Having Trouble Moving onto Solids for 6 Month Old

i have the pleasure of babysitting my 6 month old grandson during the week. he was a preemie so i took a leave of absence for ayear to acre for him. we started him on solids at 4 months per his pediatrician. i tired cereal but he wouldnt take a spoon well or get it all over him. so we bought a feeder bottle at walmart. it looks like a small bottle but it has a thing in the bottom that you can push up to advance the food. i started making it very watery. also tried mixing applesauce withit and he liked it much better. we did that for several weeks until he took the spoon. we always spoon fed him before trying the cereal. at 5 months he started eating fruits and now veggies. he loves food now so much that he prefers it over the bottle but we still have to make him have his formula because he is still on the 22 calorie stuff so i usualy give him a 4 ounce bottle first then wait 20 minutes and give him the food with juice in between every couple of bites. hope it helps

Hi M.,

First of all, you are not doing anything wrong. Be assured of that. You can try all the other suggestions here, but also be okay with your son choosing solids at his own pace. My son only started likin and eating solids on a regular basis around 12 months despite all my efforts, and only since 14 months has he actually shown an interest and picked up the pace. He's now wanting bites of EVERYTHING my husband and I are eating. One ped scared me at the 6 month appt saying that if he didn't start eating then, he'd never eat solids. The next ped I saw around 12 months (we continued to have issues with the first and switched at 12 months) assured me he'd start eating and encouraged us to make mealtime a family event so that our son would always see us eating and enjoying a meal together. We did that already, but it was reassuring that the ped expected our son would begin on his own time in his own way.

It's hard though, because the second question everyone asks after "Is he sleeping through the night yet?", is "How's he eating?/What solids is he on?" or something along those lines. They aren't criticizing, but we know because our culture has told us to know that they're asking because our culture thinks all kids should sleep through the night and eat solids. Hang in there.

It might be the mashed-up consistency that he does not like. Try feeding him soft chunks of food, under constant supervision, so that he can gum them. For example, chunks of ripe banana, avacado, cooked carrots, cooked peas, cooked squash, etc. This will also encourage him to pick up the foods on his own without having to be spoon fed. Sometimes the spoon itself can cause the "spit-out" reflex. It is good for his development to be able to explore with his food and learn how to feed himself. I know it can make an awful mess, but just protect your floor with a trash bag (having a dog is even better)and have the bath tub ready for a quick dunk.

C. M., CBE, CLD, MWA
The Westside Birth Connection
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Treasurer, Pikes Peak Regional Doula Association
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Marketing Chair, Colorado Doulas Association
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I've just gone through the same thing with my 2nd son (now almost 10 mo.) I started trying to feed him baby cereal at 4 mos but he absolutely refused it and seemed to choke on it. I gave up for a while thinking it was just too early, but at 6 mos. I started trying again...again he refused and seemed to choke. I tried jarred baby foods, soft finger foods (avocado, banana, etc) but the only thing he would eat was crackers and cheerios. He just screamed and turned his head and pitched a fit when a spoon came near. His Dr. said not to push it, just put finger foods in front of him and let him experiment. Again, he would not eat anything soft, just crackers. I kept trying every week or so but it was really frustrating. Finally at his 9 mo. checkup the Dr. suggested he see an occupational therapist to make sure he didn't have structural problems with his tongue (an "overactive tongue" is what she called it). She also suggested I try pureeing our table food to see if it's just the bland flavor of baby food that he didn't like. Well...I don't know if it was the flavor issue or the threat of going to a therapist :), but the next night he ate pureed lasagna from a spoon and liked it. Since then I've pureed baby back ribs, spaghetti, spicy beans and rice, vegetable stew, etc. The more flavor it has the more he likes it. So I still don't know if the blandness was the issue, or he really did have a problem with swallowing for a while, or if he was just being stubborn, but for the past 3 1/2 weeks he's been eating from a spoon just fine. I'm not really worried anymore and he hasn't gone to see the occupational therapist. So, keep trying and give it some time. He will eat eventually.

I hope things keep going well, but if not, talk to your doctor about trying some Zantac. Our feeding specialist says most of babies choking is caused by reflux. Our son had no symptoms of reflux, but Zantac cured the choking. Hopefully, you don't have to go there. :) Glad it's going better.

Did your son have any trouble with the bottle or nursing?? Eating takes a very different mouth movement/ function which is hard for infants to acclimate to. It seems that babies who hard a hard time latching on also struggle with the change to the spoon. I'm thinking two things...the first is how long have you tried? My son took several weeks to figure it out (and much patience on the adult side), but trust me he's got a health appetite now and second..what foods have you tried? Maybe you just haven't found the right thing yet. My son responded well to sweet stuff (sweet potatoes, apple sauce). Also, initially we added some baby food to the cereal which smoothed out the texture and added a little flavor. Hope this helps!