She has decided not to eat !

[geegeesmum]

My 8 month dd has decided to boycott solids and only wants breastmilk and apple puree (for 4 month olds!!). I put her onto solids at 6 months as we have allergies in the family and she initially took to it very well and was eating loads including brocoli and courgettes. Altho i have still been cautious with introducing new stuff and have only just introduced porridge which she wont take...hasnt had dairy yet.

Last week we tried chicken which she wolfed down and promptly vomited it all up - which i put down to me overloading her system with protein ! Since then she has had a bit of diariah ?? (can never spell it) and a low grade fever (although only for a day or so) and has been the fussy eater from hell - she's just after b/milk and apple puree. I am desperate as we are off to SA in 2 weeks and I just know my MIL is going to be raising her eyebrows at me as she wanted me to put dd onto rice at 3 months !

Has anybody else had this problem.....I suspect maybe teething but I cant get a look at her gums she just clamps down when i try to stick my finger in. Have just gone and bought a whole lot of Boots jars becos i am tired of making up food and then discarding ! Also thought she might be bored with the old stuff she was getting, so tried heinz cottage pie which i thought was quite yummy - well she wasnt having any of it !!! Will try yogurt tomorrow.

HELP....any ideas or similar experience !

It could well be teething. My ds behaved in exactly the same way at the same age, and it was only after the teeth came through and he started wolfing everything down again, that I realised I could have saved myself and him a lot of angst by just 'going with the flow'.

My advice would be to let her eat what she wants - within reason, don't try 'bribing' her with goodies - and have lots of bm. Offer her food, including finger-food, at every meal or snack time, but don't make a special effort to cook for her if it upsets you.

When she's ready she'll eat. But if you're concerned, or if she seems dehydrated, or if the fever continues, take her to the doctor. Isn't it awkward when children get off-colour at the end of the week, and you have to decide whether to go to the doctor now or wait until after the weekend?!

And as for MIL - let her eyebrows go up, right up over her head and down the back of her neck! Our knowledge of how food affects babies has advanced since her day, and in any case she's your daughter!

every now and then ds goes off his food (now 14 months)and it's usually teething or the start of a cold or sore throat - I'd advise just going with it and not making a fuss and she'll probably be back to normal in no time, but as boyandgirl says, keep an eye out for any 'illness' symptoms - we've missed a bad sore throat due to me thinking it was teething before now.
ignore mil!!

morocco, I wonder if this is what's up with my 14 month daughter. This week she's been pretty weird, almost like she's 'depressed.' I mean she's been quiet and withdrawn, not her chatty self, and not really interracting with us at all. She's got no fever or sneezes or ear rubbing etc. But she's eating virtually nothing, I'm not exagerrating, she's having no solids at all and only drinking about half her normal milk. In the highchair she just sort of slumps with her head on one side. There are 2 bottom teeth almost through but she's never been like this with other teeth. I feel taking her to the g.p. might be a waste of time as she's not really 'ill' as such. Sorry, geegeesmum, this isn't really an answer to your problem at all.

well she seems to have a cold now - but this may be an allergic reaction to one of the zillion different jars i tried on her yesterday as her face feels a bit rough too and she has some spots on her tummy - like excema ! dont know if i am coming or going now wrt weaning and what she can/cant have. have decided to take advice a chill out a bit....and cut out the lumpy food ...think this may also be the problem as she still loves apple pureee and a little bit of carrot or butternut.

i am just worried that at 8 months she should be eating more textured food ! am starting to regret taking advice to only put onto solids at 6 months !!

well she seems to have a cold now - but this may be an allergic reaction to one of the zillion different jars i tried on her yesterday as her face feels a bit rough too and she has some spots on her tummy - like excema ! dont know if i am coming or going now wrt weaning and what she can/cant have. have decided to take advice a chill out a bit....and cut out the lumpy food ...think this may also be the problem as she still loves apple pureee and a little bit of carrot or butternut.

i am just worried that at 8 months she should be eating more textured food ! am starting to regret taking advice to only put onto solids at 6 months !!

I wouldn't worry too much about the textures yet. dd had reflux and couldn't handle lumps until almost a year when she helped herself to a biscuit from my dessert. Keep offering a variety and one day she'll surprise you. ie. a puree with soft bits of veg on the side or breadsticks for her to suck on.

I used to try to introduce only one new ingredient at a time, even in jars. The Boots ones which contained fennel were a hit with ds especially when he was teething. You could always buy lumpier jars and mash/blend them a bit, gradually making them less smooth. In a few months time the weaning at 6 months won't make any difference in eating to those weaned earlier.

Hi

Appetite still not back - only drinking BM and eating apple puree and yogurt and gnawing on a bit of rusk......its been almost 3 weeks now. How long does/can this teething "loss of appetite" last. She is still recovering from a bad cold with cough btw as well. I think i can fel something sharp on her gums and she is certainly biting everything and dribbling lots !! Poor thing - I am trying to relax about it, but can't help thinking that 3 weeks is a long time - is she just being fussy about eating veg or is it concievable that it can take so long ???

geegesmum
my dd can go for days on crackers! shes 14mths, and gave up sampling food in august aged 10mths
every so often she nibble but mostly shes terribly.
dont worry about your little one, they can have long phases of not eating, as numerous mumsnetters will tell you.
i get upset over my dd everyday and then unwind 20mins later when i see the energy she has.
as i was advised, keep trying, oh and my dd likes finger food, yours might be a bit young (cant remember!), but mine likes to do it herself except her weetabix in the morn i can feed her that.

geegesmum
my dd can go for days on crackers! shes 14mths, and gave up sampling food in august aged 10mths
every so often she nibble but mostly shes terribly.
dont worry about your little one, they can have long phases of not eating, as numerous mumsnetters will tell you.
i get upset over my dd everyday and then unwind 20mins later when i see the energy she has.
as i was advised, keep trying, oh and my dd likes finger food, yours might be a bit young (cant remember!), but mine likes to do it herself except her weetabix in the morn i can feed her that.

Like hermykne, my 14 month daughter is a nightmare to feed. Like yours she started well and I did everything 'by the book' but it all went wrong around 9 months when she seemed to go off everything all in one go! I worry myself silly but also like hermykne I realise that she's got energy and is bright etc. so it must just be the way she is. Having a cold definitely makes things worse. My daughter's had a stinker of a cold for about 2 weeks now and has barely eaten or drank a thing. it is worrying about how they actually keep going on so little sometimes. But they do.

P.S. have a look at my 'check this out for crap food intake' thread a few lines down.

Thanks everyone - I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one out there having a battle ! It seems that friends babies just eat anything and everything - but then as you say my dd is just as bright and energetic as those babies that do eat so maybe she just needs less fuel !

Am wondering if the fact that I am still b/f and did exclusively till 6 months has anything to do with the reluctance to eat much ? Am hoping that the cold will go away soon before we fly to SA on Wednesday otherwise it could be an interesting flight for all concerned incl fellow passengers !