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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

at my wits end trying to wean a breastfed 7mth old who doesnt want to eat

6 replies

rollercoaster1 · 08/05/2009 12:25

has anyone any previous experience weaning an exclusively breastfed baby around 7 months? I started weaning at around 5.5mths due to increasing pressure from family and friends who insisted that as my DS has never slept through the night and wakes every 2 hours - he must be hungry! So for the last 6-8 weeks Ive been trying to wean. We started off well with baby rice and sweet potato but a few weeks in, he started crying as soon as he saw the spoon approaching, shakes his head and seals his mouth. Ive tried loads of different purees at various times of the day. He has had a few mouthfuls of porridge and sweet potato from time to time but thats about it. Also trying BLW as he likes picking up food (socks/toys/anything) and shoving it in his mouth himself but I cant see how hes getting any nourishment from it as most of it is puked up or gagged on and ends up on the floor. Have had some success with little buttered bits of toast. The HVs say to give him lumpier food now but we still havent got past the puree stage!! Meanwhile hes on the boob every hour-2hrs during the night so he must be hungry. Starting to get worried as every other baby I know seems to be eating everything in sight - none of them are breast fed though so Im not sure if that has anything to do with it. Im a first time mum and I read that by 6 months babies should be eating 3 mashed meals a day - Id be happy if he had 3 mouthfuls a day!! Help!

OP posts:
mrsblanc · 08/05/2009 12:35

tell your friends and family to butt out!
What do YOU want to do? Are you at yout wits end with the 2 hourly feeding or are you happy with it?
Is he a healthy baby ? use your eyes and ears to judge this - it does not require scales.

if you are happy with , go back to what you were doing, bf as much as your baby wants and keep introducing other foods occasionally. he will take them when he wants them.

my last baby was exclusively bf till 6m at which point I introduced solids. He was not very keen, so I just kept bf him. He started to appear to enjoy food other than bm at about 9 or 10 m, can't remember exactly - long time ago!

GOOD LUCK!

helenlouisey · 08/05/2009 12:43

Hi RollerCoaster, I had exactly the same problem, my DS is 7 months and also was not interested in the least, and also feeding 3 or 4 times a night, had some help from a friend who's a Nanny and we moved from feeding on demand to now feeding every 4 hours during the day and all of a sudden he started to take solids. I don't think he could be bothered with food as he knew a milk feed was just round the corner so why make the effort. I may be wrong but within 4 days of going to new schedule he started to eat, mind you his diet is limited and he's got a very sweet tooth and am struggling to get him to eat much savoury food, but that's another story

Not sure whether this might help at all but just wanted to share my experiences. Good Luck

Castiel · 08/05/2009 12:45

What do you want to do?

My dd was exactly the same fwiw but can't advise as I don't know what you want. Do you want reassurance or to change things?

Jojay · 08/05/2009 13:22

UIf I were you I would do everything I could to avoid mealtimes becoming a battle. it's one you will never win and it becomes really stressful for everyone involved.

If he's happier with finger food, go with that for now, and don't bother with purees / spoons. you can always try again in a few weeks if you want to give him porridge or yoghurt or similar, but stop now so he doesn't get a hang up about it.

Give him nice juicy fruit cut into finger shapes, that he can suck on and have a good chew - things like mango and melon go down well with my ds. Carry on with the toast if he likes that. you can spread it with philly, mashed banana or hummus to ring the changes.

After a day or two of that, start giving him veg, again chopped into finger shapes and steamed or roasted. Sweet potato, carrot, broccoli, baby corn, green beans are all good. You can offer him virtually anything at this stage, just give him a bit of whatever you're having, as long as it's low in salt, and no honey or whole peanut.

Keep bfeeding on demand for now, as his food intake increases he will cut back naturally. i know it's draining as mine feeds a lot too, but the end is in sight now, honestly!

Just keep it relaxed, follow his lead and don't try to force him to do something he clearly doesn't want to.

rollercoaster1 · 08/05/2009 16:57

cheers everyone, good to see it isnt unusual for babies not to want to eat at this stage. Think I will go down the finger food route for a bit as he does seem happier holding it himself and sucking on bits of this and that. Hopefully in time the amount eaten will increase and the amount on the floor decrease!! thanks for your support!

OP posts:
kazbeth · 08/05/2009 19:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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