long rant! dd hardly drinking or eating! help! worried mum!

[teeeeeena]

I have a 10 month old dd, who was exclusively breastfed until 6 months then weaned. She has always eaten well and ate pretty much anything we gave her (spoon fed). She seems to have naturally cut her breastfeeds down to (now) 2 in day (morning and bedtime) and one at night.

I introduced a sippy cup since 6 months for water (have tried all of them) and give her formula (skipping bottle and using beaker) as I would like to stop breastfeeding now. She seems to have settled on a nuby soft spout. But will only ever down about 2 / 3 ounces of formula. And even that is over a period of about half hour to hour of me or dh offering it to her again and again. Then most likely she will flatly refuse anymore.

Since about 2/3 weeks ago she started to refuse being spoon fed and would spit out food, and turn her head away. Breakfast has always been fine, she eats soo much! always made with formula as worried about nutrients, and always off a spoon. It has got progressively worse though over the last week for lunch and dinner and it seems some days she literally eats nothing. We have tried everything, pureed, lumpy, finger foods, putting one thing on her plate, putting 5 things down, leaving her to it, encouraging her, praising when she eats, giving her the spoon, (she does try to give it a go but loses interest v quickly) . some meals i thought she loved she now hates, i know this can happen, but am disheartened by all this waste of food now I am at a loss to what to cook for her. how do I get rice/pasta etc down her? fruit only pureed and off a spoon, she screams after 5 mins in chair.

She doesnt seem to want the boob, and i have started to try to get more formula down her as so worried about her not getting nutrients but this can take up to an hour or more in the afternoon which is when i offer her it. I also am wary about filling her up on formula as this why she wont eat but then if she doesnt eat she also has missed out on milk!
I really want to stop breastfeeding so dont want to offer her the boob always as a substitute. Please dont say to me why not just carry on as only have 2 months left! I have done 10 months and feel the time is right. But there is nooo way at the moment she is getting anywhere nr the recommended amount of milk or food a day. friends tell me to just feed her porridge all day! but dont want a fussy eater and that seems limiting her!! there are no signs of teething and i am going to get her weighed next week as am sure she is loosing weight.

I have read so much on here of similar situtaions, that its a phase etc .. but when do they come out of it? I am so worried as she used to eat so much. also i know she wont starve herself but...will she ever eat off a spoon again?

she is a very active and busy little lady, with lots energy has 6 teeth and isnt waking up loads in night so whats up??

apologies for long post! am worried!

I would say you need to try to relax.. easier said than done I know!! Could you try leaving a plate of food next to her while she plays let her help herself when she feels like it..basically back off completely for a bit?

I vaguely remember remember dd doing this I doesnt last long but always started.right after a growth spurt which made the difference in quantity being eaten seem even more huge..

Also someone once advised to not worry about having specific mealtimes if that doesnt fit well for her. .smaller meals more frequently is fine and look at the quantity eaten over the day and week as a whole not at each meal..often is more than you think.

My 4 year old is a complete gorb and always has been, but even she has these phases that happen maybe once every 3 months, where she basically eats nothing compared to her usual amount.

The baby has just turned 1 and we worried about her a few months ago as she would take a few mouthfuls of food and then just stop eating and refuse the rest. Then 20mins later she would be picking off our plates. Now she will eat a whole meal with ease.

You need to calm down about it. You are going to make mealtimes a tense affair where she feels pressured when she's in her highchair. She will pick up on your worry, even if you are purposely leaving her to it.

thanks for replies. I am trying not to worry. i am quite calm at mealtimes and she definately isnt and doesnt hate going into the high chair. yesterday for example she had her breakfast at 7.30 (about 3/4 to 1 whole weetabix with approx 5ounces formula) then at 12.15 i sat her in her chair which she happily went into, and seems eager for the food. I had 2 lots of food, finger and mashed with a spoon. I first tried the spoon. She opened her mouth happily, ate a bite, then spat it out. The refused anymore. So me and dd ate our lunch and gave her the pasta whole with finger foods of cooked broccolli and carrots, and left her to it. She ate about 2 nibbles, then decided she wanted out and cried.

It took 5 mins to calm her down. Then we tried again, not in her chair and she flatly refused. So she went down for her afternoon nap without lunch!

so do i wait until teatime to offer her more food? Give her milk after she wakes?

sounds like your quit worried about this. maybe I can shed some light on a few things.

Firstly take a good look at your DD she's 10months her stomach is the size of her fist, remember that. That's realistically how much food she can comfortably fit in her tummy. I would say that one whole weetabix and five oz of formula was a lot for her and she may not have been that hunger by lunch time.

Secondly forget about what she used to eat, she's still ababy they still carry on having growth spurts and their appetite changes from day to day week to week. one week you'll think she's living on air the next you'll feel like you can't feed her enough. it's best to let her his you on this so she learns to follow her own appetite and not over eat at all.

and you may at this age just find it easier too ditch the spoon they really don't need to be spoon feed by 10months and can eat prity much what you do as long as it's home cooked with no added salt.

A great book that says all this probably a lot better then me is My Child Won't Eat. it's great at understandinghow feeding patterns change in little ones.

Also remeber that formula is just an easy way of getting nutrition into babies if they don't drink much of it then just give plently of dairy food. it's no substitute for breastmilk as that is so more then just food as you are still supporting her immune system by breastfeeding as your milk contains so many live conponents that can't be replaced by anything else. You've done a fan job to get this far, but I hope you carry on with those last to feed till at least 12months and beyond if your happy to as nothing can replace it.

guess the reason i offer her more at breakfast is because she doesnt eat much the rest of the day and want her to have as much as she can! I'll try cutting down breakfast a bit.. see how that goes.

She does eat what we eat, and i know my breast milk is best, thats why i did it for 10 months!! Just feel its time to stop.. but maybe i cant and shouldnt right now?

it's great that you've done it for 10 months you should be very proud. Just wanted you to be aware that formula can be substituted with foods at this age and you don't need to use it to replace breast milk you can use food. it's not unusual for formula feed babies to go of drinking milk at this sort of age.

Your baby is lucky as she's getting the added benefit of breastmilk, which they wouldn't be.

sorry if it didn't come across so well in my first post. The book rreally it's well worth the read though. helped me understand my baby and toddlers eating habits and relax about it.

thanks
sometimes need others input to see things from a different perspective! cant see the wood for the trees you know!! so have cut breakfast down by half, she has eaten lunch for 2 days now and dinner.. have cut out all formula in day too and offering water... so i guess in worrying about her not eating i was filling her up on formula. Thanks for help all.