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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

Demoralised with this weaning thing

17 replies

PinkFondantFancy · 18/03/2012 16:19

DD is just 6 months. I've been trying to start weaning her for a month now because she is EBF (and a bottle refuser) and waking throughout the night for feeds, sometimes every 2 hours. However, she's not very keen on puree - turns her head and will take max. a couple of spoonfuls. If I give her finger food she mushes it onto her high chair or between her fingers but doesn't put any of it in her mouth. If I hold it up to her mouth she'll bite some off but spits it all out. I usually give her one breast before putting her in her highchair. I am feeling exhausted and totally depressed about the whole thing. Am I doing something horribly wrong? :(

OP posts:

sleeplessinderbyshire · 18/03/2012 16:20

suspect she's juts not ready for solids ye. sorry and big hugs, night waking is grim but solids even if accepted by the baby won't nescessarilt change anything. I'd hold off the solids for a week or 2 and then try again.

Original poster

PinkFondantFancy · 18/03/2012 16:30

:( brilliant. That's what I suspected. Am beside myself - I was prepared for cluster feeding all evening and 2 hourly night wakeups for a few weeks but 26 weeks later and I am on my knees with exhaustion.

OP posts:

FredFredGeorge · 18/03/2012 17:10

DD started eating really well, she's 9mo and eats a lot, did from almost immediately. It made not a jot of difference to how hungry she is in the night. Which isn't surprising really as it's the time without food, and how relatively limited there stocks are which cause the hunger, not what they eat in the day. The baby will sleep through when it can store enough to see it through the night - assuming it's purely hunger that's waking rather than comfort or anything else.

Milk is very calorific, and easy for baby to eat and digest, you're not going to get more calories in with any other food. If you're that exhausted could someone not help with expressed milk if you have the time when she's not feeding to pump, or formula if not.

Original poster

PinkFondantFancy · 18/03/2012 18:39

So, light at end of tunnel doesn't exist, fantastic.. She doesn't take a bottle so I suppose I'd better just suck it up and get used to being an emotional zombie :(

OP posts:

loveroflife · 18/03/2012 19:56

brilliant. That's what I suspected. Am beside myself - I was prepared for cluster feeding all evening and 2 hourly night wakeups for a few weeks but 26 weeks later and I am on my knees with exhaustion.

***

Have you thought of Baby Led Weaning Pink? It's a lot less exhausting and I have loved every minute of it - just a thought, there's a lot of mess though, so not for everyone...

TruthSweet · 18/03/2012 20:08

It's nothing you are doing wrong - if she isn't ready for food, she isn't ready for food. You wouldn't be so down on yourself if she wasn't walking at 12m would you? Nothing you can do to make her be ready for food, just time for her body to develop.

In the meantime you could try having your meals (or some of them!) with her sitting on your lap at the table. If you have food that is okay for babies (so no whole nuts or rare steak ) and just let her see you eating and enjoying it she might be tempted to have a try herself. If not then she is seeing you eat & enjoying your food and it may help when she is ready.

Have you tried co-sleeping or having naps together in the day (lying down together in bed and having a feed/snooze together can really help with tiredness - even if you don't sleep you can have a rest and read a book!)?

Flisspaps · 18/03/2012 20:15

TruthSweet even rare steak should be OK for babies - no honey, whole nuts or grapes and not lots of salt, but no reason why you can't give a 6mo a nice piece of rare steak - lots of iron (and far tastier than well-done beef!)

OP - sorry you're struggling. Not eating much at first is normal, don't beat yourself up about this, please. Even if your DD took a bottle or ate lots of food she probably wouldn't sleep any better. As someone said upthread, the most calorie dense (and therefore filling and nutritious) thing you can offer your DD is milk. You're doing nothing wrong, keep at it - one day this WILL all be a distant memory

TruthSweet · 18/03/2012 20:20

That's good to know Flisspap - I don't know why I was thinking no rare steak (parasites perhaps?).....

Flisspaps · 18/03/2012 20:22

You want to see the disgusting grey mess a beautiful piece of steak can be reduced to by 6mo toothless gumming...

Caz10 · 18/03/2012 20:25

Sorry, yes, it's just the way it is, for some babies anyway! Dd2 is 10mths and eats as much as me some days (blw) but still feeds all evening and wakes through the night. Dd1 was largely the same. It does end, honest! If it's your 1st and you're still on mat leave then please do ditch everything non essential and nap when you can!

Mombojombo · 18/03/2012 20:52

No advice here, just empathy. DS also 6 months & also waking all night every night and taking a full belly of milk each time. Only difference is he's taken to food quite well and has 2 meals a day. We're BLW so I wasn't really expecting him to eat as much as he does. Hasn't affected his sleep a jot I'm afraid! I'm on my knees too!

DialMforMummy · 18/03/2012 21:15

I hated weaning my LO. I remember having he wrong approach about it as in, I was ready and it did not occur to me that DS might not be.
I remember this time to be rather stressful. DS just did not know what to do! And one day, just like that, overnight, he got it.
Keep trying, but don't stress about it (easy to say,I know) and maybe your LO will suddenly click like mine.
I must add that weaning DS did not help him to go through the night or sleep better. Sorry.

bilblio · 18/03/2012 22:21

We started weaning DD at 6 months and she was probably 7 months before she showed real interest in it. By 8 months she was eating 3 meals a day with gusto plus milk and she did start sleeping through then.

Lots of sympathy, DS is 5 months now. At Christmas he was sleeping though he's now waking 2-3 times a night, but we're not weaning as he's not sitting and he's showing no interest in food, actually he's just started watching us with a slightly puzzled expression when we eat, but he sits on my lap most meal times and never tries to grab anything. He's huge though so obviously thriving still.

As for the bottles. DD wouldn't take a bottle either, but we had to get her on one for when I went back to work.
What worked for us was I'd feed her as normal, then give her a bottle with an ounce of milk in to "play" with. I'd sit her on my lap facing away from me and eventually after a few days she was happy to drink it. After a week of that DH was able to give her a bottle instead of me feeding her and eventually she was happy to take a bottle from me too.

Chica31 · 18/03/2012 22:35

I was you 6 months ago, it does get better I promise. DD2 is now sleeping through the night eating everything and feeding herself at meal times, just eating what we do. You WILL get through this, but I send you loads of unmumnet hugs.

We just kept going with the bottle and eventually she took it, I never thought she would, one day she just got the knack of it. DH fed her with the bottle, not me plus the nursery helped out too. I started back at work at 7 months with DD2 still bottle refusing, I was beside myself. Luckily DD2 is in the same school as me, so I was able to nip in at lunch time, breaks and preps to feed her. It took a few weeks, of every one at school I think in the end, but she suddenly just got it. She is now one of those babies that downs huge bottles of milk before bed!

Solids, also a disaster for ages. She wouldn't take solids or mush, again we just kept trying, again she just suddenly got the hang of it.

So sorry i have no special tricks or advice, I know how hard it is. DD2 was waking every 2 hours and then I had to lug my exhausted body to work and teach a class of year 6's and worry about running around feeding her. It was a nightmare, but it did pass, it did get easier and I have now caught up on my sleep. Once you have got her taking a bottle it gets easier as someone else can feed them, also I think it did help DD2 sleep longer.

You are doing an amazing job, just keep going.

SmileItsSunny · 18/03/2012 23:52

She's 6 months? Maybe you could try a beaker instead of a bottle?

Original poster

PinkFondantFancy · 21/03/2012 01:00

Hi all thanks so much for your suggestions. I've decided to ease off on the weaning a bit for a couple of weeks and just have her with us when we eat and offer her some if she's interested. Thanks also fir the bottle tip, we tried that today and I think she might have actually had a bit of milk that way! Will keep trying.

OP posts:

jan2011 · 25/03/2012 17:48

hi pink.

just letting you know i am in the same boat - my sympathy to you! i could have written your post. she will not take anything, but taking loads of breastfeeds and night wakenings. i have started supplementing with a bit of formula when she'll take it - sometimes she will and sometimes she won't. i guess we just have to keep trying and waiting it out through the exhaustion until they get it! good luck

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