my baby will not open her mouth to eat!!! help

c.m.c

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i saw my HV yesterday who told me i should have started weaning by now- Ava is 23 weeks and is 20lbs7oz in weight- i was going to start at 25-26 weeks

i have decided that i will TW at the moment and see how it goes

im not too concerned just yet as she isnt 6 months but i tried to give her a little baby rice and she clenched her mouth closed and wouldnt take anything from the spoon at all. i eventually got a tiny bit in and she spat it out- her face was a picture- it was like i had given her the most horrible thing in the world.

today i tried a little cereal on her spoon- same thing happened again.

tonight i might try a little pear???? i had planned to just start with lunch, then move on to dinner then finally introduce a breakfast but i feel completely lost now

is this normal at the start? should i try something else? is she maybe not ready to wean yet?

any advice or experiences of your own would be brill
 
I did BLW rather than TW so I can't comment on TW but from the sounds of it, she just isn't ready yet. She'll still be getting everything she nutritionally needs from milk, so I wouldn't worry too much. You'll know when she's ready and showing more interest in food :hugs:
 
I did BLW rather than TW so I can't comment on TW but from the sounds of it, she just isn't ready yet. She'll still be getting everything she nutritionally needs from milk, so I wouldn't worry too much. You'll know when she's ready and showing more interest in food :hugs:

thank you- thats what i was thinking too- but the HV was really shocked that i hadnt started weaning her yet. she said i should have started and all by now, she said- o that girls ready for food! i know my baby is really big but she is very content with her milk- she takes less milk now than she did at 10weeks old.

i was thinking of BLW but i decided to TW yesterday because she literally has zero interest. maybe if i leave it a few weeks we could do BLW instead... i just feel so confused now:dohh:
 
We tried lo with tw at first, (around the 5 month mark). She also wouldnt even open her mouth, I tried a couple of times that day but she wasnt havent any of it. I took it as a sign she wasnt ready so decieded to wait a couple of weeks.
We then switched straight to blw at 5.5 months and just let her eat in her own time (which was around the 6 month stage)
Im really glad now that she did refuse as its been so much better for us doing it this way (we tw with our other 2) and now she is really good with her eating and will eat near enough anything we offer her :flower:
 
I did BLW rather than TW so I can't comment on TW but from the sounds of it, she just isn't ready yet. She'll still be getting everything she nutritionally needs from milk, so I wouldn't worry too much. You'll know when she's ready and showing more interest in food :hugs:

thank you- thats what i was thinking too- but the HV was really shocked that i hadnt started weaning her yet. she said i should have started and all by now, she said- o that girls ready for food! i know my baby is really big but she is very content with her milk- she takes less milk now than she did at 10weeks old.

i was thinking of BLW but i decided to TW yesterday because she literally has zero interest. maybe if i leave it a few weeks we could do BLW instead... i just feel so confused now:dohh:

From experience, HVs are a bit hit and miss. Mine kept telling me to switch to formula as my baby wasn't getting enough BFing. My LO was bright, happy healthy, had wet and dirty nappies and there was nothing wrong with her. I knew my own daughter, so I trusted my instincts. I think HVs are a bit too quick to go 'by the book' and some haven't even heard of BLW.

It's up to you whether you try TW or BLW but either way I would wait a few weeks. Until she's eating properly, she won't be getting anything nutritionally from her food so if she's happy on milk then I'd keep her on it awhile longer. :hugs: If you do think about BLW then there is 'the bible', a book called Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley.
 
I would wait - not that you have much of choice, if she won't eat, she won't eat. To be honest, my OH tried to spoonfeed Ruby a couple of times before she was 6 months and got the clamped shut mouth response too.
We did BLW, she wasn't actually ready until 7.5 months. But she did very well with BLW and it was the right choice for us and for Ruby, by a mile.
 
And, stupid HV. Ruby weighed more than that at your LO's age. Weight has bugger all to do with readiness for solids.
 
Just want to add my support to the above. My LO was nearing 21lb at that age and we waited until he was ready, which was at around 6 and a half months. That was when he would put things in his hand, into his mouth - and could sit unaided. We did BLW and he didn't eat loads until about 7 and a half months.

From our experience, size does not indicate need for weaning. A baby's readiness does.

x
 
thank you ladies- that reassures me- i really feel that she just isnt ready yet and i dont want to push it on her- i was excited by BLW but felt cornered into doing TW when the HV said she should be on solids by now!
 
Your HV sounds like she's a bit old school.

I really don't believe in the concept of a weaning window as in if you don't do it by x date they'll never be weaned. Some babies are happy on milk for a bit longer than the norm (and your daughter is still less than 6 months) and there's nothing wrong with that.

The older she is when she's weaned the quicker you can move her to real food even if you do TW. I started off with BLW and then did quite a bit of spoonfeeding after about a month or two but she always had proper food, not pureed. She was capable of chewing and swallowing so it wasn't an issue.
 

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