Loss of appetite 9 month old

[Tomlettegregg]

We introduced solids and water 3 months ago. Bub was having 4 bottles a day and mostly finishing them. She took to purees well (fruit and veg mostly) and has been quite interested in baby led weaning solids (especially rice cakes, bread cheese and apple slices).

But for the last week she's been refusing most food and drinking about half her milk. I do think she's had a bit of a cold. Snotty nose and wheezing a bit at night. Plus her first tooth but I'm really concerned. She's already hovering on the 5-10 percentile and has been since birth.

Any advice?

My wee one went like that when she was teething but I usto give her Ashton parson powder and calpol in the morning when she got up before giving her breakfast shes only 7 months old she only takes about 18 oz of bottle a day but she's on three meals a day x

Mine always goes off food when she’s got a cold, usually improves again once it’s passed.

Could you make sure that the foods you do offer are high calorie? Maybe fewer rice cakes as they’re mostly air and more cheese / yogurt? Will she eat pasta? That’s usually popular with my DD

We try pasta but she hates it. Same with yoghurt. Absolutely loves cheese so we have that every day. I've tried mashed potato too which she used to have no bother but now she's refusing all purees. We use the rice cakes as a vehicle for high calorie toppings like peanut butter or avo or cacao spread but she often rejects that too. She is eating the pouches of chicken and vegetables but I know you're not meant to get them too used to pouches...

If she's wheezing at night she needs seeing by a Doctor. I'd call 111.

Could be just the cold and the tooth but obvs see HV if you're worried! Definitely up the unsalted butter and pour in the cream wherever you can. At 9 months mine were just on 3 milk feeds a day- I know you mention she's off her milk too, but once she's better think about whether she's too full of milk to be more interested in food?

Ditto agree with above re rice cakes, there are more calorie rich ways to get toppings in a 9 month old they can feed themselves, eg oaty pancakes, potato cakes, Yorkshire puds :-) is it any pasta she doesn't like, by any method? Mine loved feeding themselves spaghetti at this age, and gnocchi with butter and spinach, loved different pasta shapes but farfelle seemed easiest to pick up.

Ours normally eats like a horse except when teething her appetite reduces, and soft foods go down best. If it's that, maybe try tinned fruit, weetabix, omelette, fish, well cooked pasta? And cold cucumber to help numb teeth? Hope yours gets back to eating normally soon.

Thank you. Great tips. We are effectively on 3 milks in terms of quantity but just spread over 4 feeds. I will definitely try and cut back. She was sleeping through without a milk feed from 8 months but because she's been so unsettled I ended up offering her milk again twice last night. I'm not the most confident cook and when I have made "real" meals like an omelette she'll eat almost none of it which puts me off trying again. Will test spaghetti and do a boiled egg as she likes the yolk.

Once she's 10 months she only needs 400 ml or 13.5 floz of formula a day.

I'd drop a bottle now to see if it improves her appetite for solids.

Obviously though, if she's not well try Calpol, Teething Gel and her favourite foods for a few days.

Also I'm British and live in Australia and because of the heat here most babies seem to live off very water dense foods hence all the fruit and its the same for adults hence lots of fish and salad.

I don't actually know how to make things like Yorkshire puddings and oaty pancakes and potato cakes. Any recipes would be gratefully received.

Also when do I do the meals? Shes typically had a bottle at 6, 10, 2 and 6 and I try and give food at 7, 11, (snack) and 5 for a semi breakfast lunch and dinner. Should I just replace the 10 milk with a big lunch to get her to 3 bottles?

The link I posted @Tomlettegregg has sample menus and portion sizes.

I was like you and wasn't a very confident cook but I had to sort learn pretty quickly when I had my first

Oh that's such a helpful doc. Thank you.

One thing - some of those recipes have whole milk but I thought you weren't supposed to give babies milk before the 12 month mark (World Health Organisation).

I usually give my wee one toast or porridge in the morning then give her milk after it and same with lunch and dinner and she takes it better that way x

@Tomlettegregg

One thing - some of those recipes have whole milk but I thought you weren't supposed to give babies milk before the 12 month mark (World Health Organisation).

Cooked whole milk is fine from 6 months- it's just not to be given as a drink until 12 months. Ditto I was always such an awful cook- still am! Google is my friend... these sorts of things were great for us as easy to adapt/add things to suit the whole family.

That link above is great!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-yorkshire-puddings/amp

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/banana-oat-pancakes

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/potato-pancakes

This book has helped me loads, used for all my kids: www.wob.com/en-gb/books/bridget-wardley/big-book-of-recipes-for-babies-toddlers-children/9781844830367?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5aWOBhDMARIsAIXLlkcpGtRJnFP2F6NvZhURgktWvtAyPWE0ucSyY0p6atLI7Ba0zZcWa_MaAqAREALw_wcB

Amazing thanks all. Do wish me luck. I feel like I can't stop feeding her milk in the night when it settles her and I know she hasn't eaten much in the day.

One thing - some of those recipes have whole milk but I thought you weren't supposed to give babies milk before the 12 month mark (World Health Organisation.

Just not as their main drink so it's fine to add to mashed potatoes or to give them porridge made with whole milk. I can remember being similarly confused with it when I was weaning DC1

@Tomlettegregg

Also I'm British and live in Australia and because of the heat here most babies seem to live off very water dense foods hence all the fruit and its the same for adults hence lots of fish and salad.

I don't actually know how to make things like Yorkshire puddings and oaty pancakes and potato cakes. Any recipes would be gratefully received.

Also when do I do the meals? Shes typically had a bottle at 6, 10, 2 and 6 and I try and give food at 7, 11, (snack) and 5 for a semi breakfast lunch and dinner. Should I just replace the 10 milk with a big lunch to get her to 3 bottles?

If she's having 3 meals a day I would just go straight on to milky breakfast in the mornings, and offer whatever milk is left over as a drink.

Eg 4oz milk with 2.5 heaped tablespoons of Ready Brek and into the microwave, a few frozen berries straight in will make it the instant perfect temperature. Then the remaining ounces of milk in a cup to drink.

10am milk feed as normal, lunch about 11.30 then a nap. 2pm milk as normal. 4.30ish dinner. 6pm milk as normal.

The 2pm is usually the one they reduce themselves first having had a good lunch, once they do you can just drop it and they usually start eating a fair bit more then at dinner. When they're ready they usually do the same with that 10am milk and that can be swapped for a little snack instead so still ready for lunch.

When they're eating a good amount and a bit older, dinner can move a bit later and that 6pm milk can just be served in a cup with dinner instead, so they can go straight from dinner to bath and bed.

-didn't mean that to come across prescriptive! Your current milk times are what fits in naturally to a 7ish-7ish day which is what all mine were and did :-) obvs as you mentioned your baby is a bit under the weather at the moment, but when she's picked up again it should fit your current routine perfectly

If you are concerned though definitely get some proper advice. Hope she's feeling better soon!

Not prescriptive at all. That's really helpful thank you. On the cup.. we have only tried bottles so far. She has mam with a 6 month teat. Plus water in a munchkin or tommee tippee bottle - both have handles so she can feed herself and one is a straw. Shall I use these or actually try a little plastic cup? Not sure she'd have any idea how to use it but I could be wrong..

And yes the aim is 7-7. She has never been a good day napper since birth. She struggled to do more than an hour at any point and on a good day now she'll nap for an your around 9 and 1 and that's all we get. So by 6.30-7 she's exhausted.

We used to get another nap when she went down a bit earlier at lunch around 4 but she's refused that for a few weeks now. She is also usually up by 5.30 but we can't move bedtime later to accommodate.

She usually wakes wanting milk at least once in the night too.

Feeling really despondent. But had about a spoon of porridge before screaming blue murder. She then only had a few oz of milk left in her bottle which she demolished... now I feel like she's hungry.

Wanted to update to say we did speak to a doctor who said just monitor her temp and come back if there's change in snot or phlegm and try and get her to do a covid test which came back negative.

Feeling more reassured now especially as I kept persevering with food today and shes had some pasta, buttered toast, cooked carrot sticks with hummus and cheese. Did try cucumber and tomato but she wasn't all that fussed. Will keep trying but really appreciated the advice.

Don’t feel disheartened. 9 months is still really tiny, she’s got loads of time to work out food (and will go through phases of eating more or less)
Try not to stress about it as she might be picking up on that.

By 9 months we generally just offered whatever we were having to reduce the stress of making something specific that then gets refused. Just make sure you add salt after taking hers out.

Look up kidseatincolour on Instagram, it’s aimed at slightly older kids but has some good stuff about division of responsibility that you might find reassuring.

Youre right but at least she used to eat vegetables. Now she's turning her nose up at everything bar bread and rice cakes and cheese..