Solids | Imamother

MyUsername

Fri, May 06 2016, 6:59 am

Sounds just like my underweight daughter. The doc told me to give her food at 4 months. But she wasn't physically ready then. I put everything away and tried again a month later, at 5 months - it went great, though my daughter was extremely particular (still is at 3) about food textures. All the tips below helped us a lot, and we managed to get my daughter back on a steady growth curve within about 3 months. She's still underweight, but her weight gain is usually steady, and that's enough for the doctors. So sorry this is so long, but really, it will be helpful.

The most important thing to remember is: You can NOT make the baby eat. 'Fighting' him on it will only make him more resistant. So really, if he won't eat, put everything away for a week or two.

Here are some tips that worked for us:
1) Little babies, especially underweight babies, have teeny tiny stomachs. They probably can't tolerate more than a few spoonfuls at the beginning, so I would go with 2-3 spoonfuls for the first week or so and work your way up. Believe me, the amount they get in a few spoonfuls is huge for them. Also, if your baby has reflux like mine did, they can't handle more than that anyway.
Also, start with feeding food just once a day, and at a time when you're baby will be hungry, before a bottle/nursing. Give him a bottle/nurse right afterwards. Then a few days/weeks later, you can try twice a day

2) If your baby hates the spoon, there are lots of other methods to try! You might also want to start with just plain breastmilk/formula in whatever feeding apparatus you are using to get him used to using the spoon/pouch/cup/feeder/etc with something he likes the taste of. Then switch to food later.
- Try different spoons - some babies prefer metal spoons, some prefer silicone coated, some prefer rubber-coated, and some prefer plastic. Your son might just hate what you have. Also, many babies don't like metal spoons in particular.
- Silicone or Mesh feeders are great - they have a handle the baby (or you) can hold, and a compartment with holes - in the compartment, you put a piece of fruit, or a frozen cube of vegetable/fruit/yogurt puree. We particularly liked the Boon PULP silicone feeder, since the silicone feeder is easier to clean than a mesh feeder. But it's worth trying both, since some babies are particular.
- Baby food pouches - these are great, because you can sort of hold them like a bottle and suck food out of them -it is harder and messier than a bottle, but more intuitive for a baby than actual food. You can by pouches that come with baby food inside, or buy empty pouches and fill them with food you make or buy.
- Doidy cup - these exist in the UK, but you can buy them anywhere from Amazon. They are cups built with a slant, and can be used for babies as young as 4 months! You can put liquidy food in them and see if your son will drink it. My daughter had some success with this at around 5-6 months (but not with other cups. There really is something unique about the cup). It's messy, but works reasonably well. You'll need to help.

3) Mix with breastmilk/formula - at the beginning, my daughter wouldn't take anything that wasn't breastmilk (though she refused a bottle, she would take it on a spoon). So, I made a bowl of breastmilk and added a little pureed vegetable or ceral or fruit (a tiny bit) and she would have that. I then increased the ratio of food:breastmilk over time, until it was more food than breastmilk. This works fine with formula too. Don't worry about how you think it tastes, you're baby will like it because it tastes like the breastmilk/formula he loves!

4) Food texture - my daughter was extremely particular about texture. Only things that were totally pureed were acceptable. Some babies hate purees though and only want to gnaw on a real piece of fruit or vegetable. Some babies like things in between (cottage cheese, lentil soup, etc). Experiment with this a bit, but not on the same day, or she might refuse because she didn't like the first item (I personally would wait at least 2-3 days).

5) Strength of food taste - my daughter really liked foods with very strong tastes - avocados, broccoli, spicy-ish soups, etc. She was less interested in more standard applesauce and mashed carrots, for example. Some babies are the opposite and onlyl like bland food. Experiment with this too, though again, not on the same day.

6) Food temperature - so my daughter wouldn't take a bottle at all, and we couldn't get her to take my pumped breastmilk when I went back to work. Turned out, if we gave it to her cold straight from the fridge, she would drink it (from a cup or spoon though), but not if it was warm. She would also only eat cold food. She didn't like warm food at all until she was over a year, I think. So try food at different temperatures to see what he likes better.

7) Eating location - where have you been feeding him? Some babies are particular about this. If you tried in a highchair and he didn't like it, try something else. Try on your lap, try in a car seat, try in a stroller, or try more upright or more reclined in the highchair. If you don't use a highchair, try using one. My daughter would only eat in a highchair, and nowhere else. If your baby has reflux (like my daughter did), then a slightly more upright position might make it better for him, because it reduces the reflux.

8) Person feeding him - I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes the baby will refuse food from the person who normally gives them a bottle / nurses them. If you get someone else to do it (an older kid, your husband if you nurse exclusively, a grandparent or aunt/uncle), he might be more willing. Really. Don't even be in the room before they start (because if you leave just as they're about to feed him, he might associate that and get upset).

Also, nutritional tips for 'fattening up' the underweight baby with food! At the request of my daughter's pediatrician and gastro, we saw a nutritionist who specializes in kids under 2, she was super helpful in terms of learning how to maximize the calories in the little bit of food my daughter was eating:
1) Never give fruits and vegetables plain. Remember, any food your child eats means less formula/breastmilk they'll eat later. Fruits and veggies have very very few calories. So if you want to give them, mix with breastmilk/formula, or butter, or olive oil, or high fat yogurt.

2) The most important types of calories come from protein and fat. Just a lot of fat alone isn't good. Protein is needed too. So go ahead and puree up some chicken soup, or try soft, fluffy scrambled eggs.

3) Feed real food in smaller more frequent meals, rather than a few larger ones (when you get tot that point). A few spoonfuls every couple hours might work better for a baby with a small tummy, especially one with reflux.

Good luck!