My 9-month old hates solids, help!

@cns She sounds like she’s doing fine though? My daughter is slightly older and has literally only decided actually, she is into solids after all, just in the last few weeks. She’s gone from 2 meals a day where she’d eat anything from one bite to 2tbsp of food, to eating 3 reasonable-sized meals. I didn’t force feed or distraction feed her, I just let her find her appetite at her own pace.

Please don’t force your child to eat, you could do a lot more harm than you think. If she’s losing weight, that’s the time to speak to a doctor, not force feed her, and if she’s not, then just let her explore food at her own rate.
 
@oppmuntre Thank you, it’s the doctor that told us to push solids no matter what. Please see the “edit” I just added. If you have any appropriate resources please share.
 
@cns Off the top of my head, this is a great resource:

https://kidseatincolor.com/picky-eating/

It’s written more aimed at older children, but a lot of the tips are still relevant to you, such as having specific mealtimes and modelling eating (since you say you are trying to feed her all day long).

Is she actually losing weight/stopped gaining? Because every person’s appetite is different, and that includes children.

At the end of the day, you must follow the advice that feels right to you. I just know forcing kids to do things rarely results in happy kids who enjoy that activity. And eating is an activity that isn’t optional, which is why it’s so important not to create tension around it, lest you saddle them with terrible food aversions for life.
 
@cns You need to let her play with her food. This is a big part of the learning process for babies. It’s an entire sensory experience for them using sight, touch, smell and taste. Most adults don’t think all that deeply about the foods that they eat, but imagine you were trying something for the very first time. Think of the scene from Ratatouille where the rat is trying to describe the way things taste to his friend. This is how it is for babies. Textures, tastes and smells can all put them into sensory overload and their little brains need time to process. It’s totally normal and they just need to explore things themselves at their own pace. Whatever you do, DO NOT force feed her. This could create a negative association with meal time for her. Let her lead. If she wants to play with the food, let her. If she wants to throw it, let her. If she wants to smear it all over her face and hair, let her! She will inevitably get some on her hands and bring them to her mouth. This is all coming from someone who has had two babies go through occupational therapy that included feeding. If the mess bothers you, but a splat mat off Amazon.

I also think trying to feed her every 30 minutes is way too much. The majority of her day is spent with you fretting over her eating. Take a step back, and offer food at 2-3 meals a day for her. If you can do it at a time where you sit down and eat next to her, even better! You want it to be as relaxed and positive as possible. Try to keep the times consistent. Babies thrive on routine. After 20 minutes, whether she’s eaten anything or just played with it, clean her up and go have play time. If at any point she gets frustrated, that is her telling you she’s done and meal time is over.

I also wanted to suggest that if she is struggling with table food, it’s perfectly ok to take a few steps backwards and feed her purées for a little while and see if you have more success with that. Once she seems comfortable again, then SLOWLY reintroduce table foods. You need to move at her pace.

I hope that helps! Also happy to answer any further questions if you need more ideas or advice.
 
@cns My baby didn't get into foods until she turned one, our 9 month check up went similarly. Now she won't let me eat anything by myself. It will likely resolve itself over time.
 
@cns My son is 10 months and has been refusing solids since he was 6 months. Our pediatrician referred us to early intervention. He now receives occupational therapy to help with feeding issues. His OT has helped him A LOT with getting comfortable with eating and exploring different foods. If you’re able to, feeding therapy (can be done by an occupational or speech therapist) might be a good option.
 
@cns I tried fingers foods first with my first but he didn’t really understand. We had much more success with purées first, then making them chunkier as he got older. Even when he got teeth it’s still a new skill to learn to chew.
 
@cns Half a small bowl, and half a slice of bread sounds fine! The saying “food before one is just for fun” isn’t correct, but it is right that the main source of nutrition before 1 year is from milk. If she’s getting formula, you don’t even have to worry about iron. Very few solids are more calorie-dense than breastmilk or formula, so her weight being low doesn’t particularly matter. Neither does her weight being at the lower end for her age - as long as she is growing and not crossing centiles. Milk shouldn’t be the “last resort”. But around this age our NZ advice is to feed solids before milk, to encourage a bit more intake. But if they don’t eat anything at a given meal, that’s ok too. The milk keeps them growing

I suggest you back off. Have set meal times, and have the milk after it. Ideally, eat at the same time, and have similar food. A mix of finger foods and purées is fine. If she only has a small amount then plays, then let her play!

Learning to eat solids is a process, and you don’t want to force them or stress out, as that’s likely to be counterproductive

(Anecdotally, my 10 month old is also slow with solids. But he has had the allergens, and he definitely eats better if we eat alongside him and give him time!)
 
@cns I would try feeding solids fewer times a day so baby is more hungry like others suggested. I would also try giving her finger foods and just let her play. Does she ever play by putting it in her mouth? You can offer food in a mesh feeder or yogurt/fruit puree popsicle. My 9 month old is more likely to eat something if it is soft/puree or if it feels good teething (popsicle, cold cucumber).
 
@cns Completely anecdotal, but just to reassure you - one of mine was exactly the same. He’s now a 13 year old gourmand, and is so fun to cook with! He does tend to have some sensory issues, and I think that was the root of his slow adaptation of solid food.
 
@cns Sounds totally normal OP. Our solid intake didn't really pickup until closer to 1. So keep offering and don't force it and she will get there. You're doing a great job.
 
@cns Around this age, my daughter was in an explorer phase while eating. So I would typically give her my handbag/ toilet/makeup kit to upend and explore. She would take stuff out 1 by 1 and I would use that "distraction" to feed her. Taking her for a walk and feeding her. She loves to be carried so I did this as a last resort because hand pain haha
 
@cns Our little guy also didn't really want to eat solids until quite late. As someone commented recently on a similar thread - yes, it can happen that they improve from one day to another. It's like there is a little switch in their brain that allows them to go from refusing solids to loving it!

Having said that, we also had much more luck with purees to begin with. I also hated the fact that he was rejecting everything I was making (it felt like I was wasting the very little time I had cooking.. And all of that would be chucked on the floor anyway) and I gave up after a while and started getting ready made stuff - once he became a lot more keen on those I went back to cooking myself.

So generally speaking, I wouldn't worry at all at this stage! If she's following her growth curve and getting a lot of nutrients from formula, then so be it for the time being. I think if you get closer to the 1 year mark and she's still not eating solids, then look into it a bit more. But all babies are different (however, I have to admit that I used to get really frustrated seeing how other babies were doing great with solids when we were struggling). Good luck!
 
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