[JoMarch]

DS is almost 6 months (will be in a few days) so late last week we decided to give him his first tastes of food.

I made up some puree pumpkin & sat him in his high chair. He opened his mouth for the spoon and no tongue thrust reflex, so we were thinking "great, hes probably ready". After the first (very small) mouthful, he lost all interest & wouldn't take any more. I have since offered several times with no success (not pushy, just offering). He also refused homemade rice cereal (I was thinking maybe something bland would be better).

So anyway, my question is, do you think he's not ready yet? How long should I wait, a week or two or longer? Or do you think I should continue to offer foods? I'm not worried as hes young and there's plenty of time for food. Its just that he's #1 so I'm a bit unsure how to proceed. I sort of expected him to be interested as he LOVES watching people eat & grabbing & hes a BIG baby (9kgs) so obviously an excellent breastfeeder
Thanks!

[Ehill]

Sunds like my DS was at that age. I was pretty keen to get him on solids as I was finding the constant breastfeeding exhausting.

I would just keep going slowly and try every few days or after a week. Dont fuss and dont keep pushing it. You will just stress yourself out.

I found puree pears an excellent first food for both my bubs. Not as strong in flavour as the pumpkin. Easier to digest too.

[JoMarch]

Thanks Ehill! Good suggestion with the pears!

[Akatara]

Do some research into baby led weaning. He might be one who just likes finger food.

And offer lots of fruits. My mchn told be as breastmilk is so sweet sometimes they like sweet fruits for a while.

You could also mix lots of breast milk into his cereal.

And let him play with the spoons. (We use soft chewy baby ones)

[JoMarch]

Do some research into baby led weaning. He might be one who just likes finger food.

And offer lots of fruits. My mchn told be as breastmilk is so sweet sometimes they like sweet fruits for a while.

You could also mix lots of breast milk into his cereal.

And let him play with the spoons. (We use soft chewy baby ones)

Thanks! Yes, I added breastmilk each time I have offered him food. Fruit might be the go, and I did think of maybe trying some finger foods. What types of finger foods would be suitable to give at his age?

[Felix101]

Thanks! What types of finger foods would be suitable to give at his age?

The idea with baby led weaning is that they eat whatever you eat. So if you're having spag Bol, give them spag Bol, if you have roast, they have roast. Some people will literally start with these foods, others (like me) aren't quite that good, and start with steamed veg - broccoli, carrot, sweet potato, etc. steam it so its soft, but still holds together (so they can pick it up) and aim to make pieces around the same size as your fingers - they they've some to hold with enough popping out the top to munch on. Most fruits are also very BLW friendly (except raw apple - best to steam it too).

But after a few days of veg, we went straight to whatever we have. Pasta, risotto, roast chicken, French toast, quiche (all loaded with flavour, herbs, spices - DS loves it!)...

If you go down this route expect there to be a bit of mess, and also a few weeks (maybe even months) of playing lots with food, but not eating it, but its all good fun. There is a book by gill rapley called baby led weaning that explains it all if you want to research further.

[axiomae]

We offered puree followed by finger foods. It took a week or two of offering puree before DD took it, then she loved it! Now a few months later she eats all finger foods and rejects the puree. Very messy but a lot of fun!

[Allele]

Our little man was the same - i have experimented with different foods and find that he hates pumpkin but LOVES egg yolk. Maybe just need to find what he likes?

[JoMarch]

Thanks everyone. Some great suggestions! I've left it a couple of days, but might offer him some food again today and see how he goes.