So yesterday I decided to try food again with Tenley. She's about 8 1/2 months old. Since she didn't like rice cereal before, I tried oatmeal instead. I know I'd rather have oatmeal than mushy rice. I was preparing for funny faces and pursed lips, but she loved it! I was so excited. "Stephen, get the camera!!!! She actually LIKES food!" She opened wide every time I put the spoon to her mouth and would even get a little impatient if I didn't feed her fast enough. This was exciting for me, since we ended our 2-3 week food trial with lots of tears and screaming and definitely no eating.
Since she loved the oatmeal for lunch, I tried it again for dinner. Totally different story. Closed mouth, funny faces, and fussing. Well, maybe that was just too much to ask for one day. We'll try again tomorrow...
So it's tomorrow, and we just tried more cereal, and this time there was crying, pursed lips, and not a whole lot of eating. Sigh. I will probably try again tomorrow. If she doesn't like it at lunch, I may try a tolerable veggie for dinner to see if she likes that. If not, we may take another break. I'm not quite sure. Stephen and I were planning on taking a little trip by ourselves in late June, and I was hoping we could supplement her well by then with table foods, because I have just been too tired/lazy to stay up and pump at night. Oh well, such is life. Maybe she's just not ready yet. Silly, beautiful, fun, crazy girl!
Just keep trying. Just like infants will start showing their personality through things they do, this could be one of her strong willed moments. It may not be about being ready, but picky and you definitely don't want that. She knows when she is getting her way even now and she will start to use it. They say it takes up to 10 times of offering the same thing before they get used to it, so for some of the items it may just take that. Also, she may not be hungry enough and knows you will just give her milk if she refuses. It is kind of like what I tell those trying to breastfeed and the baby refusing, they may just be lazy. If they know you will give them a bottle, they will continue to refuse. Maybe try a day of giving more food than milk, at least at first. Instead of nursing right after she decides not to eat, wait a bit and just try the food again. It won't hurt her to go a bit without, and if she is hungry enough she will eat.
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