14 month old doesn’t eat

[buggybum]

Hi, just want to start by saying we are currently under referral with the NHS for SALT but haven’t had a first appointment yet and have just been advised to keep offering finger foods in the meantime.

My baby is 14 months old and he doesn’t eat any solids at all (purées/soft foods or finger foods). He is breastfed and survives purely on breastmilk as he won’t eat. We have tried everything.

He was born 4.1kg, so quite a big boy, and has dropped way off his centiles and is now quite skinny and only about 8.5kg at 14 months old. I worry so much about his eating and weight every day. Other than this he is a very happy baby and seems to be ok developmentally otherwise. He is however, completely glued to me, which I’m unsure if is just because of his age or because I’m his food source still.

I know people will say I should try dropping a feed to get him hungry for his meals to encourage him to eat, but this is hard as he is breastfed on demand and so his feeds are pretty random. I’m also not comfortable withholding the breast from him as this could easily lead to him having even less nutrition than he’s currently getting!

He had his enlarged adenoids removed 4 weeks ago, and we thought this may help with his eating. We’ve seen maybe a tiny bit of improvement, in that he will now sometimes pick up foods and lick/suck them, but if any goes in his mouth he will spit it out. He will not chew or swallow foods. He won’t be sooon fed, he turns away, clamps mouth closed and gets upset. He will often get upset and want to get out of his highchair as soon as he goes in and then won’t even entertain the idea of exploring the food.

I’m so worried that he’s this age and is more like a 6month old just starting weaning with how he is with food. It feels like he will never eat.

If anyone has had a similar experience or any advice I would be so grateful, I need sole hope today🙏

How did you get on OP? Did you get any answers?

If anyone else is worried about this, just to offer a slither of reassurance - my son was like this. Up until about the age of 2, he just was not bothered about food. He was also a big 4kg+ baby, who subsequently struggled to put on weight. He was still breastfed thank god, as I’m sure that’s what got him through. His appetite started to pick up from about 2 and a half and now he’s a strapping 6ft teenager, who has never stopped eating since he found his appetite all those years ago!

Does he go to nursery or ever see other children eat? I really struggle to get my little one to eat, he's not far off two and honestly I think he'd happily only have milk still, but he does a lot better when he's copying other kids.

Our daughter was the same though by that age bottle fed. We were told in no uncertain terms by the paediatrician to cut right back on the milk. A year later, she would eat almost anything.
It wasn’t easy, obviously but in the end it worked.

Hi, so he made some more improvements in that he now chews up the foods, but will still spit it all out. We had a speech and language and dietician appointment a month ago and they seemed encouraged by his interest in food, but were baffled as to why he would still spit everything out. Literally the next day out of nowhere he ate a whole yogurt pouch! Since then for the past month he’s eaten 1-3 yogurts! Obviously it’s not ideal to only be eating yogurt, but we’re still offering a variety of other foods, but the yogurt is how I know he’s actually getting some calories in. Unfortunately the past few days he seems to have gone off it and is refusing to open his mouth now! But I’m really hoping he’s just teething and it will pass

Hi, he doesn’t go to nursery but he has an older brother and we all sit and eat together so he does see us eat, he just doesn’t care😆

Hi, just wanted to express solidarity in your pain as my 13 month DD doesn't eat either. It's the exact same as you've described - I even made a post on this parenting board about it 2 weeks ago.

Only difference is that she's on formula instead of breastfeeding.

We've made some progress over the past 2 weeks and she now can eat little bits and actually swallows them. Not enough to drop a milk feed but I know there is food getting into her system.

I'm still debating speaking to the GP as she's making a little progress. How did you get your appointment?

Hi, it’s so hard isn’t it? I’ve spent the last nearly year just being constantly worried about him!

For our SALT and dietician appointment I spoke to our GP and she agreed to refer us, it took months to get our first phone appointment, then we had to wait again for the face to face appointment when the dietician and speech and language therapist run clinics together. The waiting list does take a while so if you think you want to see SALT I would ask your GP soon, but it sounds so encouraging that your little one is starting to make progress!