My 6 Mth Old Only Wants Her Bottle and Cries When I Try to Feed Her Food

What are you feeding child (cereal maybe with applesauce)? Lots of time, it takes a while to get use to "regular" foods.

She's just not ready. And she's not behind at all. From KellyMom.com:

Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:

* Baby can sit up well without support.
* Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
* Baby is ready and willing to chew.
* Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
* Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

Your baby is still exercising her tongue-thrust reflex which is why she 'spits' the food out. Give her a few more months. Sit her with you at meal times and offer her pinches of food off your plate. Go by her cues, NOT a doctor's chart, and it will come naturally.

Hi S.,

Six months old is really just a guideline, but I wouldn't back off either. The next couple of months your baby is going to get a lot of experience with solids and it's important that she is exposed so that by the time she's ready to be weaned she's enjoying a full nutritional menu. Which is not to say she'll develop an eating disorder if she doesn't eat all her veggies at six months. :) Deep breath, more than likely she's fine. Each baby goes at their own pace. Here's some things you can do though:

Timing: When are you trying to feed her? Is it exactly at her hungriest period? Does she normally eat like clockwork (6 or so ounces ever 4 hours?) If so she might just be so hungry that the delay between bites is frustrating. Remember, right now the spoon is just practice, not filling. Try feeding her solids after a bottle, as contra-logic as it sounds, or between feedings. Just a spoon at a time is fine for now.

Texture: What kinds of foods are you giving her? Are they store brands with some grainy bits? Are you blending yourself? Lots of babies can't stand the transition between smooth milk to the more textured solid food. Make sure she's getting really smooth items to begin with. Bananas, sweet potato, really loose rice cereal with her formula/breast milk.

Transition: Like mentioned above lots of babies don't like the jump from milk to food textures. You can try putting cereal (baby cereal) in her bottles to make it a little thicker so she gets used to the transition from smooth to something with a little more substance.

Spoon: What type of spoon are you using? Some babies, believe it or not, have preferences. Shop around. Some spoons are just not as baby friendly as others. I find the rubber ones with a soft tip can get happy responses with less "spittage". As a general rule the smaller the head of the spoon usually the easier it is for the baby to manage. My personal favorite (despite staining :( ) is the nuby brand.

Taste: what foods are you trying her on? Some babies can't stand peas, others have a moral objection against bananas. Apples and sweetpotatos are usually safe, but maybe i've just not yet met the baby that hates those.

Things not to do:
1) Give up. If you need to ease off for a month, give her cereal in her bottle so she gets used to texture and try again at 7 mos. But don't push it off all together for the next couple of months. By a year old most child have at least 2 teeth, and are ready for chunkier bits of food. If you push it off altogether she won't know what her teeth are for and eating will become a huge fight as a toddler. Also, you can try putting some formula/breast milk in a cup and spooning that to her so she gets used to the spoon in her mouth.

2) Give her food to pick up and eat. At 6 mos she's not nearly ready to be managing her own food. She'll choke if it's not smooth enough (at this age she can choke from mushed banana if it's not entirely smooth). Which not only is dangerous, but also makes eating a less pleasant experience for her.

Finally deep breath and try to make eating fun and calming. The more anxious you get the more she'll pick up on your mood and the more tense everyone will be. A lot of babies haven't mastered the "putting it in and keeping it there" part of eating, and won't until about 8 mos or so. Really there is still supposed to be a lot of spitting out going on, just scoop it back up gently and spoon it back in. :) Her little tongue will figure it out soon.

6 months old is really a guideline. I really wouldn't worry about it. She may not be ready. I've have friends where their baby wasn't ready until about 8 months old. Delay the eating..don't introduce it if she is like that. Just hold off for a bit and try again later on. No biggy.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html

She's just telling you she's not ready, and there are a LOT of advantages to starting solids later. Don't stress - just put away the baby food and high chair and don't even try again for at LEAST a month. Seriously. (Unless she starts snatching food from your plate - THAT'S a good indicator that they're ready.)

MANY babies refuse solids until closer to (or even after) their first birthday. And it's perfectly fine (as long as mom can keep up the supply side) - there's absolutelt NO better food for them than milk for the first year, even if you were making homemade organic kale, avocado and flaxseed oil purees.

In fact, the bigger problem at this age (6-18 months), is that too many babies have too much solid food and they don't get enough milk, which should be the primary food source for a full year and GRADUALLY supplemented with solid foods.

Besides, as soon as your baby starts eating food, she'll need about twice as many baths. Not to mention the splatters of pureed carrots that end up on your ceiling!
Consider yourself lucky and enjoy this time.

Stephine,
I had a similar issue with my son and brought it up to the doctor and he said that it actually was not a good thing that he was not accepting of any solids. I was not able to feed him until he was 9 months old and he still did not want to eat solid foods. It is very important that you do not force her to eat, she will see eating as a bad experience. He was seen by a feeding therapist and she and I worked hard to try to get him to even want a spoon in his mouth. They do all types of exercises that make the mouth less sensitive. He still has food aversion issues and he is now almost 2, however I do not think that it is something to ignore and at your next check up I would mention it to the doctor.

Hi S.,

Sounds like she's just not ready. Take a break for a few days, then try again. No need to force it, six months is really only a starting point - she's definitely not falling behind yet.

Good luck!

How about making her smoothies or juicing some vegetables and fruits so she can get used to the food and it's texture in the bottle or a sippy cup of some sort. Then ease her into yogurt and food. This way she is still gettig the nutrients she needs and maybe she just wants to suck it out of the bottle a while longer.

my son did that... so I gave him a month and tried again... he was more happy with it that time... and maybe just try giving a few bits and then the bottle and then just increase it eveyfew days... my son is now 8 mths and he eats everything...don't worry she will be ready when she is ready... as long as she is still healthy and takeing all her bottle she will eat on her own time...

She's too young, simply put. She's telling you. Most babies are older before accepting foods. I think they are supposed to be on foods at or juat after 24 months. Check on the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

Good luck! J.

You do not give more information When my son was growing up you started given the baby cereal in the morning. Once you have realize that it went well with him then you started with the deseerts then the vegetables and the last the meats Of course I am talking about the baby foods Then the baby foods had differents stages. Hope this helps out Also when my babywas around 8 or 9 months I started giving him bananas, etc

Don't give up. Just go slow- a few bites per feeding will be an accomplishment. Take deeps breaths and don't rush it. I just went through this with my 3rd and it took about a month for her to "get it" and want to eat, but she does happily now and is getting on a very good eating schedule. I would make sure your cereal is made very thin at first and gradually increase the thickness if you haven't tried that.

A baby can't fall behind in feeding. :) She knows if she isn't ready.

The AAP acknowledges that during the first year, solid food intake is basically practice. There is no requirement that they eat a certain amount of solid food.If she's resistant, you will create more tension by trying to force her and it will be unpleasant. Let her lead. If she has a pincer grasp, give her pieces of cut fruit, cheerios, things like that. Self-feeding is the indication that a child is ready for solids. Back off and let her go at her own pace.