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Weaning

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

Original poster

2 weaning issues - should I just stop for a while??

8 replies

Spice17 · 15/04/2013 09:45

Hi all

DD is 6 months old on Thurs, so for the past 2-3 weeks I've been giving her bits of finger food to 'try' mash against the mouth and throw around and offering her pureed stuff too.

The first problem is she won't open her mouth for a spoon AT ALL, so I make stuff and offer it and she keeps her mouth closed or turns her head, she'll sometimes grab the spoon and end up with the food in her mouth but more by accident than anything.

The second thing is, she really doesn't seem that interested, so I'm wondering if she's not ready and once I've started - can I stop?

I would prefer to persevere but she's really getting practically nothing ATM, so is it worth it? Is this just how it is to start with? And any suggestions on getting her to open her mouth apart from the good old 'Ahhhh' 'Ahhhh' :)

TIA

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 15/04/2013 09:49

Don't try to get her to open her mouth so you can shove food in it, just keep giving her finger food to mess around with, that she can put in her mouth if she wants to.
Milk will remain her main source of nutrition for a long time yet, so don't stress and just have fun with it.

ZolaBuddleia · 15/04/2013 09:54

Does she like to be in control? I'd also second putting stuff in front of her and letting her decide whether she wants to put it in her mouth.

DrMcDreamysWife · 15/04/2013 09:57

I agree with noble. My dd is 7mo and when we first tried her with a spoon at almost 6mo she refused clamped her mouth shut. So we're going the blw route and just doing finger foods. She spent 2 weeks messing about with it and then she got the idea and started swallowing. Now six weeks in she has 3 meals and sometimes a snack. And as much milk as she wants the rest of the time as that's her main nutrition.

I got stressed but then relaxed and enjoyed watching her play with lots of new tastes and textures. Have fun!

Beatrixpotty · 15/04/2013 10:01

With my first I started at nearly 6m with porridge at night on Hv advice to see if it helped with sleep.It didn't so after about 10 days I stopped then started again a couple of weeks later so yes,you can start & stop.If you are just offering bits it sounds more like you are doing BLW,carry on , it often really takes off around 8 m

Original poster
Spice17 · 15/04/2013 10:30

Argh - I replied and MN went offline!

Thanks all, appreciate the advice. Looks like just BLW is the way forward, I often hand the food too her, especially if slippery, should I just leave on the tray for her to decide?

Zola she very much likes to be in control, so I guess that's why she wants to do it all herself, I suppose strong willed can be a good thing Grin

Once she's eating a bit more regularly and properly, should I be checking how much she seems to be getting in? Or can I be relaxed about it until a year? Have read so much but still feel clueless Confused

I think I feel anxious about it because I totally refused to eat when I was a toddler, nearly drove DM to a breakdown!

OP posts:
ZolaBuddleia · 15/04/2013 10:58

Yes, relax relax relax. I gave DD lots of things she could pick up herself eg carrot sticks, green beans, fingers of toast, broccoli. She gummed a lot of it but didn't eat loads at the start. You can tell how much they eat because you can see it in their poo.

I just kept offering her stuff whenever we ate and also milk, after a while the balance tipped in the favour of the food. If you're looking for ideas for what to eat, the BLW cook book (no need to buy the BLW book, this covers all the ideas) has some good easy recipes that don't require lots of ingredients.

I didn't puree but I did give her sloppy things like Weetabix and yoghurt by spoon. I bet that once she gets into the idea she'll be happier about taking a spoon.

ZolaBuddleia · 15/04/2013 11:01

Also, try really hard to keep your anxiety at bay, look at the food you're giving her like you're just giving her new toys to play with. By all means hand it to her, but I never put any food into DD's mouth unless it was the sloppy stuff I've described above and then only when she opened her mouth for it. I really didn't want to be posting small bits of food in, DD likes control too and I think it would have been a recipe for disaster!

There's enough stuff about being a parent that requires negotiation, without food being another!

Original poster
Spice17 · 15/04/2013 11:33

Thanks Zola, really appreciate the advice. And can defo see evidence in her poo now - smelled of banana the other day Grin

OP posts:
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