Teething is an inevitable part of the parenting journey, that can often impact a baby’s appetite, and cause many parents some concern!
In this blog I want to talk all about how to feed teething babies to reduce stress at mealtimes for both you and your baby!
How do I know if my baby is teething?
As with all things baby-related, every baby is different. Some babies who are teething may have no symptoms at all, whilst others can really have a hard time with their teeth coming through. Common symptoms of teething babies include:
- Sore/red gums
- Red cheeks
- Dribbling more than usual
- Mild fever
- Disrupted sleep
- More upset than usual
- Excessive chewing
For more information on this, check the NHS website.
Teething and weaning
When it comes to teething and weaning, there isn’t all that much that you should do differently. It’s very, very normal for babies to go off their food when they’re teething – it’s to be expected when their mouths are sore!
It can be really tough when you’re just starting out with weaning, as around 6 months is a common time for teeth to begin to appear. If you haven’t yet started weaning and your baby is quite uncomfortable with their teeth, it may be worth waiting a few days until they’re feeling a bit better. When you first start weaning, it’s more about your baby learning what to do, rather than them eating a whole lot. If they’re in pain, they’re unlikely to want to try anything, and it could lead to negative associations with mealtimes right from the start.
If you’re already a few weeks/months into weaning when teething hits, try to stick to your usual routine around mealtimes. This can help your baby with what to expect, and also helps you to get back to “normal” once they’re feeling better. Try not to worry if they eat less than normal for a few days. Importantly, stick to a routine with meals but avoid pressure to eat anything if they don’t want it. Try to eat yourself so they see you eating and understand the importance of food. Even if this means just having cuddles around the dinner table.
Not ALL babies will go off their food when teething, so if you notice your baby has teeth coming through and their appetite is totally normal, that’s absolutely fine! Embrace it and continue to offer their usual foods.
What to feed teething babies
While there aren’t any foods that are “best” to feed teething babies, certain foods may help some of your baby’s symptoms. These include:
- Yoghurt
- Cucumber – peel off the skin and cut into thin strips
- Soft fruits such as melon, mango, strawberries, banana
- Ice lollies for older babies – try these 3 homemade ice lolly recipes
- Soft Avocado
- Soft foods such as salmon, hummus, tofu strips, pancakes, muffins or omelette
- Foods they can chew on such as very thin pepper sticks, bread crusts, breadsticks – make sure any foods you’re offering are appropriate for your baby’s skills around biting and chewing – check my blog for more on offering finger foods for babies 6-12 months
- Sometimes soft foods such as cereal and milk or porridge or even purees might also be preferred and easier to eat options for your baby whilst they are teething
It’s totally fine to offer more of these “preferred” or easy-to-eat foods more often when your baby is struggling with teething pain.
However, importantly, try not to ONLY offer the accepted foods or the foods they are preferring at the moment. It is fine to offer these more often, or include them alongside other foods, but do try to keep offering some of their standard/normal meals and foods options at the same time. This can help ensure your little one stays familiar with the variety they are used to, and avoids them becoming used to ONLY having a few “safe” options. I’ve regularly seen this lead to longer-term food refusal and a limited number of accepted foods post-teething.
To help with this and reduce food waste, you can:
- Try to eat similar meals as your little one so you can eat any untouched leftovers yourself
- Offer smaller portions initially, so that less food is wasted and keep untouched leftovers in the fridge or freezer for another day
- Offer extras of anything they DO want to eat, if you have it. Even if that’s the preferred options
- Ensure those mealtimes are PRESSURE free. Pressuring babies to eat anything is likely to reduce their desire to eat.
- Gradually build on the variety you offer and reduce the focus on the “preferred” foods gently as their teething starts to reduce.
When your baby starts to feel better, try to build in more varied meals as much as possible, to avoid them beginning to refuse more foods. You can read more on the importance of food variety for kids here.
Teething and breastfeeding
Many babies may want to breastfeed more often when they’re teething, for comfort to help soothe their pain. In some cases, babies can start rejecting the breast due to the discomfort from their teeth.
Continue to breastfeed responsively, so if your baby is wanting more milk, it’s fine to offer the breast more often. Do try to stick to the mealtime routine and allow some time between feeds and meals so that they go into their meals with a bit of an appetite.
Teething and bottle-feeding
As with breastfed babies, bottle-fed babies may be more keen on their milk when they’re teething. Milk is an easy source of calories for them when they may not feel like eating and bottle feeding is comforting for them. It’s therefore normal for them to want more milk, and be a little off their solid foods.
Try to keep a routine as much as possible around their milk and solid feeds, but don’t worry if for a few days they’re much more interested in milk, and much less interested in solids. As with breastfeeding, it’s important to feed them responsively, both with milk and solids, so follow their lead when it comes to their appetite.
With both breast and bottle feeding, although they may be feeding more often than usual, try to leave some time between milk and solid feeds, to allow them to build up a bit of an appetite and importantly do stick to a mealtime routine that your baby is used to too.
Are there foods to avoid when my baby is teething?
There aren’t any foods that specifically need to be avoided when your baby is teething. However, it’s likely that if their mouth and gums are bothering them, they may have trouble with some foods more than others. As we’ve already covered, try not to worry if foods are rejected and they stick to a few comforting foods. Just continue to offer a variety and stick to “normal” meals as much as possible, but offering those preferred foods a little more frequently.
See what seems to work for your baby as they will all be different, some may want crunchy foods, others soft.
Babies tend to want to chew a lot when they’re teething. Giving them plenty of opportunity to safely chew on teething toys or even on their spoon when eating, can also help offer their little gums some relief. Especially try to help them get some teething relief BEFORE you offer a meal.
Hopefully this blog has helped to reassure any of you struggling with feeding your teething baby! If weaning your baby isn’t quite going how you expected, download my free factsheet on what to do when your baby’s not taking to weaning.