'm not sure we'll make it to 12 months with nothing else!
Does she have teeth yet?

My oldest daughter didn't eat solid food until she was one. I put lots of choices in front of her but she wouldn't eat them - she just didn't care about food. What do you know, now she is a healthy 20 year old and an honor student to boot. Tell the doctor to calm down. Your baby will be fine. What is the rush? She's just 7 months old....

I didn't read your responses, so sorry if this is repetitive. A great option is the whole grain frozen waffles. I started these with M. girls when they were around 7 months. Although if you're worried about allergies, you may need to wait. It was just really easy to pop it in the toaster & tear off little bites for them!

The first snack food I gave all my kids was the gerber puffs. They WILL act like they are chocking the first few times because it is different to them. Just give her one at a time until she can handle having a few of them in front of her at a time. The puffs melt in your mouth, faster then cheerios. I am really surprised that your doctor told you gram crackers and saltines first.. Those crackers are good when your child gets use to having solids in there mouth. I consider solids as crackers, ect. and then the jar food to me is still pretty much liquid, but your just eating off of a spoon and not out of a bottle.

Maybe you could try some of the baby yogurt (yo-baby) with some rice cereal mixed in - my little girl loved it, and started eating it WAY before she was one!! Also, now that it's summer and frest fruit are in season, try small peiced of watermelon. They almost dissolve in baby's mouth - so no worries about choking. We also went through many bags of the dried fruit that is right next to the puff crackers in the grocery store...they're the greatest. Good luck!

Hi G., My name is J. and I am a mother of two (Amelia 3 and Samuel 18 months). I am also a labor and delivery nurse working once a week. I do not claim to be a feeding expert but speaking from my own experience with my children I believe 7 months should be just the start of solid food. And the baby will gradually increase solid intake over time. In short it seems a bit rushed on the ped's part to me. however I do not know your child and any other factors involved including swallowing issues, digestion, etc. but for a healthy infant I don't see the rush. Just keep breast or bottle feeding and trying different foods although you might want to keep it simple like just pears or cereal so she doesn't get overwhelmed by too many choices. I hope this is slightly; helpful I'd say don't worry too much she'll eat when she is ready she's young. Good luck--J.

Definatly try the Gerber Puffs! They won't choke on them and they are a "melt in your mouth food!" they are pretty good for mom's too! Great snack idea. I stock up when our grocery store has them on sale.

E. B.
Affordable Dental/Health!
EveryoneBenefits.com/Beaumont

Go for the stuff that disolves! Gerber puffs are great- I even broke them into smaller pieces at first. I think the trick with solids at this point is to realize that she isn't going to be good at chewing or even mashing her food with her gums. If you have any doubts, try the food yourself. A) some baby foods are just gross- it may be worth it to puree and strain your own foods. My homemade green beens and peas tasted WAY better than Gerber. B) if you can't mash it with your tongue against the roof of your mouth, I would assume she won't be able to eat it.

For the most part, if she can't handle it, she will spit it out. If it's too big for her to swallow, she's likely to gag it back up before she chokes-scary sounding, and certainly not a failsafe, but likely. Also keep in mind that it takes a number of tries for babies to develop a taste for flavors. And their tastes change. My son like carrots a couple of months ago, but doesn't like them now. We'll try again later.