A plea for help / ideas / anything...

I thought I had actually already blogged about this one, but realized I hadn't. Then I realized... well, that was stupid, as this is exactly the sort of thing a blog is good for. See I need some help. Ot at least some ideas / thoughts / support. And holy cow, it turns out I have this little soapbox on which to appeal for it...

I doubt this will be the only time I blog on this one, but here's my first go. The munchkin won't eat solids. Now let me be clear here, as people never quite seem to understand what I mean. She will eat baby food (though she often balks at the stage 3's - too much texture), just nothing else. I'll say this and my friends will offer banana pieces or other soft fruits. Nope, those are solids. The only way she will eat a banana that's not from a jar is if I completely mush it with a spoon and possibly mix it with something else. And then she will sort of grudgingly agree to eat a little of it. Usually understanding dawns when I explain she won't eat a cheerio. If we give her a cheerio or a puff, she throws it on the floor for the dog. I had a big break through day the other day when she let me put the cheerios in her mouth (opened for it) before spitting them out and throwing them on the floor. I managed to hide a couple in her sweet potatoes (a first), but she made an awful face on each that went down, till she managed to gag up the last one.

Yes, I guess I should explain that part... You might be thinking - look, I know she may not want to eat these things. But you are the grown up. You mix them in with stuff and get her to try them. What I haven't mentioned is that generally any time I've gotten a solid into her mouth (solids sometimes including stage 3 foods), she has such a strong gag reflex, it comes right back up.

So I'm putting this out to the universe - or at least the blogosphere. Help! Anyone! Did anyone have a child who refused / refuses solids? How did you introduce them? Do you have any ideas at all? I'm also really worried that she's not going to get enough protein as we're currently weaning (which is going very slow, as I'm feeling paranoid) - oh yeah, I guess I didn't mention that she generally won't touch the jarred meats either. We've found one exception (sweet potatoes with turkey), so she gets that several times a week. Any ideas on how to get her protein if she won't eat solids / meats? Things she will eat include - babyfood fruits, vegetables, jarred oatmeal/cereal (not the boxed stuff - as if!), yogurt and the sweet potato turkey mix. Thanks so much for ANY thoughts!