Baby Parenting Guide

How do I get my baby to eat baby food?

My baby is now six months old and at his check up the doctor told me that he should be eating solids(baby food and cereal) three times per day. He takes the cereal just fine but he refuses to eat baby food. I have tried him on many different flavors but have the same results(gagging and spitting them out) I even keep trying the same flavors to try to get him used to the taste but he still refuses them. Any suggestions?

Public Response to How do I get my baby to eat baby food?

1. Give him natural food and be patient
2. You don't. And I'd strongly advise disregarding your doctor's advice on this topic. Babies normally have JUST started solids at their 6 month check-up, and would therefore be eating just a taste, once or twice a day. He certainly doesn't 'need' to be eating cereal and babyfood at all, let alone 3 times a day. Some babies don't want solids at 6 months. They either aren't physically ready (likely if he's gagging and spitting them out) or just aren't interested. And that's perfectly ok. He's fine on his milk alone for AT LEAST another couple of months, and some babies refuse solids until around a year ... and are perfectly healthy. (He might be taking the cereal, esp. if you're mixing it very thin, because it tastes like the milk it's mixed with, and IS so thin that he can just suck it off the spoon.) If you've been pushing it for a few weeks, I'd just stop. He's gotten to where he sees the spoon coming and thinks "Here goes again... mom shoving that nasty spoon thing at me!" After a few weeks you could either try again (once a day, just a taste), or you could wait until he shows active interest. Some babies don't want food until they can feed themselves. (Usually around 7-9 months.)
3. distract him with other things..toys, spoon of his own, paper cup, wooden spoon...he's just learning so you need to be patient and learn what works for him. Have you tried cheerios yet? He should be fine with those.
4. Well..........first start off with adding a couple of teaspoons of fruit flavored baby foods to his cereal. That will get him used to the idea that he IS eating baby food from the jar. Then start feeding him just from the jar, then slowly add different flavors.........like chicken noodle, etc. Soon you'll have him eating the veggie baby foods........just keep in mind there just might be one or two flavors of baby foods your baby may just not like. Just remember to keep him trying a variety and make sure hes getting plenty of juice and water, not just milk. Okay, good luck and let him feed himself with the baby rubber spoon..........gonna be messy but they find it fun.
5. It's just for practice. So even if your baby doesn't eat too many solids, it's perfectly fine up until a year old, which is when the baby will generally be transitioned fully over to solids... and when the actual nutrition from solids matter's the most. He might not be ready. Just because the doc says its okay to start, it doesn't mean he's going to jump on the boat immediately and pig out on solids, you know? Give it some time. I even know a couple of mothers who waited till 7-8 months to start solids, and that's fine too. Personal preference, and it's also to check for allergies.