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BLW baby not eating at nursery

9 replies

peachgreen · 15/02/2019 13:01

We did baby-led weaning with my daughter (1) and she's pretty much always been a very good eater. She eats whatever we have - mostly with her fingers but she's just starting to get the hang of preloaded spoons. She is quite a slow eater - sometimes I have to convince her to get going with some fruit or something and then she'll eat everything, but it can take a while. However, she's not picky at all and very rarely rejects anything entirely.

She started nursery a few weeks ago and we've had a few problems. They'd not encountered BLW before and have struggled getting their heads around it. They kept trying to spoonfeed her (which she rejected entirely) and were baffled that she ate all her finger food snacks and fruit but continually rejected her lunch (which is often some kind of casserole or stew - I guess because it's easier to batch cook?). Obviously I'm not there to see what's happening but I suspect that a) they're not giving her food that she can really eat with her fingers or pre-loading her spoon and b) they're not leaving her for long enough to work away.

Am I being unreasonable to ask them to adapt the way they feed / serve her to accommodate BLW? I really don't want to be THAT MUM and I appreciate they have 8 other babies to feed some days, most of whom are spoonfed or old enough to use a spoon themselves without help. Thing is on the days when they've served something chunkier, she's eaten a lot better, so I do think it would make a difference. But equally she's not starving (she eats breakfast, a mid-morning snack, an afternoon snack and we give her dinner when she gets in) and I just don't know if it's out of order of me to expect them to take her eating style into consideration.

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waterrat · 15/02/2019 13:28

Are you sure she wouldn't be able to learn to use a spoon?

I did BLW mixed with spoons and I think I remember my daughter being quite keen on using a spoon by about 1 in a messy sort of way.

I think its good to encourage chlidren to be flexible but I have to say I think they are a bit backward in expecting to fully spoon feed a baby of 1 - surely they must have heard of allowing babies to feed themselves?

Try not to get too bothered about it though - she will be using a spoon pretty soon and you could probably help her learn to do it at home...

peachgreen · 15/02/2019 14:06

Yeah, we are practicing with spoons at home - she's not that fussed, would far rather use her fingers but I have been trying to encourage her. I guess I'll just persevere with that and hope she picks it up well enough to do it at nursery. I really don't want to make a fuss about it because I'm pretty happy with everything otherwise and she's settled well besides the eating (and napping...!).

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DameSylvieKrin · 15/02/2019 14:15

We did BLW with my DD (15mo) and she also struggled when starting nursery last month as they serve a lot of things she can’t eat with her hands. She has just cracked the spoon but 12 months seems a bit early to learn that.
BLW is great but with my second I’m planning to also spoon feed him something, either a part of a meal or a snack, each day to keep him used to it. My daughter has bronchitis at the moment and getting medicine down her is a nightmare because she’s not used to being spoonfed. I have to put it in a shot glass and she drinks it but only when she’s in the mood.

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InDubiousBattle · 15/02/2019 14:24

Have you spoken to them about it other than for them to say she's not eaten? BLW is pretty mainstream now and i'd be amazed if they hadn't heard of it at all.

peachgreen · 15/02/2019 14:32

@InDubiousBattle Yes, I have - they had heard of it but had just never had a baby who had actually done it before! I live in Northern Ireland where it's a bit less popular, I think - my HV hadn't encountered it before either (though she knew what it was). I was very surprised too.

@DameSylvieKrin What did you do in the end? Just kept persevering with the spoon and accepted that she wasn't going to eat much until then? Or did you ask them to consider it when prepping her food?

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DameSylvieKrin · 15/02/2019 20:27

She only goes to nursery in the morning and is picked up immediately after lunch so this won’t help, I’m afraid, but I would have a meal ready to feed her when we got home before her nap.

gt84 · 15/02/2019 20:33

If you are worrried she’s not eating enough, would you consider providing the nursery with some meals she can eat for a while until she is able to use a spoon?
As you say, if they have 8 other babies then they might not be able to accommodate BLW

peachgreen · 15/02/2019 20:39

@gt84 Yes absolutely, if it comes to that although we already provide breakfast (as she's dairy free so can't have cereal or porridge) so it's a bit frustrating to be paying for 2 meals and not getting any! But I absolutely will if necessary. She eats a good dinner when she gets home so I guess she's not starving!

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Greaterthanthesumoftheparts · 15/02/2019 20:43

I’m amazed they can’t do something to accomodate. We have done purées as do our nursery but they always give him table foods to eat with his hands once he’s done with his purées. Today he’s had (in addition to purée) polenta, cheese, apple and cake.
Yesterday he had rice and pasta, another day pizza. There is a lot they can do without always doing something sloppy that she can’t manage IMO.

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