9 month old ate gone off baby food

[TarynTanisha]

Hi there. I'm new to Mumsnet so bear with me please.

My daughter has recently turned 9 months old and I can't get her back into solids since she ate spoiled baby yoghurt (it still had 6 months until it expired)

I went through a whole investigation with the baby food company, (2 weeks long) as it made my daughter violently sick and gave her diarrhoea for days. She ate it on the Monday and wouldn't try to eat anything again until the Saturday. They found a microscopic hole underneath the funnel on the pouch but said all bacteria levels were safe. I had her stool tested so that I could confirm or dispute their findings. I spoke to a condescending and dismissive woman who viewed me as a nuisance. She wasn't interested in how my daughter was doing she just wanted to make sure they weren't accountable. She also tried to tell me that it couldn't have been the yoghurt "maybe she was ill with something else". I knew it wasn't possible as she hadn't mixed with anyone other than the household who were healthy and she'd only had her normal things to eat or breastmilk. Plus she hadn't had any adverse reactions to anything else apart from that yoghurt. She heaved when I first gave it her and i thought that was really strange but I trusted the product that much that I just thought she was being fussy. I tried it myself and couldn't see anything wrong with it at first. I tried it again and realised it was putrid and then the vomiting started 30 minutes later.

I never got an apology from that woman only someone who worked at the reception but she was careful how she worded it so it wasn't really an apology for baby food making my daughter ill.

In the weeks since she hasn't had the same appetite she use to. She refused to eat at all to begin with. She would only take breastmilk but less than usual. Before this she was eating breakfast, lunch and dinner but now she picks and chooses when and what she'll eat. She'll eat sweet solids mostly but will also try savoury solids mixed with sweet and some savoury dinners I make for her. I feel like she's gone back a stage. It's frustrating because I want her to be eating a wide variety of nuintrious food but if she tries it and isn't keen, she'll just turn her head and refuse to eat. She won't eat any 7+ months meals if they're a little more than textured. So I'm feeding her organic 6+ months. Some days she'll eat a lot of one meal and I could give it her the next day and she won't eat any.

I'm so furious with the baby food brand. They've affected her emotionally and physically and I'm stuck on what to do next.
I'll persevere and try with other brands and maybe stick to smoother textures until she's eating properly again but does anyone else have any suggestions?

Also I'm not satisfied with the baby food brand. They pushed a goodwill gesture on to me which I said I didn't want but they insisted on sending something. So I received a cookbook and £25 John Lewis vouchers which I'm not satisfied with. It's not about the compensation, I just feel like I've been given there standard reponse to an unhappy customer. She was ill for days and they haven't taken her health seriously. I told them that even if the bacteria levels were safe. Feeding an 8 month old baby spoiled yoghurt is still highly likely to make that child ill- which it did. I had some and I was fine and that's the difference. They made my daughter really poorly and won't apologise. The customer service has been terrible as well, I've been made to feel like I'm in the wrong.

I want them to take my daughter seriously but is it worth purusing? Should I be happy with their 'goodwill gesture'?!

I understand that mistakes can happen but nobody wants to accept blame. If they'd treated me with respect and given my daughter something other than the standard geature then that would have been something. My daughter has been ill but for no apparent reason according to them. I hope I don't sound greedy. It's not my intention to "see what I can get" I just want something that shows they've taken what happened to my daughter seriously so it won't happen again.

Please help and be honest. Should I just be happy with what I've received? What should I do about my daughters eating?

Thanks

I don't know what else you expect them to do and from their testing there is no proof that the yoghurt was to blame.

Maybe give food you make yourself that you know hasn't been sitting on a shelf for months as at 9 months your lo can have just about anything except honey and whole nuts.

In the nicest possible way I think you need to move on. It's unlikely they will do anything else, and I'm not sure what they could do anyway. I don't understand what yoghurt could have 6 months left on its date, so maybe we're at cross purposes here. But I would suggest trying to relax about the whole weaning thing. Your daughter is probably picking up on your (maybe understandable) anxiety about food now.

My ds1 was ill after some fish pie I made him at about 14months (still not sure what the problem was). It put him off fish pie for a good long while and he ate very little for a few days. But he got back to normal eating again - it can take a while for their tummies to recover. He now eats like a horse.

I would suggest just going with the flow. Give your daughter a variety of foods and try not to worry if she's eating much or not. Assuming she's still having milk feeds at the moment she doesn't need to eat much at this stage. I realise it feels like she's 'gone back a stage' but really in the grand scheme of things it won't matter as she gets older.

Thank you for your responses. I think I needed to vent more than anything. Now from a calmer point of view and can see that even if they accepted the yoghurt caused her to be unwell, it's not going to change anything now.

The yoghurt is a long life Greek style baby yoghurt that comes in a pouch. (it's not kept in the fridge)

Well I hope the vent helps you to enjoy weaning your daughter. It's a lovely stage and can be lots of fun. Good luck from now on!

Would changing what you give her help? Maybe just finger foods for a while- no more pouches for a bit (though I appreciate they are so useful- especially when going out)

I agree that your levels of anxiety are probably affecting your DD more than the yoghurt did long term. I understand it was upsetting and frustrating but your DD will be fine and there's not much the company can do.
Try to relax your DD is getting what she needs from your milk and I'm sure in time she'll be back to eating normally. Babies can be fussy my DD loved bananas yet started refusing them around 9 months and won't touch them still.
Go with the flow and enjoy your DD

If it makes you feel any better, my DD whom is 9 months has suddenly come from being someone who would eat loads of anything, and for no apparent reason now, refuses nearly everything. I'm not negating that your daughter wasn't unwell, but I think it is also a normal step for food to become a bit more of a challenge either because of things like teething or them exerting control (feeding themselves). Speaking to friends/family they have just recommended to me to keep trying different things and try not to make meal times a battle as they will pick up on your emotions. It will pass (apparently!) Good luck and I hope things get better.

I think you just want them to accept the mistake and apologise. More than the goodwill gesture, you want someone to acknowledge you and your daughter and say sorry. Totally get that.

Ella's kitchen do Greek yoghurt with long shelf life. My little one doesn't get on with any baby stuff. We just cook things like we eat. At the moment he's living on porridge! Proper porridge not the baby stuff.

My first one choked during mealtime once, put him off eating for months. It's a slow and steady process and getting confidence back up is key. If you go back a few months, don't worry. The weaning police aren't coming to get you. It's all a guide anyway. Follow your baby and her cues. She's had a awful time with d and v poor thing.

Good luck x