Baby dehydrated and droppng percentiles

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

I've posted previously and getting increasingly desperate!! Back to work in a month and my 11 month old only eats 1 oz solids 3 times a day if lucky. I cut out both b f s during day but now she just feeda all night. At a total loss now as she won't really take bottle. Will take water from beaker and bit of formula but don't think she's having enough as she now has sunken Fontainelle.
Totally at a loss. Doc said re introduce one b f but then I'm concerned what she'll do at nursery. This probably doesn't make any sense - too tired. But posting anyway just incase!

[callamia]

Do carry on breastfeeding. My son was 11m whine he started nursery and was feeding two or three times during the day. He still sometimes does on days he's not at nursery. He caught on pretty quick to how nursery worked. I sent him with expressed milk that he sometimes took in his cup, and there was always water available. He copied other children, and now generally eats well at nursery (often better than he does at home).

Don't worry about breastfeeding with you causing a problem for nursery - it's more important that he feeds at all. He will learn how to be at nursery, and it will likely to be easier because you're not there to remind him how lovely milk is. DS did take some pretty long feeds when I picked him up, but that stopped fairly quickly.

[mummypig3]

Hi do you mean she only eats one mouthful at mealtimes? My ds was like this til he turned one and then decided to eat food. He just wasn't interested before then. I let him breastfeed on demand and still do. He's almost 2 now and eats fine. Has she dropped more than one centile?

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Thanks both. Sorry 1 ounce of food that was supposed to say. She was born on 50 th percentile 2 weeks late then dropped to 25th from 6 -9 months. Now since dropping the two day time feeds in the last month she's dropped to 9 th percentile. So I've basically been starving her. Was ts to drop by HV to encourage to eat solids but now she just holds out til bed time feed and feeds more often at night ( so sleeps less).
So maybe I just need to totally back track and just hope she's ok at nursery. I really don't want to have to exoress at work as its too hectic there. Thanks for your comments. Feeling do lost right now. :-(

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

What kind of things is she eating?

[EmbarrassedPossessed]

I would also suggest carrying on with daytime breastfeeds. They adjust remarkably well to nursery - you may find she eats more and drinks more water there. The peer pressure of a group mealtime seems to really help.

What would she do if you let her self feed her food using her hands?

[addictedtosugar]

I'd start uping the bf's again, and get her past this dehydration.

Nursery is a completely different place - and you wouldn't be there. After all, if I was being offered something second rate, and the best stuff was in sight, I'd want the best (ie BM from source). So deal with that after she starts nursery.

[mummypig3]

The most calorific thing you can give her is breastmilk, which is also hydrating. I would just let her feed as much as she wants before and after nursery, and offer some snacks of finger food

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Haha! Thanks addicted to sugar. That's such a good way to think about it. Ok think ill add the mid morning feed back first to build my milk back up. Guess it's more shifting times of day than building back up but guess she has been having less as too tired at night to stay awake for it. Will my body still be able to up the milk or will o need frnugreek or something ? Tried it in early days and seemed to work.
Thanks all for your comments.

[callamia]

I think by now, you supply should be pretty much supply and demand - it shouldn't take long to produce what your daughter wants - especially if she is night-feeding.

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Thanks ??just having a little cry now about how I'm going to function at work at this rate with the lack of sleep. She's never been a great sleeper and now it's even worse. I just keep reminding myself of all the other mummies out there doing it. Hopefully she'll aleep for a couple of hours now bless her.

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

yellowsnownoteatwillyou - She'll eat stage 2 type blitzed up things like spaghetti Bol, chicken stew etc. Doesn't like jar stuff. Eats some finger foods fruit etc, chews on toast and biscuits and will eat cream cheese in decent ish amounts. So she likes quite a few different things but won't have much - thought cutting back b f would make her eaT more but she's just held our to feed at night having a bit of water and formula during day ( like no more than 40ml of each). Knew this baby malarkey would be hard but it's soooo much harder than I anticipated!!

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Hey! No fair. You've all gone to sleep! (Oh dear, just entertaining myself really while she goes from one boob to the other). I hope you are all asleep really! ;-)
Xx

[anothernumberone]

Hi I am seeing this now and still awake. I would highly recommend a book from Carlos Gonzalez called My Child Won't Eat it is a really fantastic and reassuring read. I must admit I never weighed my bf ds i think it can be stressful and we had tt issues. I used his overall demeanour as my guide. When he had his last check up he was low in the centiles but he is a very healthy little man. I put up 3 sides of the cot by the bed so I had my own space to sleep but basically co slept. I needed my elbow room though.

[zinher]

Hi I am in the exact same boat. Baby is 10 months and is just not interested in food. I have tried to limit bf but she won't eat much. I end up feeding her anyway.

I have been trying different finger foods like potato wedges, fruit, bread, she just isn't interested.

Also not drinking anything out of cup or bottle. She just takes a tiny sip. I have tried sippy cups, doidy, normal cups, the one with silicone spouts. Am really at a loss.

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Oh yes. Have heard of that book. Have a note to buy it but like many of my other notes haven't done anything about it. What does tt mean again? Will look it up. Thanks for your advice. X

[zinher]

TT is tongue tie I think

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Hi Zinher, yep sounds same but my dd does drink from her beaker quite well. Just keep offering the same one maybe - that's what we did and she got it eventually. It's so hard isn't it? Feel like I've let her down. :-(

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Right. About to put her down for maybe 7th /8th time tonight so praying to the gods of sleep for a 2 hour sleep to take the edge off! Good luck sleeping everyone!! Xxx

[zinher]

Is it worth it persisting with a bottle now? Or should I ditch it altogether. I am going to try to stick to one cup. But which one? She dsnt bother with any.
I also feel I have made it very difficult for her as I was very pro nothing but bf and now she just won't accept anything else.
Will hang around here. Hope to pick up some tips.

[zinher]

Happy dreams.

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Now I can't sleep. Feeling cold guess just over tired. Yes I was similar with b f and yes now we're back tracking too and trying bottles again in hope of her taking more. Beaker is a hard fat spout cheapie from Waitrose- didn't really bother with more nipple like ones and she got used to it in the end. I also give sips from a small open cup with wAter. Right she seems to finally be down. Vom gonna try! Zzzzz. Xx

[dancingwitch]

My DD was similar 4yrs ago. It was so frustrating. I finally went back to work at 14mths which was when DD started nursery. Although she took a bottle at nursery and seemed to eat all of her food, she was still feeding twice in the night as well as a 7pm and 6am feed. After about two weeks at work, I realised I just needed more sleep so got much more ruthless about it. I knew that, at that age, she could go longer between feeds and that her nutritional needs could be met from other sources. We dropped the 11pm feed quite quickly meaning that she then woke at 2am (it had previously been at about 3.30am) when she was given a bottle of cows milk and jt was up to her whether she took it or not. I continued to give her her 7pm and 7am feed for the next couple of months plus the odd top up on the days I was at home if she wanted it.
DC2 was utterly different. Would happily take a bottle from a few months old and actually opened his mouth when I started offering him food and was always trying to grab food, unlike DD who used to sit in her highchair under sufferance looking very glum.

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Thanks dancing witch. Feel like I've done the ruthless bit and its backfired massively now shes dropped percentiles and is dehydrated. But yes, sure I'll have to do the same as you did if she starts eating at nursery ( fingers crossed she will). Very worried about how I'll functipn at work if she's still saving all the feeding for night time!!

[WTFISGOINGONWITHISBABY]

Oops. I think the emoticon sums it up. Can't function now. Let alone at work. Tho she did finally sleep for a 3 hr 40 min chunk last night. Yay !! :-)

[codandchipstwice]

My son had a medical problem which meant he was bf only when he went to nursery. Would just have water and odd bit of fruit but would feed hourly at night. I was tired but managed as did he, so even if I'm worst case scenario it is survivable and will pass.

I would recommend trying not to adjust to what might happen at nursery and instead do what works for you now. I think they are far more adaptable than us.

Good luck