Seeking Advice on How to Teach My Child to Eat Solid Foods

Have you tried regular table foods? They sell little baby food grinders.Stay away from fruits until all veggies have been tried. I fed my kids veggies I steamed myself along with rice or homemade mashed potatoes.You can even make them taste good that way. It takes a child's taste of sense a few(maybe more) tries to like something new. It can be hard at first , but hang in there.
Many people would rather eat dessert first. That is what happens when children get fruit or sweets first.
Hope this helps

Well, this sounds like a tough one because there could be a lot of different factors. I'm just going to throw out some ideas for ya:

#1 Maybe she tried something she didn't like and now doesn't trust anything that looks similar. My son hated almost all stage 3 baby foods, except for green beans with rice and sweet potatoes. So for the most part I just stuck with stage 2 and finger foods. I still give him veggies in stage 2 (even though he's almost 14 months old), especially during lunch, just to get something green down him. I think some babies have more distinct taste issues than others. And your baby may have a texture issue.

#2 I remember at that age, my son was feeling very independent and wanted to try to do everything himself, so maybe provide her with finger foods that she can eat herself. Try not to press the issue... maybe even walk away somewhere (if you're in the kitchen, do the dishes or something) where you can still keep an eye on her but not make her feel like you're intervening.

#3 Or another thing that I found is that my son would not (and still sometimes does not) eat unless he has some toys to play with while eating to distract him. I think sometimes eating is just another chore for him that takes him away from more fun things he could be doing.

#4 Could it be that her digestive system might be a little behind because of her premature birth? Maybe ask your doctor if that is a possibility. Also, if you want to give her yogurt, try Yo-Baby yogurt instead of adult yogurt. It's made from whole milk and uses a lot less sugar. It is, unfortunately, a little more pricey.

#5 My son can always tell when I'm tense and he gets very irritable (making me more tense/stressed). It's a catch-22. But perhaps your anxiety over her not eating is rubbing off on her and making it less fun for her to eat.

Whatever the case may be, maybe take a break from it for a few days and not press the issue. Then when she and you are both feeling more relaxed, try again using a different approach. Good luck!

if she is still pushing the food out with her tongue then she isnt ready for finger foods yet. she needs to master the chewing motion. for her not wanting vegies just keep offering it to her she has to get used to a new texture and taste. there is no really hurry in getting them to eat solids because formula gives them their main nutritan. they do make baby yogurt called yo baby and i know my 1 year old loved it and has been eating it since about 9mo. also it took my daughter a while to really eat the puffs so dont give up on giving her them try breaking them into smaller peices and stick it into her check or something. she will catch on and be eating everything before you know it

I agree with the table/finger foods. Both my boys loved to get their hands into it, that didn't mean that they always got all the food into their mouths but it does get them used to having solids and doing it themselves. A good one is alphabet noodles mixed with chicken and diced steamed carrots. Not the canned ones but the ones you have to cook. Things that are still soft but at the same time they bring in solid texture. Good Luck!

HI L.,

Try to puree some of the food at first. And then give her different textures to experiment with. Make each feeding a little "thicker".

Keep in mind that she may not be ready. Have you given her rice cereal? It's a great start.

Sorry.
__________________________________________________________
Free Lullaby CD: http://gagazine.com/category/giveaways/

Hi L., all three of my boys we're premes. My first took to solids ok my 3rd, refused, so i kept with the babyfood till he refused that then blended the foods i was eating like spagetti, steak, etc. my third one was the stranmgest, he refused the baby in the getgo and i had to puree all his food till 6 month then he would eat it with his hands!

All these responders have great ideas. I learned a few things when I read them all. So happy to have all of you as a resource!

First of all, I agree with all the folks who said "if she's pushing stuff out with her tongue, she's not ready." That was certainly true for my girl as well.

But here's a trick I learned quite by accident. I made my girl's food myself the way some of the ladies here suggested: cooked, well-pureed veggies, and then I filled ice-cube trays with the puree and froze them. When they were frozen cubes, I put them in freezer bags and had these nice little 1-ounce food cubes I could quicky warm and serve to my daughter. Well, the trick was this: on a particularly bad teething night, I opened the freezer to find an ice cube to wrap in a cloth so I could sooth her little gums, but there weren't any. Only my bag of frozen sweet potato cubes. Which she normally wasn't very crazy about. For some reason, they are the best food IN THE WORLD when frozen, as far as she's concerned. She sat there in her high chair slurping happily away on her cube. I watch her closely so she didn't swallow a huge chunk or anything. When summer came, that made the whole food-pops thing even easier. Peas, carrots, butternut squash, spinach, sweet potatoes, you name it, she loves it frozen.

One more thing I remember hearing: when they don't like something, give it to them again the next day. And then the next. And then the next. All of the sudden, they like it.

Blessings!

J.

Nine months is really early to be worried about your daughter not eating solids beyond baby food. My 11 month old son was 8 weeks premature so we waited until 6 months to start feeding him baby food. He is still just eating stage 2 foods. He has a really bad gag reflex and will vomit anytime we give something with more texture than baby food. Our pediatrician said not to worry and not to push the situation. As long as your daughter is getting sufficient nutrition, she will be fine. Every week or two, we try giving him some mashed up avocado or sweet potato to see if he is ready yet. So far we have had no luck. My niece had a similar problem and didn't eat table food until she was over a year. Now she is three and will eat anything.

I'm thinking she's not ready yet. I don't know about preemies, but my first thought would be she's 6 1/2 months behind until she's grown enough to be at a normal stage. Doesn't this take like 1-2 years? It's nothing to worry about. I mean she won't be 5 and still on baby food.

What does your doctor say? And important, is your doctor good at stuff like this? That is VERY IMPORTANT. Don't always trust what a doctor says just because they are an MD. They all have areas of expertise.

What you really need is a source for people who go through stuff like this. http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/ready-for-solid...; http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-feeding-pr...

Please give an update! And chill. She'll be just fine! Every child is different. God gave you this child for a reason. Relax and trust your instincts. :)