9 month refusing solids..

[Iammeltin]

My 9 month old recently has started refusing solids.
she used to eat great, but for the past 2/3 days has refused solids. She will eat fruit in the feeder things but that’s it. She ate ice cream today. But she can’t live on sweet things.

ive made a freezer stash of food that I knew she liked but won’t touch it.
I tried BLW today with pinwheels and brocolli. Threw it on the floor. She even refused natural yoghurt which she usually likes.

i force fed her today I am ashamed to say, I forced food in her mouth but how can I stop myself doing this and be more relaxed?

Shes recently dropped a bottle but hasn’t increased her solids so I’m worried she’s not actually getting calories. She drinks 26oz a day.

She had tongue tie snipped when a baby and has issues with milk and aversions and now this!

If it is just for the past 2/3 days I would suggest she doesn't fancy it for some reason - my little ones were always like this with teething. Even dropped some bottles for days until teeth erupted.
Don't force feed her - it will make her more stressed about it. Maybe just offer her easy things to eat eg Weetabix, yoghurt, little bits of cheese/ fruit chopped. Then take the stress off you both.

Sounds like illness or teething to me. Please don't force feed her, you'll only make it worse anyway and just think how awful that is for her. Look at her gums and give her some nurofen if they're red or swollen.

My DD was solids averse until over 2 years old. Never started solids and never changed as a baby/toddler. Was the subject of a “problem solving” exercise at a health visitor conference! They didn’t by the way. I was at my wits end.

The solution, as it turned out, was to go to nursery and eat with other dc. If you’ve just had a few weeks, keep trying to tempt. I had well over 18 months of me crying with frustration! Nursery was a blessing and she’s now a great cook.

Do I stop the fruit so she doesn’t take a liking to sweet things only?
she’ll refuse dinner etc but will accept the fruit and I am not sure whether she knows she will get the fruit regardless if she eats her dinner too.

I am scared she will get some sort of aversion!

If it's sudden and only been 2-3 days then it's likely an illness. Mine does this when teething and also the onset of sore throat and hand foot and mouth disease...feeding him would cause actual pain. I get you're scared that if she does not eat in the day she will wake at night and you want your sleep but please don't force feed. It achieves nothing. Even if it is some sort of regression re eating, force feeding will make her hate it even more.

Stick with the bottles and review in another couple of days.

Fruit is soft! Is it teething? What about pasta?

No I wouldn't worry about that at all. She's just a baby. If she wants to eat fruit then I would let her.

At 9 months old i think your worrying about this too much (I mean this in a kind way) milk is still the main source of nutrition until one. Just keep offering age appropriate meals at your set times and if they dont eat much of it, dont worry as I agree with PP if its sudden its likely an issue with teething or illness. I think its clear the force feeding is not a good idea.

No I am not scared she’ll wake up during the night. She wakes up anyways, not for a feed but for comfort.

I am scared of her losing weight. She lost weight when she was born when I was breastfeeding due to her tongue tie and had to be readmitted.
So weight issues are what is worrying me hence the force feeding or worrying she’ll just prefer fruit.

It's only been a few days. If she lost a bit of weight it's not the same as when they're new babies.
As they get a little older, some days they might eat lots and some days very little. My youngest is 2 and I am surprised sometimes how he survives off seemingly a few bites of food.

I see. I know weaning is very stressful, I found it to be that way too. And it's hard to get your head around the fact that their weight and appetite will fluctuate quite a lot but that's how it goes, I'm afraid. When they get closer to 1 they start being fussy too, which is soul destroying. But it's not like when they were newborns, they'll be totally fine.

Try to look at what she’s eaten over a week rather than concentrating on one meal. Babies often eat virtually Notting for a few days and then will eat more.

If you look at what she’s eaten over the week it might help your anxiety.

And don’t ever offer an alternative. No child is ever going to eat what’s in front of them if they know that you’ll magically produce their favourite foods if they hold out

@Iammeltinyou might also find the Weaning Section useful. It’s under “Feed the World”.

Have you read this guide from the Caroline Walker Trust too? You’d probably need from
page 44

Another one to say is it teeth? Also try and relax. She’s more likely to pick up an aversion if you’re force feeding her. Babies don’t need to eat solids before one so a few days of less (not no food) will be fine.