Breast fed wont eat much even at 22 months

[grannymurray]

I breast feed pretty much on demand. My problem is even though he is 22 months he doesnt eat very much. I sometimes feel he exists om my milk alone. I have been told that I am depriving him of essential vitamins. What should I do?

My 18 month old eat lots some days, and only tiny amounts other days. She still drinks lots of cow's milk.

Does your DS seem healthy in himself? How often do you feed him in a day? I'm no expert, but I don't think by breastfeeding you are depriving him - surely it's the opposite? you are giving him lots of extra goodness from your breastmilk.

i also had this problem, notice it was ME who had the problem, not ds. he was fine eating small amounts and getting as much breastmilk as he wanted/needed. i dragged him along to see the hv a few times, only for her to tell me each time, "stop worrying!" he'll get all he needs from the breastmilk and the little he does eat. if he's starving, he'll soon let you know! just make sure the food he does eat is nutritious as possible, not always easy with picky toddlers though i understand! if your ds doesn't eat fruit, smoothies are a great way to get it into him (or maybe thats just my ds). don't worry and you arn't depriving him of anything, quite the opposite!

forgot to say my ds is almost 21 months old

My ds is 18mths and bf on demand. He has never had a massive appetite for solids compared so some of his peers. Some days he'll eat next to nothing, other days he'll eat loads. I agree with the others - as long as what you do offer is healthy and nutritious then I am sure he will get what he needs. You might find this helpful

Sorry, but this is a worry - of course it is fine to breastfeed for as long as you and your baby want to, but at 22 months, solids are an important source of iron as well as extra calories which toddlers need.

It's not the presence of breastmilk that's a problem, but the absence of other things, especially iron.

Your HV should be able to help with suggestions - the solids he does have should be calorie-dense and iron rich. This would include things like apricots (though too many dried ones is not good for teeth), egg (try hard boiled as finger food), toast and breadsticks with butter, lentils, meat.

It's not good for a toddler of this age to exist on breastmilk alone - it's wonderful stuff, but not that wonderful!!

Granny - have you tried varying the food you give him ? Toddlers can be quite picky. My DS (27 months and still bf a few times a day) has gone from loving almost all fruit and veg, to only eating apples and carrots. He won't touch any other fruit or veg at the moment not even bananas which he loved as a baby. I am told this is normal, they do getter pickier as they get older.

Just be patient and persistent. Offer different things every day and you may evenatually find out what it is he will eat. Also don't give him so much bm or water/juice at meal times that he becomes too full for food. I agree that it is really important to give him lots of protein, iron and vits at this age, but the natural way is best. I wouldn't go down the artifical supplement route unless he is seriously deficient.

When you say "doesn't eat very much", what sort of quantities (and types of food) are you talking about?