11mo not that interested in solids - advised to cut down on bf

[pooter]

To my mind that seems the worst thing i could do - surely if he doesnt want to eat that much solid food (he does eat a bite of avocado, likes yoghurt, bit of toast, apple pieces, pasta shapes etc)then i should ensure my breast milk is still a very important part of his diet.

We cosleep and he feeds a cople of timjes during the night too,. I really dont want to stop the night feeds - im aiming for self weaning when hes ready. Trouble is, he hasnt put any weight on at all in 4 weeks, and hes quite a small boy - 19lbs. He started walking recently and never stops moving - he seems very healthy and happy, just not that into his food (unlike his mum!!)

I think i know the answer, but cant help questioning myself in the face of proffessional opinion......someone agree with me please!

[tiktok]

pooter....think it out! This is not a baby who is not having any solids, and you are not a mother who is deliberately withholding them. How will reducing the relatively calorie-dense 'meal' he has with breastfeeding increase his net calorie intake? The idea is you let him 'get hungry' and this will make him eat more solids. The risk is he might eat just enough to stave off the hunger (because he is not that keen on solids)....whereas breastfeeding, which he is keen on, is likely to deliver more calories.

In your case, there is a good argument for increasing his breastfeeding, don't you think?

[pooter]

The voice of reason - i totally agree - thankyou tiktok. I feel like i can stick up for myself and ds now.

[Tapster]

Well I feel like I can help you out. My BF daughter didn't really get the hang of solids until 13 months (she is 14 months now) - she literally ate only 6 peas some lunchtimes and would only eat a very limited variety of food. Despite this she is a very large round child!

My HV told me to cold turkey wean her at 12 months as she dropped from 91st to 75th percentile she had not put on weight between 8-12 months but had started crawling. If your son is beginning to walk no wonder he is not gaining weight.

DD did not cut down on her milk and suddenly got hungry at 13 months - I had spent 7 months throwing 95% of the food I made into the bin it was heartbreaking and depressing.

Don't cut down on the milk BFing is very important to him. He will get the hang of solids soon. I am now considering weaning off BM as she doesn't need it anymore and I'm about to start ttcing no.2.

Please let me know if you need any more advice or tips. I know how hard it is - MIL drove me mad with telling me to force feed DD and give her purees even at one year!

[pooter]

Thankyou tapster! Its so reassuring to hear from someone who has experienced the same thing. I will try to stop worrying and let him decide when hes ready to eat more solids. He enjoys his bf so much - why do hv want to take that away from him???

[Cocobear]

Thank you, too, tapster. This reinforces my decision not to fuss too much with offering purees to 7mo DD who also wants nothing to do with them. I don't begrudge a little time with the hand blender if the food is being eaten, but if it's all going into the bin I mind quite a lot. DH gave her a bit of birthday cake (!!) at a party yesterday. And she didn't like that, either. Honestly, WHO doesn't like cake?

[Tommy]

Sometimes I feel like I have been a neglectful mother not ever having taken DS3 to be weighed but, the more I hear people on here and RL friends tell me how their HVs have "advised" them about formula, stopping breastfeeding, giving baby rice etc, the more I feel that I have done the sensible thing.

IME, I wouldn't expect a 11m old to put on much weight in 4 weeks - surely it all calms down a bit at this stage? (DS3 is also 11m) and if they are tearing around then they will use up more calories anyway?

[Tommy]

cocobear - DS1 is six and only just started to eat cake - but only if I cut out the jam and icing

[Cocobear]

DS is four and won't eat it, either. These kids are not related to me.

[Tommy]

lol