What To Do When Baby’s Not Eating During Baby-Led Weaning

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Starting baby-led weaning can be exciting, but what happens when your baby is not eating like you expected?

You may worry whether they’re getting enough nutrients. You may even wonder if you should stop baby-led weaning and switch to purees for a while.

I’m here to tell you that you’re doing great and to encourage you to keep going.

Every parent doing baby-led weaning has gone through a stage when their baby doesn’t eat the solid food served to them.

So I’m here to share some insight into why your baby may not be eating during BLW and to give you some practical tips to help them start eating again.

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Factors That Can Affect How Much A Baby Eats

Baby May Be Teething

Teething can make eating uncomfortable, which may cause food refusal. Teething babies have swollen gums.

Now imagine how they’ll feel trying to eat with gums like that. If your baby is teething, offer them soft foods like, oatmeal sweet potatoes, bananas, or avocados.

These foods won’t hurt their gums further.

You can also provide freezable teething toys like this brand on Amazon to help soothe their gums. Avoid raw vegetables, which might be hard to eat during this time, and could be a choking hazard.

You may also like – Oatmeal for Babies: An Ultimate Guide + Recipes

Your Baby May Be Sick

Illness can lead to a loss of appetite, meaning your baby may not want to eat.

In this case, focus on offering breast milk or infant formula as their main nutrition source. You can try feeding them solid food again when they feel better.

Baby Is Filling Up On Milk Before Solids

It’s normal for babies to drink formula milk or breast milk before eating solids, but it may prevent them from feeling hungry for solid foods afterward.

To make sure your baby is hungry enough to eat solid foods, try spacing out milk feeds and solid meals to 2 hours apart.

This should give them enough time to digest their milk before baby-led weaning begins.

Baby Hasn’t Lost Their Tongue-Thrust Reflex Yet

If your baby still has their tongue-thrust reflex, then they’re not ready for solids. This reflex is a sign that they need more time. Look for signs of readiness such as sitting up unassisted and showing interest in food before starting baby-led weaning.

Baby Is Exploring the Food with Their Other Senses

It’s completely normal for babies to explore food by touching, smelling, and playing with it, even before they begin eating.

This sensory exploration helps them learn about food. Be patient and continue offering table food as usual. They will eat when they’re ready.

Their Portion Sizes Are Too Large

Serving large portions of food can overwhelm your baby. Offer small pieces or smaller portions to encourage them to eat comfortably.

Food at this stage is more for exploration than anything else.

So focus more on serving them different textures, flavors, and colors of food rather than on their portion size.

Allowing them to develop their five senses by exploring the food will help them be better eaters in the future.

Baby not eating baby-led weaning, Baby in high chair eating finger foods, Family mealtime with baby

What to Do When Baby Won’t Eat During Baby-Led Weaning

Adjust the Feeding Schedule

If you follow a feeding routine, you can try the Wake-up-Milk-Play-Solid-Sleep feeding cycle. That’s the schedule my mommy friends and I used when our kids started baby-led weaning.

It helped space out the feedings so that solid food was not being served too close to milk feeds.

If the gap between milk and solid foods is too short, your baby may not feel hungry enough for their meal.

Try waiting 1.5 – 2 hours after milk feeds to feed them solid foods. This will give your baby enough time to digest their milk before eating table food.

Continue To Offer Meals As Usual

Even though your baby is not eating during baby-led weaning, continue serving them meals as usual.

Having a set time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner helps create a routine that will make them better eaters in the future.

Allow Them to Play With Their Food

Part of learning to eat involves feeling the textures of different foods. Kids use their senses of touch, smell, and taste to help them learn to try new foods.

I know that we’re all anxious about all the mess they make during baby-led weaning, but try not to let the fear of mess-making stop you from letting your baby explore meals their way.

Both my kids learned to eat more independently when I started allowing them to play with their food. This eventually led to them self-feeding by bringing food to their mouths.

Don’t Feed Them Too Close to Nap Time

Sleepy babies and overtired babies tend not to be interested in food. Would you be interested in eating when you’d rather be sleeping?

The same goes for a child doing baby-led weaning.

Serve Soft Foods If Baby Is Teething

As teething can make eating uncomfortable, offer soft foods like cooked carrots, and soft fruits like peaches or ripe bananas. You can also mash food for babies whose teething is very painful.

Mashed foods can be served in a baby-led weaning way by ensuring that your baby self-feeds using a spoon or fork rather than being spoon-fed.

Spoon feeding isn’t recommended in baby-led feeding because it prevents them from learning fine motor skills that will be necessary as they get older.

Reduce the Portion Size

If the portion sizes are too large for your baby, reduce them. It’s not about how much they’re eating at this stage, because milk will still be their primary nutrient source until they’re over 12 months old.

So offering smaller pieces of food can feel more manageable and help your baby gradually adjust to eating solid foods.

Don’t Pressure Them

Remember, food before one is for fun. Don’t pressure your baby to eat if they’re not interested. Let them explore and enjoy their meals at their own pace.

Is Baby Eating with the Rest of the Family?

Babies are excellent at mimicking behaviors. Eating together as a family can encourage your baby to try different types of family foods. This also teaches your baby how to chew properly and develop essential fine motor skills.

Teach Your Baby How to Chew

It’s important to teach your baby how to chew. You can exaggerate chewing motions while eating, so they can follow along and learn this important skill.

Remember that they’ve only been using the sucking motion to drink milk up until now, so chewing won’t come naturally to them.

So you must exaggerate every chewing motion to show them how to do it themselves.

Your Baby May Be Bored With the Food Being Served

We’ve all heard the phrase “Variety is the spice of life”. That’s true with little humans as well.

Sometimes babies refuse food because they’re bored with what’s being offered.

When it comes to baby-led weaning, offering a wide variety of foods can keep things exciting and help them develop a taste for different foods.

Studies have shown that introducing kids to a wide variety of foods during baby-led weaning, and throughout the first 3 years of life helps reduce the chances of picky eating in the future.

Your Baby May Be Full

While adults may eat for various reasons such as boredom, stress, etc. Babies don’t know how to do that.

They eat when they’re hungry to satisfy a need, and they stop eating when they’re full. So if your baby-led weaning baby is not eating, then chances are, they may just be full.

Watch for fullness cues like turning their head away, playing with their food, or pushing food off the highchair.

If your baby shows signs of being done, it’s time to stop the meal and give them a break.

See A Feeding Therapist

If your baby is getting closer to 11 months and still struggles with eating solid foods, then it may be time to see a feeding therapist.

Feeding therapists are trained to assess whether a child has special needs related to eating.

They are also trained to provide the necessary interventions that will help your baby learn to eat properly again.

So if you’re worried about your baby’s feeding journey then my advice is to have them evaluated by a feeding therapist.

What To Do When Baby-led Weaning Baby Is Not Eating At Different Ages

What to Do: Baby Is 6 Months Old or Younger and Refusing Food

If your baby is under six months old and refusing solids, they may not be ready.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solids only when a child is 6 months old, even if they’re showing some readiness signs at 5 months and below.

Before 6 months, focus on providing breast milk or infant formula as their main source of nutrition.

Make sure your baby is showing ALL the signs of readiness to start solid food before you begin feeding them. Age isn’t the only indicator of readiness.

Read about all the signs of readiness for solids in this article

What to Do: Baby Is 7–9 Months Old and Refusing Food

At this stage, babies can handle finger foods and soft solid table foods. Check to make sure they’re not teething or experiencing any of the situations listed above.

Remember that food before 1 is just for fun or exploration. The main nutrient they get from food before 1 is iron.

You can either give them iron supplements or offer small pieces of iron-rich foods as table food, and let them play and explore with the rest.

Consistency is key at this age. Just keep offering even if they don’t eat it. Eventually, they will.

What to Do: Baby Is 12+ Months Old and Refusing Food

At this age, babies may develop more specific food preferences. To avoid picky eating in the future, keep offering a mix of new foods and familiar favorites.

Don’t turn meals into a battle because that will create a power struggle and a negative relationship with food.

When to See a Doctor When a Baby Isn’t Eating

If your baby consistently refuses food, or you notice developmental delays, trouble with their swallowing, issues with their pincer grasp, or signs of food allergies then it’s time to consult a pediatrician or feeding therapist.

FAQs About Baby Not Eating During Baby-Led Weaning

Why is my baby not interested in weaning?

Your baby might not be hungry or may need more variety in the types of food you offer. Keep offering different finger foods and allow your baby to explore at their own pace.

My baby prefers stage 1 purees instead of solids. What should I do?

You can offer small pieces of food alongside purees to help them transition. Baby-led weaning doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach.

Every baby is different when it comes to feeding. Just follow your baby’s lead to help them transition to solid food at their own pace.

How long does food refusal last?

Food refusal is often temporary. Stay consistent and offer food during family mealtime. Most babies eventually become more interested in eating solids as they get older.

Do babies eat less with BLW?

It’s common for babies to eat less at first while learning to feed themselves. That’s because BLW is so different from the consistency of milk that they’re used to.

That’s why their main source of nutrition should still come from breast milk or formula milk when they’re less than 1 year old.

By the time they turn 1, most babies will be eating a lot more than they did when they started.

What are the negatives of baby-led weaning?

There’s a learning curve with baby-led weaning.

Some parents worry about gagging, choking, and other things. Baby-led weaning has been proven safe and very effective at transitioning babies from milk to table food without problems.

Read this article to learn some of the pros and cons of baby-led weaning. When you’re done, then read this article to get the full comparison between baby-led weaning and puree feeding.

Is it normal for a 6-month-old to refuse food?

It is completely normal for a 6-month-old to refuse solid foods because that’s not what they are used to.

It takes time for babies this young to get used to the texture of solid foods. The best thing to do is to stay consistent and offer different types of food.

They will eventually get used to eating new foods as they get older.

Final Thoughts About Baby Not Eating During Baby-led Weaning

Every baby’s feeding journey is unique, and it’s normal for them to show different interests in food during baby-led weaning.

Focus on offering food with different colors, tastes, and textures at this age in small portions.

Remember to follow your baby’s lead, and keep family mealtime positive.

At this age, their main source of nutrition during the first year remains breast milk or formula milk, and food before one is mostly for fun and exploration.

If you notice signs of developmental delays, allergic reactions, or persistent refusal to eat, consult a health visitor or pediatrician for guidance.