suddenly very resistant to solids

neither of my boys have ever been big eaters thanks to severe reflux issues and some feeding aversions as a result. but for a while there they were both eating solids happily, and lots of them. putting away 4 ounces in the morning easy, and 3-4 ounces in the afternoon. suddenly owen is practically refusing to eat. he clamps his mouth shut and purses his lips and blows spit bubbles as soon as he sees the spoon. if you shake toys and distract him you can get food into his mouth but as soon as he realizes there's food in there he clamps shut. sometimes he'll let a mouthful in but then he'll refuse to swallow and when it eventually reaches the back of his throat he'll open his mouth and make a gagging sound. like he just doesn't want to swallow.

i've tried everything to make eating a happy experience and breakfast has managed to stay reasonably happy, although he's eating maybe 2 ounces these days. but lunch? forget about it. absolutely flat refuses to open his mouth and eventually cries.

i was actually wondering if something has scared him because sometimes i put the bowl out and let them get their fingers into it and all of a sudden he won't even touch the food. if i hold the spoon out to him he holds his arms up over his head like he's trying to keep his hands as far from it as possible. he just stares at it accusingly and tries to push away.

i'm concerned because it feels like we're going backwards on solids and he's shown no indication of wanting to feed himself soft finger foods. it's purees or nothing right now. i'm also concerned because i feel like something has scared him, perhaps, but i don't know what or how. they go to daycare 5 days a week so i don't know if something could have scared him there. i trust the three ladies that run the infant room but i'm just wondering if something happened. maybe even something they didn't realize scared him.

how do i work with him to get over this aversion? i'm just not sure how to teach a baby that food is yummy and not scary. even when they get their fingers into the food they're not inclined to put it into their mouths. i'm afraid severe reflux has trained them to be aversive to food entirely. any advice would be hugely appreciated.

(i should also mention that both boys are teething and we're going through a bad reflux period suddenly, so that may be it, too)

 

Mine are doing the same things. They too are teething and have reflux. Somedays they want it and somedays they want nothing to do with it. Im interested to see what others say......

 

Teething could explain it. My dd started solids great at 6 months but then went on a serious solids strike from 7 months - 10 months. She refused EVERYTHING!!! Try not to stress about it. Solids are practice at this point, getting them used to different textures. What I did was try once a week until she started eating again. :hug:

 

Hi, my suggestion is to relax and don't worry too much. My DS recently went through the same thing. He almost stopped eating solids for a few weeks (@ 9 mos). He would clamp his mouth shut and refuse to eat. He also had reflux and had a lot of medical procedures while he was in the NICU (intubated, etc).

Can I recommend a good book? It's called "Child of Mine" by Ellyn Satter. I like her approach a lot. It helped ease my anxiety as a first time Mom, and realize I should relax and follow his lead. Here is what she calls the Division of Responsibility: "Parents are responsible for what, when and where of feeding. Children are responsible for how much and whether of eating."

Here is another quote "Your baby will be willing to experiment with new foods if you follow his lead in feeding. Above all, avoid pressure. get his permission before you try to put anything in his mouth. Your baby's need to grow up and to master his next step in development will make him open his mouth. He may be anxious or reluctant, but if he is ready and if you give him time and keep the food before him, he will deal with his anxiety and reluctance and open up."

I bet you and your babies are doing just fine. Hang in there
Beth

 

thanks for the book recommendation, i'll look it up. the advice sounds like the kind of thing i need to hear.

 

im just wondering what type of spoon you use to feed him? and what type the daycare use? Our first son had a bad experience with a fork at daycare . he'd only been there a week.. and he didn't go back after.. i think she was using a metal fork and got him in the roof of the mouth. Im not saying this is wat happend, but after that, even just before he passed away, he would shy away from any type of fork.. you never know?

 

Hi, I thought of a few more things that I tried with my DS....

The first two I learned from the book I mentioned.

1. Take some food and put it on his lips before trying to spoon feed him (so he can taste it). Then he won't be expecting cereal and end up being surprised by something else.
2. Put some food on the tray so they can touch and explore the food at their own pace. I was initially resistant to this because I didn't want the mess! But I figured I would give it a try. My DD digs in and sometimes puts some in her mouth now. My DS doesn't like to touch it much, but he will swirl it around with his fingers now.
3. With my DS, I would sit in front of him and eat some of the food with his baby spoon. He was fascinated with watching, and finally started opening his mouth for the spoon. We took turns eating for a while. Now he will do it on his own.

 

AngelMasonsMomma - i have a few different kinds of spoons and even tried switching on sunday after he resisted so firmly on saturday. type of spoon doesn't seem to make a difference, but i did wonder if that could be the problem.

betha - i tried putting food on his lips and he keeps his mouth clamped shut as long as he needs to in order to avoid letting it in. even after he tastes it he tends to refuse. the only thing i can consistently count on him eating at this point is yogurt, but he used to love carrots and sweet potatoes and i'm afraid yogurt will soon suffer the same fate. taste doesn't seem to be his problem as far as i can tell.

i started putting their bowls right in front of them and even dabbing a bit out on the tray to let them touch and play with it. he used to grab at it all the time, now he doesn't want his hands near it. on sunday when he finally decided to touch it he kind of slapped at it with his hand and then scowled at the mess on his fingers. it's like he's mad at the food itself.

they watch me eat off of their spoons but it doesn't make them at all interested in trying. i know so many people whose babies want to grab their food off of their plates and eat anything but our guys don't do that. they're definitely interested in seeing us eat and drink, but they don't want to apply what they see to themselves.