Difficulties weaning - 7-months old

[Akindyni79]

Hello all,

I need some practical advice from any if you that have had the same problem. My daughter is 7 months old and I started weaning her at 5 months. Since then there has been no progress. There a revert few the times that I have actually managed to get her to have more than a couple of spoonfuls of whatever was on the plate. I have tries different flavours, food in different temperatures, different consistency, different spoons, different sitting positions. As soon as she sees a spoon she seals her mouth. She was on 5 bottles of 240ml and the HV told that it is too much and that's why she is not eating. I have cut down and as a result she is cranky and hungry. She has list some weight, but because she is on the 75th percentile I was told bot to worry, as there is room for her to drop further. I am really bit keen on the idea, but I am trying everything. I was also told that her iron may be low because she is only drinking milk. I am really desperate. I have even considered that my daughter will just have to be bottle-fed for ever!!!! That's how desperate I am.

Any ideas/tips?

Thanks,

Nstasha

A couple of things.

My DD hated the spoon so I just gave up. I gave her pieces of food that were easy for her to pick up and mash with her gums and let her get on with it. Letting babies feed themselves this way is no problem and many people think is preferable to spoons and purees. Research 'baby led weaning'.

Secondly, even taking this finger food approach that my DD preferred, it was still several long months before she was eating in any great quantity. I started her on food at 24 weeks and I would say she was 9 months before she started eating much - and some days it still isn't much. This is fine - there is a phrase, food is for fun before they're one. They are still getting their calories and nutrition from milk - whether breastmilk or formula, it is sufficient for their needs.

I am no health visitor or doctor but I didn't reduce my baby's milk until she seemed to be ready (wasn't finishing her bottles). She is 11 months old and still has three - four bottles a day, as well as her three meals and a snack. If she were hungry I would give her the milk that she wanted no question.

What I did do was start (once she had got the idea of food) to offer food before milk - at times when she was slightly hungry, but not desperately so. I found soft, nourishing foods she liked (avocado, banana) through trial and error and built up her appetite and understanding of food by giving her those familiar things when she was hungry. A mix of familiar favourites and new tastes every day has worked for us.

You sound stressed and upset and that's no wonder - I think the advice you have been given is upsetting you as much as your daughter's lack of interest in food. I would say relax, try to enjoy it, think of things that you think she might like, look at the weaning boards on here, and let her go at her own pace for the next few months. She will pick up on your stress otherwise, and that will be a much bigger problem in the long term.

Good luck.

Am sure that people with more expertise will come along soon... But did just want to say that 7 months is still very young, and they do talk about how food is meant to be 'just for fun until they're one' (well, plus some iron and B12 etc! But calories are less important). Lots of babies have only just started at 6 months and will only be managing a teaspoon or two at 7 months, without problems for later.

My DS also hates being fed - we were told to start weaning him early for medical reasons at 4.5 months, but he just wasn't ready, and now at 6 months he is enjoying his finger foods and occasional spoon feeding but still not taking in big quantities.

Thank you both. I was very relaxed about all this until I was put under pressure by the HV that she will start being low on iron and I have to make her eat. I was following the saying that food for the first year is for fun, until I was given the impression that she should by now be eating. There are a lot of mixed messages. They tell us to start at 6 months, but then they expect that by 7 months to have then eating properly. I will keep trying and will try not to worry too much. I will definitely keep giving her milk. What I have done a couple of times is for one meal in the day, dilute some kind of fruit or vegetable purée and she was happy drinking that, so I believe it's not a matter of tastes, but it's the whole idea if being fed or eating by herself.

Oh just ignore your HV- another duff one!! Milk needs to be the main source of nutrition until the age of one. Formula is fortified with iron. Admittedly it's not as bioavailable in milk products but really, I doubt she is at risk of anaemia.

Instead of purees o a spoon, you can just give her finger food. Did the HV not even mention this?? Dearie me.

The absolute worst thing to do is to try and force, cadjole, persuade a child to eat. No pressure, no expectation is the way to go.

Don't let under-informed, out-of-date health bods undermine your motherly instinct :)