I have an 8 month old who will not open her mouth to any foods we try and feed her and is not growing!

Question

Whenever we try and get her to eat she throws a big tantrum and if we do get a mouth full in then she just pushes it straight back out again. Once she is out of the high chair and playing again, straight away she is as happy as larry. I have even tried holding her on my lap and taking her hands in mine so that she can not move around so that I can get the food in her mouth but that is worse and she spits the food out even more. How can I get her to eat food when we are giving it to her on a spoon?

Answer 1

I would stop trying to feed her. The only thing you are going to accomplish by forcing it is a baby who associates meal time with bad feelings. Solids are not crucial at this point; they are more for experimentation than they are for necessity. There is no required amount that she needs to take in.

What I would do, and this is actually what I do with my own eight-month old, is put mashed or small pieces of cooked foods on his tray to feed himself with. For example, tonight he had black beans, carrots, and squash mashed up a bit. He made a bit of a mess with it, but he did get most of it in his mouth. And even if he got very little of it in his mouth, it is no big deal. He gets his necessary calories and nutrients from breast milk - breast milk or formula (whatever your daughter gets) is the crucial food at this point. That is where the bulk of calories and nutrients should be coming from.

Let your daughter explore food on her own. Put in on the tray, then let her do what she wants with it. Some kids just prefer doing it alone. And, as she will eventually do it herself anyhow, that is probably a good thing.

Answer 2

let her feed herself...sure it will be messy but she will be more likely to taste the food.

We had a similar problem with one of ours, we used a dish that suctioned to the high chair table, out some baby custard in and let her go for it.... once she knew she liked it we were able to spoon a few mouth fulls in while she tried with her hands...

When we start our kids on solids we give them a spoon to hold...gives them the idea that it it time to eat and they have all been able to spoon feed themselves by 12 months old.

Your Daughter sounds like she wants to be miss independance....give her a go at feeding herself and see how you go....have a camera handy too...you should get some funny pics

Answer 3

Try finger food things which she can suck in and still get taste of.  Make meal time fun try giving her small tastes of things your eating while your eating and not in the high chair let her sit in you lap while you eat and don't restrict her hand s that is only going to frustrate her. If you force the issue than she will associate food as punishment and will be reluctant to try anything.  

Answer 4

At 8 months, she's probably ready for finger foods. Try cheerios, gerber puffs, small pieces of crackers. Plus, at 8 months, her main source of nutrition should still be formula or breastmilk. So there should be no reason why she's not growing due to not eating solids.  

Answer 5

I tried solid foods a little on the early side *i know* (doc's advice, I didn't know any differently at the time), but he reacted to it the same way at 4 months.  I would wait a week and try again. By 5 mo or so I decided to ditch the cereal and try the orange veggies.  That he LOVED!  He couldn't get enough of it.  The cereal?  He never did take to it unless it had fruit mixed in.

Maybe your little one doesn't like what you are giving her?  My 7 mo old is doing finger foods well.  He has the dexterity and grasp for them, a few teeth and is mashing and chewing well.  You have to base what your kid is ready for on just that, your kid.  Just like they don't all reach a size 2T at the same time, they aren't going to go through the same food stages at exactly the same time.

Talk to you doctor and do what you both feel is right for your daughter.

Answer 6

You can't force a baby to eat! If you persist in shoving food in her mouth when she is indicating that she doesn't want it, her negative feelings towards solid food will increase.

The best thing you can do now is to relax. A baby doesn't actually need any food other than breastmilk/formula until 12 months, so there is no urgency for her to eat solid food. Have a complete break from offering solids for at least a few days, then take a deep breath and try again. When she is in her high chair, try offering her a toy to play with as a distraction. If she pushes the food away, remove the spoon straight away. Wait a minute or so and try again. If she refuses three times, take her out of the high chair and try again the next day. The most important thing is that you are relaxed and that you don't show your frustration as this will increase her anxiety and make her less likely to eat.

Another suggestion, have you tried finger food? Some babies prefer to feed themselves. Offer slices of well-cooked pear or apple (tinned in natural juice is fine), 'fingers' of zucchini, potato or sweet potato and slices of banana or avocado.

Remember that she will learn to eat solid food and won't be only drinking milk when she is 10!

Regarding her slow growth rate, all babies grow at different rates and it is usually okay. You need to allow her to accept solid food when SHE is ready and there's nothing you can do to make it happen faster. The slow growth may be the way she is meant to be, or she may grow more rapidly when she is eating a greater variety of foods. She will be fine.

If you are still concerned in a few weeks, consult a paediatrician and/or dietitian.

Good luck!  

Answer 7

I agree with the that answer, children go through stages. Sometimes they just dont want to eat. I have a now 3 yr old and she went through the same. My friend has a 2 y.o and he ONLY ever eats cereal, anything else he spits out.... she gives him a formula milk which contains vitamins and is good for toddlers. At 8 months, milk is still very important and finger foods is great. I used to make some finger food and cut it into funny shapes (using playdough cuttings!) and my daughter laughed at them and ate them. I used to play games with her and pretend we had to eat the animal figures and she soon became interested. But if your child is anything like mine, whenever i forced something onto her - she would bluntly refuse! So i had to improvise and let her think she was winning! Eventually without you even realising it, your child will snap out of it and they'll be so hungry you wont know what to do next. But they tend to pick up on our frustration and play on it. My 3 y.o refuses to sit with us at dinner and the ONLY way i can now get her to eat is to ready her a story - one page- one piece of food into her mouth, no exceptions.... its working...for now :-)

Answer 8

My son did the exact same thing, when I would try and feed him, he would spit it out, or even stick his tongue in the way so that I couldn't get ANY food in his mouth. I worried that he was not eating so I asked my pediatrician. he told me not to worry and that when he was ready, he would eat...well when he turned 1, he all of a sudden wanted to eat EVERYTHING and ANYTHING!! Now I can't get him to stop!!! LOL. Just give ur baby some time, but never stop trying to introduce foods to her. I also found that my baby hated baby food, everything had to be homeade food, and in particular, he wanted what WE were eating. If he seen that jar of Gerber or Beech food coming at him, he would scream and cry, pretty funny if you ask me.

Answer 9

dont spoon feed her, she  doesnt want it. let her try feeding herself finger foods (cheese, veggies, fruit..)

Answer 10

dont to the baby doctor about  it.

Answer 11

oh my god DO NOT feed her cheerios yet!!! It is not even recommended to give a baby under 9 months finger foods from the labels on the food containers! Talk to your pediatrition first! How long did you wait to start jar foods? Could she have an ear infection or maybe teeth coming in? there are many possible reasons why, but dont give up, keep at it, AND CALL YOUR DOCTOR. Good luck!!!