Back to work -pumping question-7 month old not interested in food.

[DefNotYummyMummy]

I go back to work in 2 months. My baby isn't interested in food. She feeds on demand throughout the day. She will not eat puree. Her face crumples in tears when I approach with a spoon. Sometimes she'll eat a piece of bread or a chip or some asparagus or carrot, but on the whole she feeds multiple times a day.

This is my third and the others were not like this ! I don't want to leave her in distress at daycare. I'll leave her for 5.5 hours a day.

Should I just leave it as a lot can happen in 2 months in a child, and just see where we are there. After all I guess she'll get used to eating something if she's hungry enough.

Or do I hire a pump and start trying to get her to take a bottle ? None of my others were like this and never took bottles and so this is all new to me.

Any ideas ?

2 months is a long time

I went back to work when DD was 8 months and didn't have a bottle

She fed before work, when I came home and a dream feed

She ate like a horse in the day

Never pumped and am still breastfeeding and she is 16 months old

It's not uncommon for a 7 month old to not be interested in solid food - and certainly it is totally normal for her to be still having loads of breastmilk. At this age, milk satisfies most of their energy requirements and will do so for several months to come - the solid food is added on top.

Have you thought about going with a baby-led weaning approach? This is brilliant for babies who don't like purees (well, any babies actually) and is also a lot easier.

About going back to work, this is a common worry but most if not all find that one of two things happen:

1. Baby unexpectedly accepts a bottle on the day itself from their carer (what happened to me/DD)
2. Baby goes all day without a feed then tanks up when you get home! (as PP said)

I assume you've introduced a cup that is offered at meal times? If so, this will get her used to drinking from another receptacle.

Anyway, as others have said 2 months is a long time for a baby and 7 months really is nothing in weaning terms. Give 4/5 weeks and reassess.

I also agree with trying BLW and more finger foods. DD didn't have purees but now has porridge, weetabix and more spoon fed meals now (in some ways it feels like we've gone backwards). We've always given what we've had, but being winter there is more spoony foods rather than finger ones. Also it was a month or two before we switched to 3 meals, although she has always had toast in the mornings so the porridge/weetabix is just a addition to that. Fruit as snacks or dessert as always worked well for us. Oranges/melon etc. we just left the skin on, so she could hold them easily. As she had no teeth, she didn't eat the peel.

I'm waffling now, but try to chill :)

worse case, she doesn't eat in the day and feeds frequently in the night. In which DH gets all housework duties.