What to do if your baby refuses to eat complementary food? 5 tips to make your baby eat complementary food

If the baby refuses to eat complementary food, it will be a headache for the mother. Generally, the baby can start eating complementary food when he is 6 months old. But the baby only relies on breast milk and refuses all other foods. What should I do? Will the baby be malnourished if he eats breast milk for a long time?

Why doesn't the baby eat complementary food?

Emotional factors of mother or baby

Some babies' love for breastfeeding is related to their nature. For example, babies who lack a sense of security will feel more at ease when breastfeeding. Sometimes it is also related to the mother's mood. Many mothers suffer from severe postpartum depression, and the addition of family chores will make them continue to be depressed.

Coping methods: It is recommended that mothers keep themselves calm, let go more when taking care of the baby, let family members share more of the burden, and don't be so tired themselves. The mother's good mood will affect the baby, and the baby may also be calmer. The baby can interact more with other people in the family, feel everyone's care for him, and will not be particularly attached to milk.

Feeding procedure gone wrong

Breast milk is the first delicious food that a baby eats when he comes to this world. Breast milk is not only food, but also brings a variety of extremely happy experiences to the baby: the mother's warm embrace, gentle touch, whispered comfort... Therefore, it is not very easy for a breastfed baby to easily accept food other than breast milk. Therefore, adding complementary food to the baby should be a gradual process, gradually transitioning from the initial trial stage to an adult diet. Some mothers feed their babies irregularly. They feed complementary food when they remember to, and if they don't want to eat, they don't feed and use breast milk instead. For babies, they can't understand that complementary food can also fill their stomachs, so they only recognize breast milk when they are hungry.

How to deal with it: When the amount of complementary food can be regarded as a meal, you should gradually cultivate a good mealtime pattern for your baby, so that your baby understands that complementary food can also fill him up in addition to breast milk. One meal is complementary food, and the other is breast milk. Start with one complementary food a day, and then gradually increase to two or three complementary meals a day, until after one year old, breast milk is only used as a supplement, and three meals a day are mainly meals.

Wrong feeding method

When the baby refuses to eat complementary food, parents force-feed him by means of intimidation, inducement, or scolding; or, on the contrary, give excessive praise after the baby eats a bite; or compare the baby with other babies, etc. These methods will make the baby feel burdened about eating, and thus he will dislike eating less and less.

How to deal with it: Parents must relax at this time and allow the baby to have a natural transition. For some babies this period may be faster, and for some babies this period may be longer. It doesn’t matter. Give the baby some time. As long as our adding method is correct, the baby will slowly adjust.

In addition, it is recommended that mothers try to add finger foods to their babies, so that the babies can develop an interest in eating and decide how much to eat by themselves, which will gradually reduce their dependence on breast milk.

It is particularly taboo for the mother to wean the baby off breast milk in order to make the baby eat complementary food without giving the baby a psychological transition period. The baby will feel very aggrieved and then resist. The worst manifestation is severe crying and would rather starve than eat, hoping that the mother will change her mind.

The complementary food is not tasty, and the baby doesn't buy it

Babies have a sensitive sense of taste, so they will be more aware of many foods than we can imagine. This is especially common after trying various complementary foods, because babies will also form their own taste preferences, so they may suddenly not eat the food they ate before.

How to deal with it: What mothers need to do is to constantly change the baby's complementary food to arouse the baby's interest and thus pry the baby's taste buds. I have seen many mothers gradually train themselves to become cooking masters in this process. There is nothing impossible, only unwillingness to do it. In fact, raising a child is also a process of self-cultivation for parents. From psychology to skills, all aspects will be a transformation. Grow up with your baby!

5 tips for babies who don’t like to eat complementary foods

The purpose of adding complementary foods to babies during infancy is to help them transition from breastfeeding to adult diet, so it is very necessary to add appropriate complementary foods to babies at each stage. However, some babies may not like to eat complementary foods for various reasons. To deal with babies who do not like to eat complementary foods, mothers can try the following methods:

1. Add complementary food correctly

When adding complementary foods to your baby, you must pay attention to the method. The baby's teeth and swallowing ability are not fully developed, so when making complementary foods, the food should be processed into soup, paste or finely chopped, so that the baby can easily digest it. You can refer to the 5 delicious pastes that babies love the most that we mentioned before. When you first start adding complementary foods to your baby, the concentration of the food should not be too concentrated, such as vegetable juice and fresh fruit juice, it is best to dilute it with water. Complementary foods should be natural foods as much as possible, and it is best not to add seasonings such as spices, monosodium glutamate, sugar, salt, etc. In terms of cooking ingredients, try not to be too greasy. After cooking, complementary foods should not be left at room temperature for too long to prevent food from spoiling. When making complementary foods, pay attention to the temperature of the food. It is not advisable to place it in a microwave oven at high temperatures to avoid destroying the nutrients in the food.

2. Change new flavors

A varied diet can stimulate the baby's appetite. Add new ingredients to the food that the baby originally likes, and increase the amount and variety from small to large. Under the condition of a balanced diet, parents should replace the simple rice and noodles that they usually eat with a variety of foods. For example: sometimes potatoes are used as the main dish, and some vegetables are added to make a nutritious and hearty meal. After the child grows teeth, he likes to chew food, so you might as well change the fruit puree to fruit slices at this time. The food should also pay attention to color matching to stimulate the baby's appetite, but the taste should not be too strong. You can also refer to the method of vegetable, fruit and potato puree.

If your baby hates a certain food, maybe it's just a temporary dislike, you can stop feeding him the food and let him eat it again after a while. During this period, you can feed him a substitute with similar nutritional content. In addition, parents should change the cooking method to attract the baby.

3. Reduce snacking and increase activity

Although it is necessary to give your baby some snacks, it should not be excessive, especially junk food should be avoided as much as possible, so as to avoid the child from eating too many snacks and not being able to eat the main meal. Children cannot eat unless they are hungry. If parents just force their children to eat, it will have the opposite effect. Try to stimulate the child's appetite, such as increasing his activity level. When he is really hungry, he will not resist eating.

4. Prepare a set of children's tableware

Children like to have something that belongs to them. Buying tableware with cute patterns and bright colors for your baby can increase your baby's desire to eat. In previous articles, we have mentioned how to choose children's tableware correctly. When choosing baby's tableware, parents should pay attention that large bowls filled with food will make the baby feel oppressed and affect their appetite. Sharp and easily broken tableware should not be used to avoid accidents.

5. Maintain a pleasant dining mood

If your baby doesn't feel hungry at mealtime, don't force him to eat. Forcing your baby to eat often will make him feel repulsive. When feeding your baby complementary food, you can tease him or talk to him in a relaxed and lively tone, so that eating is no longer just eating, and your baby will think it is a very interesting thing.

How to make eating easier

Inform in advance that dinner is ready

Tell your baby that it is time to eat 10-15 minutes before the meal. Many babies are very focused on playing, so they will be particularly resistant to being suddenly called to eat by their mothers. Notifying the baby in advance can help the baby prepare psychologically.

Establishing rules

Relatively fixed meal times and fixed seats are very important for babies in the period of sensitivity to order. Following these rules can increase the baby's sense of comfort.

You can have fun without toys

Try not to use toys or TV to attract children during meals. Instead, talk about happy things to make the meal atmosphere more pleasant. Tell your baby that it is fun to eat together and that you should wait until everyone is full before leaving.