10/11 month old solids gone downhill

[bungletru]

My LO got sick a couple weeks back and since then won’t eat solids like he used to

he LOVED his food. Used to eat so well
but the last few weeks I’m really struggling
i know he’s teething and this can play a part but I’m just so stuck
I’m chasing him with a puree at the end of the day to try and get something in his tummy.

I have major anxiety about going back to work and him not getting the breastmilk he needs (although I will be giving cows milk as he turns 1!) but he won’t drink formula out of a bottle or cup or anything. Nor wil he have expressed breastmilk.

so if he’s only drinking milk from me atm, eating so very little, how is he going to cope.

he’s a happy baby, nappies are fine, hasn’t lost weight (since we last checked).

any help would be greatly appreciated. We do BLW but I’ve resorted to purées just to try and get something in him - sometimes successful, sometimes not.

We had the same when we all got covid. DD (almost ten months old), only wanted milk. I just rolled with it, gave her lots of milk, and offered her her favourite purées. She loves fruit, so I mixed that in with her other purées and weaned her back onto her normal meals. The phase passed and she’s back to normal now. I make sure to keep mealtimes really positive and never show my frustration. If she doesn’t want to eat, I finish the attempt and try again later. Don’t stress, he will just be recovering and has temporarily lost his appetite.

The old adage is “food is for fun until they turn one”. I know it feels like a backward step when they have been eating well but they can get what they need from milk at this stage.
Make sure there he can’t pick up on any of your worry as this can hinder things. Just keep offering things you know he likes, favourite fruit, the odd bit of pudding and then build back up to proper meals when he starts eating again.
When they go to nursery and you are not there breastfed babies do tend to eat and drink. They can’t smell you or your milk and they are hard wired not to starve themselves. Also peer pressure kicks in when the other babies are tucking in.

Please don't chase him with food, you'll end up making a huge issue about eating.

If he's teething are you giving him Ibruprofen and using a teething gel just before you offer solids?

If he's feeling poorly, it's perfectly normal for them to stop eating or eat very little little for a few days or to just eat a small amount of their favourites.

He'll make up for it once he feels a bit better

Food before one is just for fun. He'll get everything he needs from your milk and will manage just fine with expressed milk and solids when you return to work as you won't be there and therefore he'll feel differently. It's incredibly common for illness to disrupt weaning. Don't fret. It'll all work itself out.