Okay ... so can a 14 mth old REALLY do w/out breakfast?

[Millie1]

DS2 is driving me potty ... he simply will not touch breakfast and by 10am is sooo grumpy and by 12 noon - ravenous! I posted a thread a few weeks back and you all gave me fantastic ideas - 90% of which I've tried, the other 10% I'm planning to try - no good, the mouth zips closed as soon as a spoon appears. If I give him a spoon to feed himself he hands it back to me - cheeky beggar!!

He goes to bed at 7.30am with a b/f, has a small b/f at 11pm and then not usually til 6.15am (which is really his breakfast milk). He doesn't gorge or take huge quantities during the night so I really don't think he's full. I daren't cut the 11pm feed yet as he's only sometimes sleeping through and want to sort that before taking it away.

What on earth can I do/try. Cereal choice is limited for 2 reasons ... a) DS1 eats a good, healthy b/fast of readybrek or weetabix with mashed banana and if I offer DS2 something different, he'll throw his head in the air and refuse his (he has constipation issues so need to keep him on high fibre cereals) and b) DS1 has nut allergy and immunologist advised to treat DS2 as though he has one too ... you wouldn't believe how many cereals contain nuts or nut traces - aaargh!

So ... what other ideas can I try?

Thanks

[elliott]

I expect you've already tried toast? Fruit?
Do you think he's not hungry or does he want to feed himself?
Otherwise - what about a fruit snack at 10 just to keep him going?

[vict17]

I wouldn't give him any milk in the morning, just breakfast

[elliott]

I thought about suggesting that, but guessed that at 6.15am its much easier to have a cosy bf than get up and make breakfast...
But I would say that both my two are/were easily put off breakfast if they had milk first, so i did drop early morning milk quite early.

[soapbox]

Well dealing with DS1 first - bananas are renowned for bunging them up so if he has constipation issues you need to stop that. Secondly DS2 gets what DS2 needs and doesn't matter if DS1 likes that idea or not. I do think you need to be firm on this one or you will be forever pushed into matching them up on things that just don't match up!

I think it sounds like DS2 is possibly drinking more milk that you think - they can get a lot out of breastfeeding as they get older and more proficient at it!

I would allow no BF during the night at all - just the morning feed. I would give him finger food rather than cereal as it may just be that he needs to feed himself. Toast would be good or rice cakes or rusks (you can buy sugar free ones).

HTH!

[HappyMumof2]

Message withdrawn

[dancer77]

My ds more often than not refuses breakfast and certainly won't have it before 9.30. I don't know what time you give it to him but how close to his milk does he have it? Ds has to have his milk at least 1.5 hrs before he'll even think about eating any breakfast. He also will only eat finger foods at breakfast so he normally has toast and fruit and occasionally I might get a yoghurt down him. He also likes crumpets now and pitta breads.

[Bozza]

Agree with soapbox re the bananas. My DS has weetabix sprinkled with raisins for this reason. If he won't eat his breakfast (DD 9 months) has readybrek with pureed prune followed by raisins as finger food I would agree with the fruit snack at 10 am which is what I do with DD. Sometimes DS will have it too (no bad thing) and other times he is too busy playing.

[Twiglett]

DS never ate breakfast (he's 4 now and still doesn't) .. before he started pre-school I'd just give him the 'breakfast food' (cereal / toast or fruit) when he got hungry around 10am

DD (9 months) doesn't get a morning feed (because its daddy's job to get up with her at 7.30) she gets breakfast at 8 and wolfs it down (she bf's at 6pm and in the night if she happens to wake up but no more than once .. and that's all the bfs she gets)

[pixiefish]

How about giving him his breakfast when he's hungry- when I have my breakfast some mornings dd doesn't fancy any so she has it later on in the morning (normally happens on the mornings I work- take her muesli to my mum's for her to have about 8.30)

[Millie1]

Goodness ... what a lot of replies - thanks!! It's sooo good to know that he has little friends who try the same trick!

To answer just a few questions - he has his b'feed no later than 6.15am (even if I have to lift him for it cos any later and no hope of b'fast .. infact until about a week/ten days ago he was eating Weetabix following this schedule) and then breakfast around 2 hrs later. Aside from Readybrek & Weetabix, he gets toast every morning but I'm lucky if he nibbles a corner; additionally have tried (and had refused) pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruit (won't touch at any time of day but I just keep offering), in sheer desperation a Kelloggs Nutri-grain bar (nibbled but didn't eat), raisins etc. Am going to give yogurt a shot tomorrow.

Had thought about offering him b'fast later but am worried that will put him off lunch which he gets around 12.30/12.45pm.

I'll try some other breakfast options and also maybe it's time to be brave and start to cut back on and then cut completely the 11pm breastfeed. It's just that if he wakes during the night and I don't feed him, he gets hysterical and won't go back without it - we've tried. Then he ultimately makes himself sick. I guess it's time to take the bull by the horns and deal with it for once and for all - eeeek!!

Re DS1 and the bananas ... he has only starting having 1/2 mashed banana in the last week or so (Dr told me that in moderation they will provide bulk in the colon - maybe I should rethink?). Before that he ate next to no fruit or veg, had constantly soft bms and tummy pains, sent for x-ray and totally bunged up. I finally put my foot down and now he's eating veg that he wouldn't have tried before along with selection of fruit for desert more nights so he's getting there. The banana in his cereal was me sneaking in an extra piece of fruit - might try grated pear/apple/raisin/prune from now on. thanks for advice

Now am off to stew some apples to try him with along with nat yogurt tomorrow am.

[elliott]

well if he's refused all that lot I would conclude he isn't hungry!
Instead of stopping the late night feed (though I would agree he shouldn't really need it) why not try stopping the early morning one first? (especially if you are waking him to feed him )Then you can see what he will eat when he really is hungry!

Ours have dried soaked apricots on their cereal - another anti-bunging strategy to try!

[Millie1]

Elliott ... should they not get milk with or before breakfast? DS1 always did and I guess that's why I make sure DS2 gets an early morning feed? BTW thanks for the apricot idea!

[elliott]

Yes I have always offered milk at breakfast or afterwards (and sometimes before if we are having a lazy morning and late breakfast!) but they don't drink that much of it. (this would be after stopping bf btw so offered in a cup)

[elliott]

btw I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with the early morning feed - I just think its probably the reason he doesn't want breakfast! Up to you really which you prefer him to have

[Millie1]

thanks Elliott - breakfast but would like him to have early am feed and drop 11pm feed ... then I could have a proper 'early' night!!!

[Millie1]

Woohoo ... he just ate natural yogurt (ok, small portion) for breakfast!!!