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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

Help or am I over reacting...

12 replies

lilymolly · 26/08/2006 17:39

Please any advice
DD was 6lb15oz born and was bf for 17 weeks then formula feeding until 6 months. She is s petite baby, who showed no signs of weaning at all, still sleeps thru night 7pm-8am, and only has 4 x 6oz bottles a day. She currently weighs 15lb 11oz and is nearly 8 months old. She is as bright as button! crawling, pulling her self up etc, BUT

She has recently dropped 1 centile and has not put on any weight in the last week, she does not have the appetite. if she eats solids, she will not not have the correct amount of milk (18oz at least) if she has her milk only and no solids, she has NO interest in solids unless its petit Filous!!
I spent ages preparing meals for her to refuse and it really got me down, so now I use jars of which 1 little 4mth size jar lasts me 2 days! However, she really needs lumps, but 7mnt jars are too big. Give her finger food and she puts it in mouth, but does not swallow any - (maybe tiny bit) so nutrionally she is not getting anything from this, although I know its good for the chewing etc for speech.
I am getting really stressed about this and very confused.
I am not making meals an issue -if she does not want anythingI let it go. I really want to make her nice food and getting worried about this. She is wonderful i every other way! is this someone paying me back for having a dream baby?...

OP posts:

Tinker · 26/08/2006 17:41

My baby showed no real interest in food until at least 8 months. Even now at 15 months, still has appetitie of a little bird. But is fit and healthy and fine. Please don't worry.

belgo · 26/08/2006 17:44

This sounds all too familiar - and please try not to stress about it! Neither of my babies have been hungry babies, and both on the small side (dd2 has fallen off the growth curve entirely), but as long as your baby is healthy, happy and developing well, there is no need to worry! As for the finger foods, keep going with that, she will learn to swallow more as she gets more practise

Original poster

lilymolly · 26/08/2006 19:09

bump

OP posts:

Groveregg · 26/08/2006 21:04

I have had (and sometimes still have) similar problems with my 11 month old ds and we've gone for great stretches of him refusing to eat anything. He has finally got the idea and will now happily eat 1 cube of food in a sitting which makes me so proud!!! I would have thought that judging by weight from one week to the next might not have much bearing on anything as a good poo can take off several ounces, better do it once a month or so. I was getting really worried as well until I discovered a book called My Child Won't Eat by Carlos Gonzalez and it changed my outlook; I would really recommend it. Stick with the Petit Filous as she loves them, and finger food does take some practice. According to the book before around the 1930's people wouldn't even try babies with anything other than milk until 10 or 11 months and they were just fine, so don't worry about lumps or no lumps. Easier said than done I know...

habbymum · 26/08/2006 21:17

My 11 month old was born a whoppa at 9. 4. He was breast fed but colicky. Dropped centiles rapidly and showed no interest in food or milk. Bright wakeful and active. I stressed madly as I compared him to his older food loving brother. Over past few months he is eating better but loves feeding himself. I do believe babies know how much they need to eat. We still cannot finish a jar of food for 7 mth old. Often cemntile charts become a source of stress. I've accepted Isaac is not a foodie but he will try lots of finger foods. I also would add weetabix or cereal bits in his fromage frais to bulk out this food. I do little and often. Faves are handful of cheerios, mini breadsticks, mini rusks, smiley face potatoes big hit.He is happy and active crawling at 6 months walking at 10, so he must get enogh energy. Try not to worry particulally if she is happy and healthy. When I relaxed I think Isaac ate more! Hope that reassures you. Good luck

CountTo10 · 26/08/2006 21:21

If you lo is happy then I'd take your lead from her to an extent. Have you spoken to your hv about it? Weaning can be tough but don't worry about the milk thing as it can be added into their food etc. I used to mix formula into the pureed veg and fruits i did for ds as well as in his weetabix etc. That can sometimes make the transition from milk onto solids a little easier. Don't worry too much about the lumps either as this will come with time. Hope it gets easier for you.

sleepysooz · 26/08/2006 22:36

My twins didn't take to weaning easily, like you dd quite small anyway, my hv made me fill in a food diary, and I was shocked at how much food she was actually consuming, so didn't worry anymore.

I logged even half tspn of things, she used to choke alot. Have you tried liquidizing cooked sweet potatoe in ice cube trays, mine used to love that, obviously after I done the baby rice thing, adding one thing at a time, just in case they were allergic to anything!

You're probably passed that stage though, what about mashed banana with a bit of milk.

Good luck!

Original poster

lilymolly · 27/08/2006 08:55

bump

OP posts:

curlew · 27/08/2006 09:24

If she is happy, alert and has lots of energy, then she's obviously getting enough food from somewhere! We used to say about my daughter that if she was particularly hungry she'd pause as she rushed past her dinner and take a deep breath! She's a healthy 10 year old now, known as "the bottomless pit" so try not to worry. Don't get hung up on the centiles - remember that they are averages so lots of people must be lighter and heavier than the mean. We found the best thing to do with dd was to offer food that she liked - and, crucially, make sure she sat at the table at mealtimes however briefly.
Your dd is very little still - she's got lots of time to eat 'lumps". Just keep offering - soon she'll be hoovering it up with the best of them!

Original poster

lilymolly · 27/08/2006 10:27

Thanks for advice etc- I can get her to eat little bits of yogurts and fruit purees but not so much of the savory1 do you think this is going to be a concern later in the day. Forgot to mention I am a terrible eater! no veg salad etc in my diet, but am slim and fit and has none me no harm!
We do sit at the table where possible as dp gets in late from work and we do not eat until 8pm dd in bed! but on a weekend we make the effort.
I really wanted to cook her lovely meals though and find it very frustrating.

OP posts:

curlew · 28/08/2006 08:45

And you will cook her lovely meals - just not quite yet! Another think to remember with babies is that no stage lasts for very long - it just feels as if it does! What I love now is when a gallumphing 10 year old comes piling in with her friends... "Ohh mum, you've made a cake!!!!". Or last night, when I used a bought pasta sauce - a very suspicious voice said "this isn't your sauce, it's not as nice" So persevere - soon she'll be hoovering up your delicious cooking and you'll be glad you did!

Mum2FunkyDude · 28/08/2006 08:53

The drop in centile could be due to increase activity. Maybe she is crawling, and moving about alot more, Have you tried baby rice and other baby porridge? Is it possible she does not like the spoon?

Sorry I do not have any advice from experience, but have you taken a look at Baby led weaning? If you search in the archives you'll get a lot of information, I think the gist of it is that your baby decide what and when she wants to eat, you just keep offering food and keep up the milk supply.

Best of Luck I know how distressing it can be when they don't want to eat!!!!!

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