Weaning stress!

[SianNic]

Hi all,
My DS is nearly 7 months and we started weaning just short of 6months as he was grabbing food and very interested. It started well - we were giving purees and finger foods, both of which he was managing very well and soon onto 3 meals. However in the last week he has refused to take anything off a spoon and in the last couple of days is now barely eating anything at all! Not really interested in finger foods, looks at themm,maybe rubs into the tray then cries. Is this normal?! Not sure what to do - do I carry on offering food or ease off for a bit? He is EBF and still feeding as much as ever and waking at night still :(
Any advice gratefully received thank you :)

How is he with teeth - any yet? Is he showing signs of teething?

I found with DD that teeth coming through were the biggest factor in going off food but some days (some weeks!) she just didn't want to eat much.

At 7 months I would definitely not be worried about how much food they're eating providing you're not cutting out milk feeds.

No teeth yet although been showing signs for what seems like months so guess it could be that. I will try to relax a bit - just not sure how to progress with offering him food as dont want to develop a bad association with food if he cries everytime I offer it!

Hi SianNic - are you still struggling? I know things can change in a matter of days! My DS is 7 months old and, although we struggled at first (started with BLW then got fed up as he started getting hungry at night so switched to purees) he got the hang of it fairly quickly then, like you, I'm now struggling. He doesn't seem to mind me 'persuading' food into his mouth and if he does eventually (sometimes after half an hour!) start crying I stop because I don't want to stress him out. But today I decided to go back to basics and gave him just sweet potato which he seemed OK with and baby rice mixed with fruit puree for tea which he had a small bit of. Like yours, he has shown signs of teething on and off - he's had really off days where he only wants milk but at the moment I don't think he's in any discomfort. I get really stressed out by it as I have another child to feed and don't have time to sit there endlessly trying to get him to eat. I think I trust that it will all come good in the end (it did the first time) but I'm struggling with my own impatience and irritation with the situation. It's so messy and frustrating. Finger food is mixed - yesterday he tucked into toast after refusing porridge (although I don't think he actually swallowed any) but then wasn't interested in pasta later.

Just wanted to say, if you've moved on let me know how and if you're still struggling hang in there - I'm in exactly the same boat!!

PS - forgot to say that even the worst feeds have involved him swallowing a few mouthfuls if they're heavily disguised as fruit. I give a bit of fruit puree first and I push the spoon against his lips so he can taste it and recognise it and he'll have a few mouthfuls of it then I start spooning the other food with a bit of fruit on top! I also find distracting him with a toy sometimes helps but whatever I give him gets absolutely covered!

I really think you need to just relax and take the pressure off both of you. If he eats absolutely nothing for the next month and just has milk it really doesn't matter. Forget everything about weaning timetables, 'windows' of opportunity and routines for mealtimes.

Your job is to offer food regularly. If that is finger food, fine, If it is pureed/mashed on a spoon or to be explored and licked off his own hands, then fine. You need to step back and look at the bigger picture: the aim of weaning is to get to a stage where he eats a varied diet, preferably with the same foods as the rest of the family. How you get there doesn't matter but it will be a lot easier and less stressful for both of you if it is at his pace and on his terms.

If you offer food when he is not too tired or hungry and don't try and make him eat anything when he doesn't want it then eventually he should eat. How much and how often really does not matter and he really won't starve himself or suddenly become deficient in anything.

Chances are it's just teething or 'a phase' and he'll do something completely different next week just to keep you on your toes.

Sorry for epic post. I had a skinny baby/non eater until she was about 10 months and I had to try sooooo hard to stay relaxed while babies around me where eating for England. She's now 2 and can eats massive portions despite being only dot sized still.

Thanks guys for the advice - think I was getting too hung up as all friends younger babies seem to be eating for England! We have made some progress, have sneaked in spoonfuls of purees whilst he is eating or sucking on things like cheese and ricecakes. Today he actually opened his mouth for the spoon for the first time and ate quite alot :) Just keep telling myself he will eat eventually and to relax!

Girls you're so right about the peer pressure. One friend of mine keeps saying this is so normal but I can't see any evidence of that amongst my friends with babies!

Wispa - thanks so much, your advice is great. My daughter was also tiny and still is and, although I wouldn't call her fussy (at nearly 5), I would prefer her to be more adventurous and was so determined my boy would be better. I am succeeding in chilling out about it and have remembered that my daughter did exactly the same thing! It's possible they both just have really small appetites! Roll on the next growth spurt!