7 month old wont eat his spuds.

Banrion

He wont eat any veg for that matter. My babs is breastfed and Ive been giving him solids since he was 6 months. He'll eat any manner of fruit and rice cakes and rusks and loves all that which is great, I know.
But when I give him veg he clamps his mouth shut and turns his head.

Any experienced parent out there experience this and then magically at 8 months your babs decided to eat his vegetables?
He obviously has a sweet tooth but maybe thats cos hes breastfed. He might grow out of it?
Just looking for opinions and thanks in advance.

axel rose

Ah dont worry! As long as he is drinking he wont starve!....I promise. My 10 month old still can go through stages where he wont eat at all for 2 or 3 days.

I found the Annabel Karmel cook books brilliant for baby recipes. If you try a very small bit of root veg mixed up with something he loves (like your milk) and gradually increase the ratio.

Try and not get too stressed and not make a big deal out of it, (memories of trying to plead and reason with an 8 month old coming back ). Just offer some to him every day before his bottle and one day you should hit the jackpot!

Good luck

Joey the lips

Its quite common. I experienced this problem before. I am doing a course now to help kids that will not eat veg etc. Its not worth discussing cause its based on Mentally handicapped kids but the bit that is fab about it is how it gets kids use to veg.

Draw pictures and make people out of veg is the first step.

Eg get a spud, put cocktail sticks in the bottom and side for feet use a smaller spud for the head.

Draw a house make glue the outline and use pasta on the roof and rice on the walls and peppers on the windows and doors

You waste a bit of food but you teach your kids about it.

Use your immagination on other fruit and veg,

Nevyn

It takes time to get them used to the flavour and texture of new foods, you just have to
keep plugging away at it.

MariMel

My young lad used to love roasted red pepper mashed up in his potatoes when he was a baby.
I used to up a quarter of a red pepper in the grill skin side up til it blackened.....peel it off and mix into the potatoes....it's sweet and veg....so might work for both of you.

Mr. Presentable

OP, the child gets a taste in the womb for the foods you like to eat. He has a sweet tooth but won't eat veg - is that you while pregnant? Ignore the whole "they have to get used to the texture" spiel - all textures are new to them.

However, all is not lost. Make your solids heavily loaded with milk he likes, gradually reduce the milk over time. Babies will take to anything. It's only when they are five/six/seven... that they start to work you over with food.

taram

Could it be how you're cooking the veg? My sister refused to eat raw fruit or veg until she was in school, very vivid memory of her breakfast being boiled grapes and cucumber at one stage. We weaned her off it, baby books should show you how to wean him on by mixing with other foods he likes. He might dislike the colours, or the texture? Could maybe put some veg purreed onto rusks or rice cakes, or use it as a dipping sauce?

IsThatSo?

Try sweetpotato:) Mine loved it and were breastfed also, so its a good transition. Its very smooth too when put through a liquidizer. Apparently its one of the "superfoods" and great for them

I was able to buy them in Lidl.

delly

IsThatSo? wrote: »

Try sweetpotato:) Mine loved it and were breastfed also, so its a good transition. Its very smooth too when put through a liquidizer. Apparently its one of the "superfoods" and great for them

I was able to buy them in Lidl.

Agreed, we used sweet potatoe after her first solids and she loved it. Nice and soft and very tasty. When we started on regular spuds we mixed with milk and a bit of butter and they went well.

Stuxnet

IsThatSo? wrote: »

Try sweetpotato:) Mine loved it and were breastfed also, so its a good transition. Its very smooth too when put through a liquidizer. Apparently its one of the "superfoods" and great for them

I was able to buy them in Lidl.

absolutely, my one year loves sweet potato, blended with carrot and any meat, he's been eating it from 7 months on I'd say
so great tip for OP

marti101

Do you all eat dinner together,if he sees you eating it he might.Plenty of butter and milk and sweet potato is the way to go.Ive no experience of this mine ate everything,but maybe if he sees you eating it he might be willing to give it a go.

Banrion

Thank you all very much for all the helpful replies. Some good ideas.
I might try the mixing of lots and lots of milk with a bit of carrot and then reduce the milk. I'll see if that works.
He doesnt usually take much off a spoon, however....but thats a whole other thread. I've been giving him finger food although he takes porridge in the morning off a spoon but he has to put the spoon in himself. If I try and put the spoon in he purses his lips.

• I have the Annabel Karmel book and yes its very good but because he wont eat from spoon i gave it up. I was making lots of purees but he wasnt eating them.
• I have been sitting with him for every meal. Everytime I sit down to eat I put him sitting down so he can watch me eating. It works everytime....unless I give him veg.
• Thats funny you said that about when I was pregnant because yes its true. When I was pregnant I ate tonnes of fruit...I mean Id eat my veggies but I ate 6 or so pieces of fruit every day.
• Do you think its ok to give him lots of butter with veg? I know my parents did this but now I cant eat my spuds without being lathered in butter.
• I tried to sneak parsnip on a rice cake last night but he flung it on the floor.:cool:

Again thanks for all your help.

axel rose

Ha! funny about the spoon thing! My little guy wouldnt eat off the spoon in the beginning either! I just used to clump it between my fingers and he would eat it from my hand. (IYKWIM) He still has the odd day like that! Its messy but babies are messy little pups anyway!

Just remember that he is still getting all/most of his nutrition from your milk and that at this stage he is just getting used to the process of eating solids. I get the feeling that in the years to come you will see him eat you out of house and home. :P

lconmara

Dunno if you ever watch the doctors but they discussed this. They said to put the food out on the table when everyone is eating and not to give the baby any, then everyone starts helping themselves. I presume this works from about 10 months or so. Then just ignore him. They did an experiment of it on the show and within seconds the baby was reaching for food and eating everything.

Even if your son is too young to sit at the table (we have a tripp trapp so it would) you could try just putting the bowl down and ignoring him.

Making a fuss of him not eating is not going to work. It will just make him worse and I know a few people who have fussy teens, thats somewhere you enver want to be!

Banrion

lconmara wrote: »

Dunno if you ever watch the doctors but they discussed this. They said to put the food out on the table when everyone is eating and not to give the baby any, then everyone starts helping themselves. I presume this works from about 10 months or so. Then just ignore him. They did an experiment of it on the show and within seconds the baby was reaching for food and eating everything.

Even if your son is too young to sit at the table (we have a tripp trapp so it would) you could try just putting the bowl down and ignoring him.

Making a fuss of him not eating is not going to work. It will just make him worse and I know a few people who have fussy teens, thats somewhere you enver want to be!

Iconmara this is exactly what I do! I read up and we decided, well I decided and my dh nodded his head a few times, that we would go down this route. He's not eating for me, he's eating for himself etc etc. It worked too. He wasnt eating off spoon so we did this. Handed him finger food on tray and ignored, whilst watching him like hawk.
He did start eating all his fruit and rice cakes this way. But it wont work for his veg. Sniff.
But I think like a previous poster said its just best to persevere and keep offering.
Thanks again and thanks axelrose for reassurance.

lconmara

they are all picky at that age. mine goes through phases, and most veg are quite strong tasting so its understandable. just bear in mind that there is just as much goodness in a slice of apple as in a slice of broccoli, just of a different kind i suppose. i have a baby book called The Toddler Years and it breaks all the foods down into sections and then tells you exactly where to find what he needs. A tablespoon of wheatgerm for example contains enough iron for a day (i think its a day anyway, i'll check it up), it also shows how beans have calcium etc etc...

Anyway if mine decides he is not having veg today, i give him fruit.

A really good tip for getting them to eat veg though is to give them a dip, you can use dairy butter (which is fine for them up to 2) even if you've nothing else. They enjoy the dipping and even if they only eat a bit of it, its better than nothing.

Oh and of course pasta with sauce is a great way to sneak veg in. Mash carrots into a tomato sauce and serve in Fusilli pasta (all the sauce gets trapped in the pasta) for them to eat with their fingers. If you overcook the pasta there is no way they'd choke, I gave my son this from 8 months.