Baby Food Recipes, News and Information

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When their babies consistently reject foods in the early days of introducing solids, some parents worry endlessly over how to encourage their little ones to eat. From distraction techniques and coercion, to reducing milk feeds in order to stimulate baby's appetite, stressed Mums and Dads will try anything!

But sometimes the simplest solution is to take a step back - by putting the whole 'solids' thing on hold for a little while.

Look at your reasons for starting your baby on solids

Are you offering food simply because your doctor/mother-in-law/parenting book TELLS you that you SHOULD be starting?

Despite new recommendations that babies don't need solid foods until at least 6 months of age, many of the 'old ways' still persist. It's not uncommon for doctors to suggest you get your baby started at 4 months - we've had e mails from parents who've been told to start even earlier.

Yet many babies are simply not ready... and this is where the problems start.

Parents feel like they're failing if they can't get their babies to eat when their doctor tells them to. This pressure creates tension at the dinner table as they desperately try to 'force' food on to their unwilling infant.

Eating should be a pleasure for your baby - not an ordeal!

Mealtime battles should be avoided at all cost.

You want your baby to have a healthy interest in food and to LOOK FORWARD to mealtimes.

So if both you and your baby are beginning to dread the sight of the highchair, try taking a break from solids altogether.

Cutting back on the amount of milk you give to your baby in order to create an appetite for solids is not a good idea in the early days. Milk remains a very important source of nutrition for much of your baby's first year.

Instead, allow him to maintain his 'liquid diet' for another week or two, giving your baby the chance to put mealtime traumas behind him. Then, try giving solids again a week or so later, when you are both in a better frame of mind.

When you DO attempt giving solids again, only offer one solid meal a day at first, at a time of day when you and your baby are both relaxed. Start with a food that your baby may have previously shown an interest in. If he eats it, lavish him with praise. If not, just take him out of his highchair with no fuss or comment - then try again the following day with a different food.

As your baby becomes less threatened by the thought of mealtimes and begins to find them an enjoyable and stress-free affair, then an interest in sampling the foods he's offered should emerge!


USEFUL LINKS ON OUR SITE...

How much should my baby be eating?... Why comparing your baby's progress to others can cause unnecessary worry

Dealing with pressure to introduce solids too early

How to tell when your baby is ready for solids

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November 8, 2007 15:09 - Mealtime Woes - Your Comments

On Tuesday, we wrote a short article on this blog all about babies who are reluctant to start solids (you can read the article here if you missed it).

Well, today we received this message from Melanie in the UK, who asked us to share it with you here:

"Thank you so much for saying what you did about not forcing babies to eat when they're not ready. I wish I'd read it two months ago!

I started giving my son rice cereal when he was just over 4 months of age because my Health Visitor told me that it was important that he start solids.

He still had a strong gag reflex and more food came out than went in. Although he didn't seem too bothered, I became very upset that he wouldn't eat. Day after day I tried to feed him and I'd end up in tears sometimes because he ate nothing. I began to worry that he'd be underweight and malnourished. This went on for a few weeks, then I came down with a heavy cold and just couldn't face the struggle to feed him. For a few days he went back to just having milk.

When I felt better and tried feeding him cereal again, I had a little more luck. He seemed more interested. Now I look back, I just don't think he was ready at 4 months. I should have listened to my baby, not my Health Visitor!"

Melanie, thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience. We certainly agree that watching for - and responding to - your baby's signals can go a long way towards avoiding many of the feeding difficulties that many parents experience.

The ideal time of day?

We also received a very helpful suggestion from Cherie in the US. She told us...

"My mistake was trying to feed my son James at the same time as myself and the rest of the family. We'd eat at 7pm, so that's when I fed James, but he always fussed and would never eat. My Mom commented that he looked tired, so I started giving him his meal earlier, at 5pm. And guess what? He ate it!

He's 8 months now, so I've managed to get him to wait an extra hour - and the family mealtime is now at 6pm!"

Thanks, Cherie - as you discovered, tiredness is often the cause of tantrums at the dinner table. If you are having similar problems, adjusting the timing of meals is certainly worth considering!

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November 11, 2007 07:38 - Top Travel Accessories for Feeding

One of the biggest concerns when travelling with your baby is how to deal with tasks like preparing and heating food for your little one and how to sterilize bottles and accessories.

Fortunately, though, a product has been invented for just about every conceivable situation!

On our newly updated "Baby Feeding Travel Accessories" page, we give you a round-up of our favourite items to make feeding a breeze when you're on the go...

Read more...

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