---
title: "Baby Refuses Solids, Only Wants to Breastfeed: What to Do"
description: "Baby 6 to 12 months refuses solids, only wants to breastfeed? Why it happens, how to time nursing and meals, what to avoid, when to see the pediatrician."
canonical: https://buppi.baby/en/blog/baby-refuses-food-only-wants-breast/
last-updated: 2026-11-04
---

# Baby Refuses Solids, Only Wants to Breastfeed: What to Do

> Baby 6 to 12 months refuses solids, only wants to breastfeed? Why it happens, how to time nursing and meals, what to avoid, when to see the pediatrician.
>
> Canonical: https://buppi.baby/en/blog/baby-refuses-food-only-wants-breast/

Quick answer: refusing food and asking for the breast is common between 6 and 12 months, and in most cases it improves with routine, time and less pressure. Keep breastfeeding, avoid nursing right before a meal, offer food without forcing it and try again on other days. The **weight curve** tells you whether this is a phase or something to look into, so it's worth taking the question to your pediatrician.

This guide is for parents who have already started solids and live the same scene every day: the plate arrives, the baby cries, turns away and looks for the breast. If you're still deciding how to start, read [BLW or purees at 6 months](/en/blog/blw-vs-purees-6-months/) first.

## How much a baby needs to eat at this age

Many families get alarmed because they expect a full plate. The dietary guide from Brazil's Ministry of Health (the Guide, from here on) gives these references for breastfed babies, always with the caveat that they aren't rigid targets:

| Age | Meals with food | Amount at each main meal | Texture |
|---|---|---|---|
| **6 months** | lunch, plus fruit at snacks | 2 to 3 tablespoons in total | well mashed with a fork, foods kept separate |
| **7 to 8 months** | lunch, dinner, plus fruit at snacks | 3 to 4 tablespoons in total | less mashed or finely chopped |
| **9 to 11 months** | lunch, dinner, plus fruit at snacks | 4 to 5 tablespoons in total | chopped, same texture as the family's food |
| **12 months** | breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks | 5 to 6 tablespoons in total | larger pieces, the way the family eats |

At this age, breast milk can be offered whenever your baby wants it. The Guide notes that for babies under 1 year it's still the main source of energy and nutrients, and the WHO estimates it can provide half or more of their energy between 6 and 12 months. So a 9-month-old who ate three tablespoons and nursed well isn't necessarily going hungry, though food keeps gaining ground and it supplies much of their iron. A review published in *Pediatrics* notes that many children their parents see as "poor eaters" have a mild condition, or their parents simply have a mistaken idea of how much they should eat. Only a small share have a serious feeding disorder.

Food is also chewing practice, a topic we come back to further down.

## Why your baby cries and only wants the breast

There's usually more than one cause at once:

- **They're still getting started.** Around 6 months, the tongue movement that pushes food out can still appear and look like refusal, according to the Guide.
- **The breast is comfort.** Nursing calms and reassures, and it's easy. Eating takes effort, attention and tolerating new tastes and textures.
- **They're already full.** A feed shortly before lunch leaves less room for food.
- **The timing is bad.** The Guide cites sleepiness and irritability as common reasons for eating less. A tired baby tends to seek out what they already know.
- **They snacked earlier.** Eating between meals also reduces appetite.
- **They're sick or uncomfortable.** Sick children eat less. Teething, constipation, reflux or allergy can also play a part, and that's a conversation for the pediatrician.
- **They don't like the texture.** Some babies refuse the spoon and accept pieces, and others do the opposite.
- **Meals have become tense.** After many days of insisting, a baby may start crying as soon as they see the plate or the high chair.

When you're reading the crying, it helps to know the fullness cues the Guide lists for 7 to 11 months: eating more slowly, closing the mouth, pushing the food away and leaving food sitting in the mouth without swallowing. At 12 months, shaking the head, leaving the table and throwing food join the list. Much of what looks like a tantrum may simply be "I don't want this now," the only way they have of saying so.

## How to organize nursing and meals

We found no study comparing breastfeeding before or after food at this age, and the guidance varies. The NHS, the UK's health service, recommends offering milk after food, because a baby's stomach is small and fills quickly. Brazil's Ministry of Health says the breast can be offered whenever the child wants it. A leaflet from the pediatric nutrition service of a British hospital suggests, for children who have trouble accepting solids, a gap of at least 1 to 2 hours between milk and the meal.

You can follow all three at once by changing when feeds happen, without cutting any on your own:

| Time of day | What to offer |
|---|---|
| On waking | breast |
| Mid-morning | fruit, then the breast if they want it |
| Lunch | food first, breast after |
| Mid-afternoon | fruit, then the breast if they want it |
| Dinner | food first, breast after |
| Before bed | breast |

The sequence follows the Guide's model for babies 9 to 11 months old. It's an example and sets no limit on feeds. If your baby asks to nurse close to lunch, nurse and offer the food a little later. The WHO recommends breastfeeding whenever the child wants, day and night, and that counts even more when your baby is still swallowing very little food.

Very long or frequent feeds in the small hours can also leave a baby without hunger in the morning. If you suspect this, take it to the pediatrician before cutting any of them.

On "holding back" the breast when your baby cries: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises against using milk to rescue a child who refuses food, but that advice is for children 1 to 3 years old. Before 1 year, milk is still the main food, and leaving a baby hungry to force them to eat has no support in the sources we consulted. If they cry at the table and ask for the breast, end the meal without a fight and nurse. Food comes back at the next mealtime. If your baby is sick, the Guide advises offering the breast more often.

**If your baby takes a bottle,** the logic is the same. The NHS cites about 600 ml of formula a day as a reference for 7 to 9 months. A volume well above that can reduce appetite: go over it with the pediatrician and don't cut back on your own. The references by age are in our [formula guide](/en/blog/how-much-formula-by-age/).

## What helps at mealtime

**Pick their best moment.** Offer food when your baby is awake and rested, before sleepiness makes them irritable. The [wake windows by age](/en/blog/wake-windows-by-age/) help you find that time.

**Eat together, without screens.** The Guide recommends that meals have the child's attention and advises against feeding them while they walk and play around the house, or with the TV or a phone on. Babies learn by watching the family eat, and the NHS also recommends eating together whenever you can.

**Put a little on the plate.** Start with a small amount and offer more if they want it. A full plate adds to the feeling that they "didn't eat anything."

**Let them use their hands.** From 7 or 8 months babies already pick up food and bring it to their mouth, and between 9 and 11 months they use a pincer grasp, feed themselves with some help and accept chopped foods. Many babies who refuse the spoon do better when they control what goes in their mouth. Let them get messy and explore, even if little gets swallowed. Always stay with them while they eat.

**Set a start and an end.** The British leaflet gives about 20 minutes at the table as an example. After that, take the plate away without comment and offer food again only at the next mealtime. Snacking between meals reduces appetite for the next one.

**Offer it again, a different way.** It can take 10 tries or more before a baby accepts a new food, taste or texture, according to the NHS. A review of reviews on vegetables found repeated exposure to be the strategy with the most consistent evidence. The Guide suggests waiting a few days, offering it alongside something they already accept and changing the preparation: if they refused mashed carrot, try larger pieces. Unicef also suggests mixing it with a food they like or putting a little breast milk on top.

**Stick to family food.** Natural seasonings and minimal salt, no sugar until age 2 and no juice until age 1, as the Guide says. Swapping a refused meal for a cookie, candy or sweetened yogurt teaches that refusing is enough to get something tastier.

**Offer water through the day,** as the Guide advises.

The division of responsibility described by dietitian Ellyn Satter takes some weight off the table: the family chooses **what, when and where** to offer, and the baby decides **whether to eat and how much**.

## What to avoid

| What tends to happen | Why it gets in the way |
|---|---|
| Insisting with the spoon, holding their hand or prying their mouth open | Forcing can turn into fear of meals and is a red flag in the *Pediatrics* review |
| Asking them to "clean the plate" | In an experiment with preschoolers, children ate more and complained less when they weren't pressured |
| Bribes, rewards or scolding | The Guide advises against fighting, bribing and offering rewards |
| Video or a phone to get them to open their mouth | Takes attention away from the food and from hunger and fullness cues |
| Only purees, because that's what they accept | Delays practice with chewing, as we explain below |
| Cutting feeds suddenly | Can reduce calories before food is able to replace them |

## Don't put off lumpy foods

It's worth moving forward with texture even when acceptance is hard. In a large British study that followed thousands of children, those who got lumpy foods only after 9 months ate less fruit and fewer vegetables at 7 years old and had more feeding difficulties than those who got them between 6 and 9 months. It's an observational study, which shows an association without proving cause, but it points the same way as the Guide, which recommends chopped food from 9 months.

If your baby gags on pieces, go back a step and move forward gradually, without giving up on the process. Making faces and spitting are common. Learn the difference between the gag reflex and real choking in our [starting solids guide](/en/blog/blw-vs-purees-6-months/), and avoid dangerous shapes such as whole grapes. Gagging at every meal, or frequent coughing when swallowing, should be checked.

## What about iron?

This is the main reason not to let things run for many months without follow-up. Breast milk has little iron, and the stores a baby is born with keep going down. Babies who refuse food for a long time can end up with less iron than they need.

When they accept little, prioritize meat, liver, egg, beans and dark green leafy vegetables, ideally with a fruit rich in vitamin C at the same meal, which helps iron absorption. Ask the pediatrician whether it's worth checking iron levels. Any supplement, only with your pediatrician's guidance.

## How long it takes to get better

There's no set timeline for babies. Among 1- to 3-year-olds very attached to milk, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that many improve within about a month of adjusting the routine, and advises seeing the pediatrician if nothing changes in that time. Acceptance swings: one day they eat well, the next they refuse everything, and the NHS treats this as normal. So look at the whole week instead of a single meal.

Dealing with this three times a day is tiring, and the worry is understandable. Babies pick up on the mood at the table, and the *Pediatrics* review points out that parental anxiety can lead to practices that make a mild problem worse. Taking turns offering food can relieve whoever is at their limit.

## When to see the pediatrician

> **Book a visit if your baby:**
>
> - firmly refuses all food for two weeks or more
> - has stopped gaining weight or dropped on the [growth chart](/en/blog/baby-growth-chart-percentiles/)
> - coughs, chokes or has noisy breathing while eating
> - seems to be in pain when eating, arches their body or vomits often
> - has persistent diarrhea or blood in the stool
> - gags at the mere sight of food, or suddenly stopped eating after choking or a scare
> - accepts only very few foods, or isn't progressing with textures
> - is pale, very floppy or behind on other developmental milestones
>
> **Get seen the same day** if they're also refusing the breast or bottle, or have a fever. **Go to the ER now** if they're very floppy, hard to wake or having trouble breathing, or if they refuse liquids and have [few wet diapers](/en/blog/wet-diapers-per-day/).

When the difficulty persists, there is treatment. Pediatric feeding disorder is a recognized diagnosis, and care usually involves a pediatrician, a dietitian and a speech-language therapist. For the visit, it helps to bring notes on what they ate and nursed over three or four days, the times and how they reacted.

## FAQ

### My baby only wants the breast and refuses food. Is that normal?

It's common, especially in the first months of solids. The breast is easy and familiar and also gives comfort, while eating takes work. In most cases it improves with routine, time and less pressure. See the pediatrician if the refusal is total for two weeks or more, if weight stops going up, or if there's pain, vomiting or coughing when eating.

### Should I breastfeed before or after solids?

When you can, offer food first and the breast after, and avoid nursing right before a meal. A baby with a full stomach has little reason to accept food. We found no study comparing the two orders at this age, and the guidance varies: the UK's NHS recommends milk after food, and Brazil's Ministry of Health says the breast can be offered whenever the baby wants. What changes is the timing. You don't need to cut the number of feeds on your own.

### Do I need to stop breastfeeding for my baby to eat?

No. The WHO recommends continuing to breastfeed to 2 years or beyond, alongside food, and breast milk remains the main source of energy and nutrients before 1 year. If you want to wean for another reason, that's a family decision, but cutting out the breast to force acceptance can take away calories your baby isn't yet replacing with food. Talk to the pediatrician first.

### My baby cries at the sight of food. Should I keep trying?

No. If your baby cries and asks for the breast, end the meal without a fight, nurse, and offer food again at the next mealtime. Forcing, fighting or bribing tends to make their relationship with food worse. If your baby gags at the mere sight of food, or if the refusal started suddenly after choking or a scare, tell the pediatrician.

### How much should a 9-month-old eat?

The dietary guide from Brazil's Ministry of Health gives about 4 to 5 tablespoons in total at each main meal, from 9 to 11 months, as a reference, and warns that this number shouldn't be followed rigidly. The best way to know if your baby is eating enough is to track weight and length on the growth chart with the pediatrician.