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Wwyd - 12 month old doesnt eat

12 replies

Liland · 24/01/2020 15:23

My 12 month old - still suffers from CMPA and reflux, both under control with omeprazole and alfamino formula - doesn't really eat. He did not willingly drink milk until around 8 months old (every feed was while he was asleep), after his medical issues were resolved.

We were advised to wean early, but he gagged and projectile vomited on everything and anything, every time, until about 9 months old. Then he could manage purees, and has very recently stopped gagging on bread or melty puffs. He only eats puree at nursery - around half or one of those small jars worth per meal, anything and everything. He attends 3 mornings per week. He will not allow himself to be fed at home, nor will he use a pre loaded spoon at home. He will eat maybe 4 large melty puffs and chew on a bit of toasted sandwich/naan bread/toast/rusk if we're lucky. His preference is savoury over sweet. I eat most of my meals with him and snacks, so a huge variety of normal meals, fruit and veg, and share it all - hes happy to play, but it rarely gets to his mouth.

He's drinking around 850ml of milk a day, and water from a sippy cup himself during meals. I night weaned him only a week ago (he was still waking 3-4 times a night for 1-4oz of milk). He will not accept any food before his morning milk, but every other meal I'm pushing him to wait and try food first.

We are awaiting appointments at the dietician and the feeding therapy team. What would you do? I feel like he is capable, not scared of food (happy to be covered in it), but doesnt want to. DP and even the health visitor are leaning towards severely capping milk intake until he is hungry enough.

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ReallyLilyReally · 24/01/2020 17:54

Id side with your DP on this one - if your kid gets hungry enough, he'll eat. I think its understandable that he has issues with eating, given his medical history, but you need to nip these issues in the bud now or you'll have a nightmare on your hands as he gets bigger.

Liland · 24/01/2020 18:53

I'm trialling him on full days of nursery this week - he has been there since 5 months, originally on full days but we had to cut back to half days because he drinks no milk there at all, even now - in the hope that eating more meals there a day, it might encourage him to eat here.

You're right though, like the night weaning we need to get this sorted asap.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 26/01/2020 09:17

I had problems weaning my DS and it turned out he had tongue tie and a lot of what you've said is familiar. Have a read of this and see if any of it could be affecting his eating Smile

I would also cut back on his milk intake. At 12 months he only needs 300 ml a day and he's having almost 3 times that.

Liland · 26/01/2020 13:20

He doesnt have an obvious tie, certainly not at the front, and he has quite a large tongue that he can stick out down to his chin. That and the very fast check in hospital when he was born when they said no tie, meant I hadn't considered it. I'm seeing the dietician this week, I'll speak to them about it and see if we can have another check.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 26/01/2020 14:05

18 floz is a lot, it's almost twice what's recommended at this age and if he's sometimes having bottles at bight and an extra bottle in the day, I'm not surprised he's not hungry..

At night I'd try the Dr Jay Gordon's night weaning method. It is aimed at BFers but is very adaptable.

If he's eating milk first thing in the morning, could you give him a cup of milk along with his breakfast?

I'd still get him checked for tongue tie too Smile

Liland · 26/01/2020 15:17

Night weaning is going well, he's had no night milk for 9 days now :) He is furiously hungry first thing and explodes if I try to do breakfast before milk. I figure I'll tackle that meal last. He gets angry if there is milk in his cup...

I dont think I'm getting it across right, he will not take any breakfast at all, and wont eat more than a few puffs / a single toast finger. It takes him ages to chew a mouthful, but I guess he doesnt have much practice. He just gets bored or angry, no matter how much variety he's offered. He is happy when he's actively eating finger foods though, very smiley - until he's done that is.

Who do I see about tongue tie for a definite answer? Because I've checked photos online, and he shows no sign at all, so I'm assuming he needs to see someone expert at spotting it if it's there.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 26/01/2020 18:40

There is a list of Tongue Tie Practioners here. TT might not be obvious but if you've had a read of the link I posted earlier, and he's showing signs, it's definitely worth having it checked Smile

Liland · 26/01/2020 19:41

Thank you. Of course he has many symptoms, but they are symptoms of quite a few things. I'll work my way down that list, my closest seems to be only sub 1 month olds. Definitely need to get it checked.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 26/01/2020 19:56

My DS’ tt wasn’t picked up until later. He couldn’t/wouldn’t eat solids. Had terrible sleep and ended up having speech therapy.

Definitely worth getting it checked properly, if only to rule it out Smile

Liland · 27/01/2020 08:34

Thanks, I've contacted one of the practitioners now to see if she deals with older babies.

How did it go with your LO, when was it picked up, and what was it like after moving to 'normal' eating and sleeping?

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 27/01/2020 15:34

It wasn't until he was older. He eventually started eating solids properly at about 12 months and he slept through reliably from 5. That's years, sorry Thanks

Liland · 27/01/2020 17:18

I dont mind the sleep much, it's my new normal haha (not sure how q secondbaby would fit in though currently)! Even when dp keeps him overnight at the weekend, I wake up at regular intervals naturally now. I just want him to eat. The dietician today said we are doing everything we should be and to wait for the feeding therapy assessment for physical problems before making changes.

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