What Now? My Baby Hates Solid Food and Spits It Out

As parents, there are dozens of milestones we try to capture on camera but, unless we’re incredibly lucky, it’s very rare that we’ll actually capture the first time any particular milestone event occurs. First steps, rolling, first words-these are tricky milestones to record the very first time–but there is one milestone that can be captured almost without fail: first bites of solid food.

Why is that? Because, with very few exceptions, as parents, we are the ones initiating this milestone. We choose the setting. We choose the timing. We choose the food. Our baby gets to choose if they accept the food or want to continue but generally that very first bite goes in and we can get the reaction on film.

And those reactions are classics! Surprise, disgust, wonderment, enthusiasm… it’s fun to see what flavor of emotion pops into our children’s faces with that first bite. (And if it’s epic enough, it might even find its way into America’s Funniest Videos!)

As fun as all of these first reactions are, time moves on and the excitement of that first exposure to solid food wears off. And then feeding baby solid foods moves on to find its place in our everyday routines. And life is so much easier for us if our child eats well. Not only is the act of feeding them physically easier if they are accepting of foods but it’s also easier for us emotionally if they do so. It’s very common for parents to become worried when their babies aren’t eating as well as they think they should.

Often, parents of new eaters will say that their baby just doesn’t like solid foods. When asked why they think that, the parents reply that their baby will make a face and spit the food out. As a result, the parents give up or try a new flavor/different brand but with often the same results. This can lead to needless frustration and worry. 

Needless? Yes. Needless worry. Let’s take a look at what’s going on developmentally and I think you’ll agree.

Tongue Thrust Reflex 

As a society, we generally start feeding babies solid foods (most frequently purées, unless you’re following the Baby Led Weaning/Feeding system) between the ages of 4 and 6 months. This age range corresponds to a stage of development characterized by the “extinguishing of primitive reflexes”.

Primitive Reflexes

Primitive reflexes are reflexes (actions that are done without conscious thought, generally in response to some kind of specific stimulation) that are present at birth. They are vital to a baby’s survival during the first several days, weeks, and months of their lives. Most of these reflexes will fade away with time (hence the “extinguishing of primitive reflexes” phrase). Some of these primitive reflexes include the rooting reflex (help baby find the nipple and thus their food source), suck/swallow reflex (baby begins sucking when mouth is touched), gag reflex (protection from items in their mouth they aren’t developmentally able to consume yet) and, most important for our current discussion, tongue thrust reflex.

What is tongue thrust reflex?

Tongue thrust reflex occurs when a baby’s lips are touched. Their tongue then automatically protrudes from their mouth, creating the effect of “spitting their food out” when they start eating solids. This tongue thrust reflex, along with the gag reflex, protects babies during earlier stages of development when they are physically unable to self-expel objects from their mouth (ie anything that isn’t a nipple and milk). WIC (or the US Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) states: “This reflex allows for feeding from the breast or bottle but not from a spoon or cup. [It] is seen from birth to about 4 to 6 months” (WIC, p. 41).

As you can see from WIC’s information, tongue thrust reflex (and other reflexes) start to diminish (or extinguish) about the same time that babies start receiving solid foods (4-6 months). However, this process of extinguishing is exactly that, a process. It generally isn’t completely gone when babies start solid foods and, as a result, babies may sometimes appear to be “spitting food out” when in reality they are still exhibiting a primitive protective reflex that is on its way out.

As a side note, sometimes our babies will also make a face while eating that we interpret as “eww gross! I don’t like this!” And when that “eww” face is paired with tongue thrust reflex, it strengthens our belief that our baby doesn’t like purées. However, just as tongue thrust reflex is really an immature tongue pattern and not a reflection of taste preferences, so too is the “eww” face. It is more often a reflection of newness, temperature, or texture and once again not taste.

How Do We Work Around Tongue Thrust Reflex in Order to Still Feed Our Baby?

First, let’s clarify what variables are at play when you first start feeding baby solid foods.

Exposure

Exposure: first feedings to infants are for exposure. Don’t have a specific quantity of food in mind that your child needs to eat. The first several feedings might be just a spoonful or so. Total. And that’s fine. That’s normal. Or maybe your baby loves the food and wants to eat several tablespoons. Awesome. But these feedings still only serve one purpose: to give your child exposure to solid foods and to start getting them used to new flavors and textures in both their mouth and their digestive tract.

Tiny bites

Tiny bites: when you first start feeding your baby solid foods, you’ll want to start with just a tiny bit at a time on the spoon. The picture you might have in your mind of a baby-spoon heaped full of purées moving towards your child’s mouth is for an older baby–definitely not your brand-new eater.

Simple flavors and single ingredients

Simple flavors/one ingredient: the baby food industry has packaging labeled in stages based on a typical child’s developmental patterns and you might notice that all the “stage one” food is simple, single ingredient food. It’s usually something like “pears”, “peas”, or “banana”. Lumped into this general category of “stage one” is also single grain cereal such as rice or oatmeal. You can choose to use store bought food or to make your own but in either case, make sure you’re starting with a thinned down (with breast milk or formula), single ingredient. And stick with just one new food for several days in a row so that you can monitor for any changes in your baby’s skin or digestion that could signal an allergy to that food.

Gradually build flavor complexity and quantity

Gradually build in flavor complexity and quantity: as your baby grows and begins to show competency with eating purées (seems interested in the food, leans forward when they see the spoon approaching, opens their mouth) then you can gradually begin to introduce “stage two” foods, as the baby industry would say. This simply means, more complex flavors and textures. This is when you’ll start to notice baby food jars labeled as “peas and carrots” or “apples and granola”. With homemade food, you can start changing up the thickness of the purée; you can combine single flavor purées into one dish to create a new combination; you can add seasonings like cinnamon or garlic powder, etc. At this point, your child is probably eating larger quantities at each sitting as well.

Baby upright and supported

Baby should be able to sit upright/supported in high chair or lap before starting solid foods. This doesn’t mean that they can sit up unsupported. It means that when they are strapped into their high chair or when they’re sitting on your lap with your arm around them, that they don’t flop over. We need their hips to be at roughly 90 degrees and their head to be upright. This helps ensure that the food doesn’t go into your baby’s airway and lungs instead of down to their stomach. If they are in this age bracket of 4-6 months of age but are not yet sitting upright while supported, speak to your doctor about their recommendations for starting purées or holding off a bit longer.

Caregiver sitting eye-level and engaged

You (or the person feeding your child) are sitting eye-level with and engaged with the baby throughout the whole process. This teaches your child the social aspects of meal-time, helps develop the language associated with meals and food, and models how we eat (you can mirror to them the movements needed for eating such as opening your mouth, closing your lips, swallowing…it might seem silly at first but give it a go! It really does help your baby!) It also helps your child to safely eat since you’ll be eye-level with them and able to immediately spot any signs of distress. This isn’t a huge deal when you’re feeding smooth purées but it sets a good habit that will be invaluable for when you start introducing harder foods and larger chunks.

Proper utensil size

Ensure that the spoon you’re using to feed your baby is not too big for their mouth and that it doesn’t have a bowl too deep for them to easily empty. This is especially important for the first several weeks of feeding your child solid foods. Imagine trying to eat your breakfast cereal with a serving spoon meant for a casserole. Ya. Not pleasant. Waaaay too big for your mouth to comfortably (if at all) fit around. Or imagine trying to eat your yogurt with a gravy ladle. It might fit in your mouth decently but it’s so deep that you frustratingly only get the top portion of your yogurt, leaving most of it down in the bowl of the ladle.

That’s what this can feel like for our newest little eaters with even the smaller of the two adult dinner spoons. If eating is an uncomfortable or frustrating experience for your child right out the gate, it can set the precedent that eating isn’t enjoyable and is something they want to avoid. And that situation is something that we as parents want to avoid!

Note: not all spoons marketed as “baby spoons” meet these criteria. Every baby has a different-sized mouth and/or the “baby spoon” might be appropriate for a 10 month, experienced-eater, baby but not a 4 month, new-eater, baby. Here are some examples of small bowled and shallow bowled spoons perfect for beginners (or you can refer to my suggestions below for non-spoon ways to present food):

Ok. So, if you have all of these factors in order then you can be reasonably assured that your baby will have good success at being introduced to solid foods. However, despite all this solid groundwork you laid, with tongue thrust reflex present, your child might still “spit out” the food your present to them. In other words, their tongue might reflexively push the food out and it might seem like you’re getting nowhere with your attempts at feeding your child.

So, what should you do? You let them “spit it out” and don’t stress! This is a normal and natural step in many babies’ process towards learning to eat. You present the food. You talk to baby about it. They push it out. You give them another tiny taste. (Key word: tiny). Repeat these steps and keep it low-key and stress-free! Again, the goal is exposure, not quantity or calories. At this age, calories should still come mostly from breastmilk or formula. Solid foods should gradually fade milk out of the calorie picture by roughly a year old.

You can also try presenting the foods to the side of your baby’s mouth between their cheek and tongue, over their gum line, instead of directly down middle of their mouth on top of their tongue. This is often most easily achieved when you put some food on your (clean!) finger and wiggle your finger into the side of their mouth.

Sometimes, new eaters also respond better when food is presented on something other than a spoon for the first little bit. This could be a teether, a finger (as mentioned earlier), a textured chewer, the handle of the spoon instead of the bowl of the spoon, and so on. Here are some examples:

When Is Tongue Thrust and Spitting Out Food a Concern?

• If tongue thrust is continuing much longer than 6 to 7 months of age. If tongue thrust isn’t diminishing by this point, it’s possible that tongue thrust has changed from being a reflex into being a learned behavior or could be associated with one of a variety of physical delays/disorders.
• If your baby isn’t gradually increasing in the volume of food consumed after several weeks.
• If you baby is consistently screaming or crying at the sight of food, the high chair, or the spoon.
• If you baby isn’t opening their mouth or showing interest in food after multiple attempts even though all the other factors discussed above are being met (such as ability to sit up with some support).

If your child is having concerns with one or more of these, please talk to your child’s doctor. Better yet! Show the doctor videos of meal time and specifically what you’re concerned about. Get appropriate referrals as your doctor deems necessary.

Best of luck on your feeding adventures!
xoxoxo, Briana

Hello! I’m Briana!

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