My Baby Won't Eat & I'm So Tired

It's so easy to get depressed after a baby is born- and it can happen anywhere up to a year or more after the birth! When you're on your own a lot, it's the worst. Please find a counselor to talk to. I did, and it made a huge difference!

In terms of food, maybe skip the cereal? Try applesauce! Dip your finger in it, and offer it to your daughter. Then try a small spoonful. You can also do pears or sweet potatoes, which most kids love. Or mix one of those into the cereal. Breast milk is a mild flavor, when mixed into cereal. I doubt she even notices that it's the same thing she loves so much from mommy! :) My son never liked cereal unless there was fruit or veggies (or both) mixed in.

You can also put a piece of soft cantelope into a mesh feeder, and let her chew on it. Lots of little ones love that! Banana works too.

Keep trying! She'll get the hang of it!

I'm sure a lot of moms will have good advice for this one, so here are a few points from my experience that will hopefully help you out. First, I nursed exclusively (no bottles) and found that my boys liked the cereal (or anything, for that matter) a lot better when mixed with breast milk. However, they HATED watery food. It always had to have a little "mush" to it-- if your daughter is blowing bubbles, perhaps her cereal needs to be a bit thicker? Something she can feel in her mouth, you know? Not thick, just thicker. My boys also did the shutter thing and still do when I introduce new foods. You're just going to have to get used to that face. :-) Also, she's going to have to learn to eat the mushier stuff before "solid" foods, so this is a phase you're going to have to tackle at some point or another. It takes a lot of patience and with all those breast milk producing hormones coursing through your body I'm sure it's not easy. I was alone a lot while my boys were young (and still am) and it is not easy. I have found that sometimes it is just easier to cry and get those feelings out and that helps with my patience, too. I know this doesn't make it any easier, but please know that you're not alone. And once this phase is over it'll be replaced with another challenge. I really do hope things look up for you soon.

OK, this is probably a controversial suggestion....but...I would suggest that you try to bypass the pureed food stage a little, for right now. My son has major texture issues and HATED pureed food. We started it at 5.5 months (I exclusively breastfed him) and tried purees until 8 months when I finally gave up. In my distress, tears running down my face because he WOULD NOT EAT (he would hold it on his tongue and gag), I poured the entire jar of food on his high chair and walked away. When I came back into the room a moment later, composed and ready to clean up the mess, I found that my son had actually eaten everything. He wanted to do it himself. He wanted the chunks and no spoon. And we've never looked back. It was table food from then on (and he didn't get teeth until almost 9 months so they are not an issue).

My daughter is one of those spitters while she eats - she loves food though. She's almost 8 months. So to keep her from spitting, we offer her finger foods. At first we gave her zweibacks and biter biscuits and then mum mum crackers and then veggie booty. Now she eats everything table food. I make homemade vanilla yogurt with whole milk and probiotic culture, and this is a big hit with both my kids, and is also healthy - for my daughter I add some baby cereal which thickens it a little and adds iron. Grated cheese is easy too. She only has 2 teeth but does chew, and has not choked yet. Good luck - sounds like you're going through a hard time and it's really exhausting being a mom, especially when you're worried and frustrated and tired. Hang in there, C.!

Hi,

I wanted to second Marian's suggestion below. At your daughter's age you can try and let her feed herself. So put a few clumps of rice cereal on her tray and let her go at it. Since babies experiment with putting everything in their mouths, I bet she'll end up eating some. You can also steam some potatoes and carrots for a nice potato mash (we do it with all sorts of vegetables and yams). It'll be messy, but she'll probably have a lot of fun cramming her hands into her mouth with food all over them.

Good luck!