My baby isn't interested in putting any food in his mouth. Or toys, for that matter, even though he's teething he'll just chew his finger. He'll eat purees, and fruit or a baby biscotti if I hold it to his mouth, but if I put the biscotti in his hand he'll just drop it. If I put food (or toys) on a table he won't pick them up. If its a toy he might bash it with his flat hand, but thats it.

He's also struggling with stage 2 baby food. He's gone right off my cooking (except Annabel Karmel's one pot chicken!) He'll eat Heinz powdered food at stage 2, he'll eat stage 1 Ella's Kitchen with past stars mixed in, he'll eat weetabix with quite a thick texture. But he can't eat any other stage 2 packets/jars with a more mashed-potato like texture, or thinner texture but with bigger lumps of pasta. Sometimes he clamps his mouth shut, if I persevere when he doesn't want it he throws up. He has two teeth, at the bottom.

The hv is unhelpful, just saying she's not known of any babies not willing to put food in their mouths.

Any ideas? Has anybody experienced this before?

Sorry for the quick reply, on my phone & on my way out. My first thought reading this is is he hungry when you're offering food? How much milk is he on & do you think he could/needs to drop a bottle? If he's getting too much milk, he may not have an appetite for food as he's filling up on milk. My eldest never put anything in her mouth either, although now at 18 months she's making up for it! If you're concerned & not getting anywhere with your HV maybe make
an appointment with your GP to discuss your concerns & explain the lack of help fro
your HV. Good luck xx

Thanks for your reply. I don't think I can drop any milk, he's on about 18oz a day, I think thats about right for his age?

I cut out 2oz from this morning's milk then gave him baked sweet potato with (low sugar and salt) baked beans for lunch, mashed together. He ate a bit of it but it was a battle, not really a portion size he should be eating.

I have got a referral to see the pediatrics team about this and another issue (stiffness in his neck on one side) but its a 2 month wait, and I'd already waited a month for another appointment before this referral but my GP messed up and sent me to the wrong place (pediatric surgery). I see them at the end of August. I'm wondering if the two are related. Whats so frustrating is that I can see in my red book I raised these concerns when my son was 3 months old, and they kept reassuring me that everything is fine. Now I'm going back to work I will have to make special arrangements to go to physio appointments, if thats what he needs.

Just a quick reply but didn't want to read and run. I'm afraid i have no idea if the two are related but i don't think it's unreasonable to assume that they could be linked. If you're concerned and could afford it i would highly recommend taking your LO to see a cranial osteopath. They help babies deal with many problems from glue ear to sleeping/eating problems. It might just help and at least you'll be doing something constructive whilst waiting for NHS referrals.
Just out of interest do you live anywhere near Northamptonshire as i could recommend a brilliant cranial osteopath?
HTH and good luck, it's so frusrating when you just want some help and feel you're banging your head against a brick wall...((hugs))

As you might know we have had a lot of problems with Charlie's eating and he has been ng-tube fed for all of his life. Anyway we are just about at the end of our eating battle (touch wood) and have seen many feeding/gastro/developmental/speech&language specialists along the way. This is some of the pointers that we have been given:

1) Cut down the milk. I also worried about Charlie's milk intake but was told not to worry. He is now on 4oz per day and we are about to drop that - he's 10 months. At the end of the day it is more important to stimulate the eating then to make sure he has 20oz per day. Just watch his weight gain and make sure he has plenty of wet nappies.

2) Do not force-feed. Every time he clamps shut then just leave him. If he ends up vomiting he will just become more orally adverse (this was one of Charlie's problems).

3) Try BLW (baby-led weaning). Just place a range of different foods on the tray in front of him and leave him at it. Make sure he joins you for as many meals as possible.

4) It may be that he has a physical problem with the back of his throat if he really can't swallow any lumps. Has he ever eaten anything other than purees? He may have a sore throat, especially if he has been vomiting.

5) If he only wants purees than stick to purees. Anything you try to force him to eat will only make the adversion worse.

6) Has he ever had reflux or does he have reflux symptoms now. It could be that something in his diet is causing acid reflux and making it uncomfrotable for him.

If I was you I would back away from solids completely for a week. Let yourself and him calm down and not see meals as a battle. Then start again with a mixture of BLW and simple purees.

Hope something there helps,
H xx

oh hunny sorry to hear hes having problems.

the other ladies have fab advice
xx

Thanks for your advice ladies.

I have taken him to the centre for children's osteopathy in London, they gave him a treatment but it all seemed a bit clap-trapy to me and also we cant really afford it. They just seemed to tickle his neck whilst another held his feet and talk about 'first breath' and agree that his skull feels much softer after the treatment.

I originally wanted to do BLW but he wouldn't have eaten a single thing if I did. I do put food out on a tray in front of him but he won't touch it.

The purees aren't a battle, he's happy to eat them. But my hv is winding me up staying he'll have speech problems if I don't move him on to lumps soon. She's also telling me I need to make him put on weight, but also to feed him lumps even if it makes him throw up.

He seems to lack upper body strength. He loves to stand, but still doesn't have amazing neck control. If I give him toys, he wants to kick the buttons rather than hit them. The doctor says this is mild torticollis, but isn't offering any further advice except the referral that was to the wrong place.

I think I should cut out a milk feed next, but I worry about what that will do to his weight.

Oh and he can eat small lumps - he eats pasta stars and split red lentils, and has eaten biscotti in the past (though refuses it now).

Youll get there, but please dont panic, my little one is now 10th months but was really slow on the uptake with finger foods - though now is becoming an expert! She moved slowly through food and doesnt always put toys in her mouth, which is nice cause she plays with them instead!

If your town is like ours u may be able to able to go to any baby clinic - possibly see another health visitor, mine are lovely, but friends the other side of town seem to have some wierd advice sometimes!

Good luck, stay positive xx

Thanks Becks, its really great to hear a positive story from someone with a similar experience.