Not interested in solids anymore?!

[Brissie_Mum2b]

Hi there

My daughter is 7 months old and we've had her on solids for approx 2 months. We started gradually with Farex and puree'd fruit and vegies which she loved.

However, the past few weeks she has lost interest in her food. I am putting this down to the fact that we had a big trip to the UK for a month, returning last Friday. We were travelling around all the time staying with family and friends so her routine went completely to pot and she was living on jars of food. She was quite unsettled with all the different places we stayed in and was also teething at the time. Since we've been home I've been quite anxious to get the routine going again although of course Hannah has been jet lagged so out of whack anyway.

My main concern is that she isn't really gaining much weight. She has always been a slight girl, she is long and lean and at 7 months weighs just over 7kg. She was 3.4kg born.

At the moment all she will eat is Farex with puree'd fruit, avocado and rusks!! I have been trying her on all sorts this week but she just gags and spits it out. I have just finished breast feeding, she has been on formula for about 3 weeks (and after months of rejecting it she loves it!).

Am I doing something wrong or is it all the changes that have been happening? I am hoping that things will get back to normal over the next week or so but I am concerned mainly about her weight. I would point out though that she is still her usual happy self and certainly looks healthy and well. Your help and any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

[the pero clinic]

Dear Brissiemum2b,

I would hardly say that you are doing anything wrong!! It certainly sounds like your little girl has had a lot going on in her life lately. She could very well just be taking some readjustment time and will be back into eating again soon.

It is also possible that she is having some genuine difficulty in the transition from smooth to lumpy purees. I’m not exactly clear on what she was having in the way of different textures before you went away compared to what you are trying now. Perhaps she would be having the same issue with gagging regardless of the change of routine and teething etc.

It is a good idea to reacclimatize her to different tastes again –such as the readdition of veggies – but keep the food in puree form. Gradually decrease the amount of rice cereal in the mixture so that she will eat plain fruit, meat or vegetable puree. Once she is more accepting of different tastes, then add some lumpier textures.

You may need to experiment with the texture she is best able to progress to. Some babies make the transition better if they are given purees with small lumps first, while others progress better with mashed foods or foods with larger lumps.

Continue to give your daughter some more time and practice. If, once everything settles down again, and you have tried these suggestions, she continues to gag on anything but smooth purees of similar tastes, it would be advisable to seek some professional advice, so her ongoing development with eating and babbling is not affected.

the pero clinic