@cns anecdotal: up until his first birthday my son ate practically zero solids. on a really good day he'd eat a couple spoons of hummus. most days it was absolutely nothing. i was breastfeeding so he also refused bottles completely. and ofcourse, in order to get all the calories he needed he was waking up to nurse every 30 to 60 minutes all throughout the night. it really took a toll on my mental health, so the night he turned one, I weaned cold turkey. He ate a full breakfast the next morning. and lunch, and dinner, and even snacks in between. He slept 4-5 hour stretches and then though the night after day 3. he didn't even ask for the boob through out the day. and at night he settled very easily and was back asleep within a couple minutes. he's 17 months old now and eating habits are up and down like most toddlers, nothing out of the ordinary.
My 9-month old hates solids, help!
- Thread starter cns
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emilynghiem
New member
@cns I was feeling the same as you when my baby was 9 months. It was so exhausting to feel like all we did every day was focus on eating. I was worried we would never wean. Now finally hes almost 17 months, and he's starting to eat everything we offer. It seemed like it changed overnight just a couple weeks ago. He has most of his teeth now (except 2 year molars) so I don't know if that was part of it. But keep doing your best and don't stress. I can't tell you how many times I needed to read "if you baby is hungry they will eat" or "be consistent in offering them food" just to make me feel better
@emilynghiem This is such a relief, thank you 
immanuel19
New member
@immanuel19 Thank you, I have tried banana smoothie in the Sippy cup. First day she had 2-2.5 ounces, after that just stopped. I try to give her banana as such and when she refuses, make it into a smoothie.
@cns Mine was the same way! Only in the last 10 days or so has he finally started eating. LO is 10m old.
Mine HATES when I put food in his mouth, so spoon feeding up until now was such a nightmare. It also took him a little longer to learn to move food around his mouth; I think he hated the feeling of gagging so he started not liking to be spoon fed.
Now that his pincher grasp has improved, he is much happier feeding himself. I’m no longer frustrated because I just cut food up, put it down in front of him and let him do his thing. He doesn’t eat a ton but at least he eats.
Mine is still drinking roughly 32 oz of formula every day (he’s a large baby), even though we offer solids first now.
Some babies just take longer to take to solids. I wouldn’t worry too much and just keep at it!
Mine HATES when I put food in his mouth, so spoon feeding up until now was such a nightmare. It also took him a little longer to learn to move food around his mouth; I think he hated the feeling of gagging so he started not liking to be spoon fed.
Now that his pincher grasp has improved, he is much happier feeding himself. I’m no longer frustrated because I just cut food up, put it down in front of him and let him do his thing. He doesn’t eat a ton but at least he eats.
Mine is still drinking roughly 32 oz of formula every day (he’s a large baby), even though we offer solids first now.
Some babies just take longer to take to solids. I wouldn’t worry too much and just keep at it!
@cns Again sounds normal and what helped me not stress about it is looking at my kids fist. That is the size of their stomach. That’s it, so yes sitting down with meals is good but not much is getting in there. 70% is insane amount, in the US standard is until 1 main source is breaskmilk//formula and now the WHO is saying breastfeed till 2. So it’s a slow decline to food being the main source. Sold starts is a good resource on how to cut up food you’re eating but if you sit down and all the food ended up on their head and face, you’re good. The act of getting food to their face should be the goal. I am also a fan of their idea of “resistive foods” like a mango pit or a rib bone. Foods they knaw on to work the muscles. They are also good at putting food into their mouth and pushing it around then back out. It’s all a process to learn to safely move food in and out of their mouth. They want to learn to control it so they don’t choke.
That said the only concern I would have is if you have a speech delay. If there is a speech delay food refusal is usually connected. There are other well educated in that. In the US, it would all be done through early intervention if there was a concern.
That said the only concern I would have is if you have a speech delay. If there is a speech delay food refusal is usually connected. There are other well educated in that. In the US, it would all be done through early intervention if there was a concern.
spillerofbeans
New member
@spillerofbeans I have added an “edit” to my question. Do you have any links/resources handy that suggest that milk is the primary source of nutrition at this age. Thank you.
maxballard
New member
@cns Not the original comment poster, but their advice echoes the official guidance in my country (the UK).
Under Feeding your baby: from around 6 months:
I was surprised to see this advice so far down! The catchphrase over here is “feeding under 1 is just for fun”.
For context my baby boy is 2 months younger than yours (7 months). We’re doing BLW and he has 1 meal a day, of which he eats as much as he likes, and 5 x 180ml bottles. I’m planning on ramping it up to 2 meals at 8 months, 3 meals at 10 months and then 3 meals + snacks when he turns 1 as a rough timeline, but we’ll see how he gets on! I’m not going to worry about how much food he actually eats until he turns 1, unless his milk intake decreases dramatically.
Edit: reading further down I can see that it is your doctor that has given you the impression that she should be eating multiple full meals. This does (anecdotally) seem to be a trend I have seen with some US mums in weaning groups on Peanut, as well as paediatricians pressuring mums to wean from an earlier age. I don’t really understand the impetus for this - but I hope that the blanket advice for the UK offers you some comfort that nothing terrible will happen as long as she’s getting enough milk!
Under Feeding your baby: from around 6 months:
I was surprised to see this advice so far down! The catchphrase over here is “feeding under 1 is just for fun”.
For context my baby boy is 2 months younger than yours (7 months). We’re doing BLW and he has 1 meal a day, of which he eats as much as he likes, and 5 x 180ml bottles. I’m planning on ramping it up to 2 meals at 8 months, 3 meals at 10 months and then 3 meals + snacks when he turns 1 as a rough timeline, but we’ll see how he gets on! I’m not going to worry about how much food he actually eats until he turns 1, unless his milk intake decreases dramatically.
Edit: reading further down I can see that it is your doctor that has given you the impression that she should be eating multiple full meals. This does (anecdotally) seem to be a trend I have seen with some US mums in weaning groups on Peanut, as well as paediatricians pressuring mums to wean from an earlier age. I don’t really understand the impetus for this - but I hope that the blanket advice for the UK offers you some comfort that nothing terrible will happen as long as she’s getting enough milk!