Baby is not eating solids. Help! Learn what to do and when to seek
                     BABY IS NOT EATING SOLIDS. HELP! LEARN 
WHAT TO DO AND WHEN TO SEEK
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Baby is not eating solids and you are getting concerned. Initially, you were excited to 
introduce solids, however, Baby is showing little interest. Feeding challenges are quite 
common. Often, small adjustments will improve the situation. This post is about helping 
parents understand the reasons behind Baby’s food refusals. It gives tips on how to 
improve the situation and clarifies when to seek professional help.  Feeding difficulties 
may compound over the years, so early intervention is a good idea.
Misconceptions about the place of solids
You may hear that “food under 1 year of age is for fun”. Perhaps it is not the best way to 
put it. Introducing solids has specific objectives. They suffer when feeding is 
problematic. Here’s why a successful introduction of solids matters:
• nutrition, so babies get additional nutrients, find out more about these important 
nutrients here,
• chewing skills. Children start developing chewing skills. First with foods that melt, or 
mush. By age 3 children have mature chewing,
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• allergy testing, food allergens are introduced before age 1,
• transition to eating mostly solids by age 1,
• Introduction of many different foods as possible before age 2 so children are 
comfortable with a wide range of foods.
Baby is not eating solids, is she ready?
Baby’s readiness matters. Starting solids when Baby is not ready may put both of you in 
early difficulties. The WHO recommends starting feeding solids when babies are around 
6 months of age and show signs of readiness. GPs may advise some families to start  
solids around 4 months, particularly if there are allergies or coeliac antecedents in the 
family. Here I wrote about readiness in this kiddipedia article. What you are looking for 
is that Baby:
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• has reduced tongue thrust ,
• follows food with her eyes, or reaches out for it.
• sits upright with her head held steady,  (before 6 months baby can sit slightly reclined 
to eat purees).
• opens her mouth and closes it around the spoon.
If she is not quite ready, then it is best to wait, observe and reboot.  
What to do about what you observe
Once Baby is ready, feeding can run smoothly and become enjoyable for all. However, 
some families are still struggling. It pays to observe what is happening to understand 
what to do next. So what are your observations about your baby’s feeding?
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• Was she struggling with breast or bottle feeding? Was her tongue checked? Was 
there discomfort? is there any pain with eating and /or swallowing? Sometimes 
mechanics or discomfort, for example due to reflux or allergies may get in the way,
• shows no interest: is she not hungry? Parents may resort to feeding her almost 
constantly because they worry about her limited appetite or interest in eating.  It is 
important to keep a routine so appetite may surface. From 9 months you can give 
solids a better chance by offering them first,
• would rather be on the breast of bottle-feed: does she need comfort? Is she 
compensating with milk? A 11 months, babies may drink 2/3 bottles per day, then 
one bottle at age 1or 2. Too much milk after 1 year of age may increase constipation, 
impact iron levels and reduce interest in solids. You can see it’s a catch 22 of 
managing appetite and the place of solids and milk,
• spits out most of the food: is the food soft enough, are the texture and size 
manageable? Baby is learning to manage food. She has to chew, form a bolus and 
swallow: this is quite a task. Some foods require more work and it is OK for baby to 
spit them out until she can manage them better.
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• struggles with lumps: lumps are difficult to manage for many babies. It is smart to 
give a them a chance to master those eventually. To achieve this without pressure 
charge a spoon but let Baby manage its content. Offer those textures with other 
foods, such as BLW.
• gets distracted/throws the spoon away, or food on the ground: has Baby had enough 
to eat, was she hungry coming to the table? It is best to take cues and move on after 
a little while,
• gags: gagging is part of the normal process of learning to eat. Babies gag to protect 
their airways from food they have not reduced to a size small enough (hence the 
need for squishy or pureed first foods). When Baby is gagging it is important to stay 
composed. Frequent gagging, a strong gag reflex may require further investigation by 
a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP),
• gagging is not choking. Choking incidents need to be investigated with GP/SLP. Fear 
and trauma may occur as a result.
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• refuses the spoon: is Baby’s experience with the spoon unpleasant? Is the food 
shoved into Baby’s mouth without her permission? Is it forced in? Is the food 
deposited in the mouth and the spoon pulled out, before Baby clears it? Is the spoon 
used to scrape off food? Baby may make negative associations with feeding.  It may 
help to do BLW for a while. Parents can introduce spoons again after enough time 
has passed. Babies will first help themselves from charged spoons. You may then 
work on spoon-feeding: make eye contact, offer verbally, show the spoon first so 
Baby can see what is on it. We are looking for Baby to tilt her head forward, close her 
lips on the spoon and remove the food by herself,
• struggles with the food choice, the smell, the texture and gets quite distressed. 
Eating engages all our senses. Some babies are more sensitive and may need more 
time to process what is in front of them from a sensory perspective.  It is best to 
remove any pressure yet offer the ‘offensive food’ regularly. For example, Baby is not 
keen to eat pureed pumpkin. Parents can still offer it once a week/fortnight, and also 
offer well-cooked cubed pumpkin once a week/fortnight. Parents can serve pumpkin 
with 2 or 3 other foods, for example, some shredded chicken, some potato and 
carrots, some shredded cheese or some yoghurt. It is best not to overwhelm Baby 
with huge portions. Again a shared plate with whoever feeds may be helpful. 
Parents’ win at this stage is to witness a happy, relaxed Baby at the table,
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• appetite is irregular. It is widely accepted that babies can regulate their food 
intake[1]. Some babies will eat tiny amounts at some meals and much better at 
others.  Some babies may show small appetites overall, but if they grow with 
regularity, then there is less cause for concern.
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Adaptations you may be tempted to make
It usually tells me you are struggling when you make “adaptations” to feeding. While 
this may reduce stress or anxiety a tad, it may create more difficulties long term. 
Difficulties may compound over the years.
Pushing Baby to eat is stressful for all. It affects trust and engagement in feeding,
Distracting, for example, parents use a screen to distract baby. I wrote this about this 
video, where I see Benjamin, a toddler who struggles with eating. The video seems fun. 
However as we take a step back, we see Dad’s objective is to distract Benjamin in order 
to get food into Benjamin’s mouth. While I have no doubt Benjamin’s Father wants the 
best outcome for his son, it is clear to me there are underlying feeding problems. As a 
result Benjamin may struggle for years with feeding, and so will the family,
Offering only food Baby will eat may work for a while, but babies can get bored. Once 
they drop the food they loved so much, everyone is even more stuck,
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• Feeding only commercial Baby food. These foods are so predictable when it comes to 
taste and texture that Baby may find it hard to accept anything else. Seasonal fruit 
and vegetables, home cooking provide variations that can help extend baby’s 
comfort zone,
• Using only pouches may help baby consume a good volume, but baby may struggle 
to extend her range. The pouch also avoids much sensory input, as Baby does not 
interact with its content through her eyes and hands,
• Feeding more often, feeding more milk, feeding everywhere reduces appetite at 
mealtimes. It is best to feed at the table and have a routine,
• Misreading babies’ reaction to a particular food and ruling it out further limits Baby’s 
range. Keep offering the food regularly.
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Spoon Feeding or BLW?
Personally, I like a mix of both. Babies do well to learn to manage a wide range of 
textures, including lumps. They also do well when allowed to develop their self-feeding 
skills.  It comes down to personal choice and feeding responsively.
Why it is important to model
I always recommend parents model eating in a pleasant, pressure-free manner. Parents 
may need to check what this looks like: do they look relaxed? Do they convey 
confidence? Babies love to watch their parents eat.  Place yourself facing your child, 
share food as much as possible, relax and smile. Show what is in your mouth, even if it 
feels gross, your Baby is likely to enjoy the show. Babies take cues on how to tackle food 
from their parents.
Responsive feeding
Responsive feeding is very much about the relationship between Baby and the person 
who feeds her. Here you can read more about the Division Of Responsibility which is 
essential to responsive feeding.
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Parents who feed responsively are aware of babies’ cues. Responsive feeding has 
structure. It has the when and where of feeding. It is pressure free. It is about building 
trust between Baby and parent. It requires permission from Baby, she will show her 
engagement by tilting her head forward when eating from a spoon.
Parent trust that Baby can: 
• eat enough,
• learn the skills she needs,
• become autonomous,
• use her internal drive to manage appetite and learn about new foods.
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 Baby trusts that parent can: 
• Read cues for hunger, satiety, fatigue, discomfort, distress,
• Make her comfortable,
• Facilitate feeding by cutting food to size, cooking food as much as needed, charging 
spoons etc,
• Offer variety and exposure to a wide range of foods,
• Avoid pressure and be patient,
• Demonstrate how and what to eat,
• Be OK with some degree of mess and waste,
• Avoid being harsh with spoons (no pushing/no scraping with metal spoons/or on 
irritated skin or cleaning (best done away from the table).
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When to seek professional help
Many families I speak to know they need help because feeding is not fun, nor enjoyable 
for anyone. I support families with babies as young as 9 months when food refusal is a 
concern. Your GP or paediatrician is the main port of call. A Speech-Language 
Pathologist (SLP) can best assess oral motor skills and check for any swallowing issues. 
As you observe your Baby, it makes sense to seek help especially if Baby shows:
• a lack of appetite and lethargy,
• frequent food refusal,
• frequent constipation,
• persistent diarrhoea,
• abdominal pain,
• blood in stools,
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• lack of weight gain, (measurements are best taken regularly using the same 
professional scale), otherwise results may not be accurate,
• pain when eating, swallowing,
• vomit or reflux,
• frequent arching or crying when feeding,
• reaction to a food,
• poor hydration (dehydration requires going to hospital emergencies),
• frequent gagging. When it occurs before Baby places food in her mouth, it may 
warrant further investigation. A difficulty with textures (lumps, bits that require 
chewing) or a sensitivity to smells for example, are worth discussing,
• food allergies or intolerance.
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Feeding babies and children can be extremely challenging, I hear you.  Hopefully, you 
now feel that you have sufficient information to get you started on your journey of 
responsive feeding. If necessary you can reset feeding your Baby or get adequate 
support.
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Contact us
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Australia
0421 843 038
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