So this is what the dietician said

[zombiemeow]

It's me again!!! I need opinions/ advice from here before I loose the plot.

Sorry it's long

Ds (8mo) is under a dietitian due to cmpi. When he saw them 4 months ago I was told there was 'a window of opportunity to get them to eat' which is 6-9 months, after this it will be v difficult getting them to eat. We saw the dietitian again last week. She asked how he was doing with his food, I explained he will gum things, throw things around but I don't think he actually eats anything. She asked me how much milk is he having, he currently has 4-5 7 oz bottles a day and 1 8oz before bed. He wakes up in the night for a feed.

He has been having sleep problems and wakes up multiple times a night, because it this she changed his milk to see if that would help.

She told me, I need to half the amount of milk he's having asap and get him to eat by 9 months or I will have problems weaning him

I have been almost in tears since then as he just cries for milk, it's making his eating worse as he gets hungry for milk.

He had his bottle before bed last night, and no joke, he woke up every 10 minutes after going to bed. I fed him again and he slept quite well, for him anyway!

So I was wondering if anyone has any advice/experience of this? Do you have a 'late eater',should I ignore the dietitian?

I was told the same. It was horribly stressful. I knew he NEEDED to eat, everyone was telling me he MUST eat, but in the rare occasions food got near his mouth he spat it out again. The looming "window of opportunity" made me fearful that I'd be needing to employ a wet nurse to provide his school dinners.

Anyway, at some point way past his first birthday he picked up a fork and demolished an entire roast dinner. He's 4 now and is getting less fussy by the day and has an almighty appetite.

I've also since discovered he has a posterior tongue tie and actually the chances are he COULDN'T physically eat when everyone was telling me he must eat - his mouth was rejecting the food. As he has grown, so has his mouth and he finds it easier to manipulate solids around his mouth.

It may be worth your while investigating if there is a physical reason for his food aversion.

She's talking rubbish. Halving his milk needs to be done gradually over the next 4 months or so. He's only 8 months! All babies are milk (or milk equivalent) reliant to a large extent till one year old.

Non of my 4 ate much at all till 10 or 11 months. What really matters weaning wise is what you wean him onto and that essentially needs to be normal adult meals rather then processed kiddie food (fish fingers, nuggets).

That advice sounds crazy - I thought the current thinking is 'food if fun till one'. It's also going to make it more stressful for your DS if you're feeling anxious about it. The idea of a window of opportunity sounds daft - I've never come across a school age child who doesn't eat.

I can't see how a stressed screaming baby is going to eat more some babies really don't eat much. Dd 1 was on three meals by 5 months as that's what she fell into she loved her food.

dd2 on the other hand ate just ate very little and didn't eat three meals a day that were actual meal sized and made a difference to her milk til 8/9 months old.

it's supposed to be a good experience that provides tastes to a wide range of food. not something forced onto a starving baby who potential could have other intolerence or allergies and probably needs a more cautious approach just in case.

I would post in allergies and see what the real experts say

I think as long as you are giving him a huge mix of savoury foods and introducing lots and lots of different tastes, it doesn't matter that he's not that interested and only having a spoonful.

In your shoes I'd work out how much is half his daily intake of milk. Then work out a gradual reduction so that twice a week you give him slightly less, finishing on exactly half the milk in 4 months time.

As I mentioned before, my 4 all weaned 10/11 months but the only ate home cooked healthy adult type meals and they eat everything now. They are the least fussy children I know

My DS has CMPA. I found weaning really stressful as DS just wouldn't eat.

Quite honestly I think your dietician is talking bollocks. DS barely ate anything until he was over a year old. He's now 8 and has two breakfasts a day and can eat huge portions of food.

I could have saved us a lot of stress if I'd relaxed and let him lead the weaning process.

Dd was cmpi dd never even saw a dietitian til she was like 15 months old.

I just weaned her like any other baby just without milk. I did stews and soups and sandwiches and pasta and meat balls etc..if you make your own stuff your not looking at labels and worrying.

I would literally just chuck. A handful if pasta and a meat ball and some broccoli on her tray and let her get on with it. I have no idea how much she did or didn't eat. If you take looking at the quantity of the milk. out the food out the equation it's far less stressful.

It's good to hear that some babies don't eat much at that age.

I've been stressing so much over this. They made it sound like he's going to be an awful eater if he doesn't eat a meal by 9 months I do offer him water and snacks and 3 meals a day and I know he has a lot of milk from what I've heard from other people even with younger babies. I tried reducing his feeds by 1oz a time but he seems to just want milk more often then

And I will look up posterior tongue tie, I did think he had tongue tie but a pead checked when he was about 2-3 weeks old and said no

I think some babies take to solids much quicker than others and prefer drinking rather than eating which is a much easier oromotor skill. I would say your ds is having a lot of milk which will fill him up and he'll not have an appetite for solids. By 6 months babies need more iron which they need to get from solids as milk is a poor source. Delayed weaning can lead to iron deficiency anaemia. I would water down his milk 1/2 milk and 1/2 water and see if his appetite improves at mealtimes.

Wean with love and kindness. It needs to be gradual between 6 months and one year

You can always get baby vitamins if worried

I was told exactly the same thing. My DS was/is CMPI and Gluten intolernat too. He was barely eating meals, and also breastfeeding 4+ times a night. I was told quite brutally to night wean asap and he would then eat. Well I didn't (couldn't) and eventually, almost over night, when he was about 11 months, he started to eat entire portions of food. He now eats very well, although unfortunately still feeds all night long!(I do suspect this is becuase of some discomfort/intolerance but that is irrelevent here I think)

I have friends with similar aged babies who can't believe how much he puts away. But mealtimes until 11 months were just painful. He didn't even want to cum food voluntarily, he wouldn't eat off a spoon, he would let me put one or two morsels into his mouth then keep it firmly shut. I got through it by staying very calm at meal times, showing no concern that he wasn't eating, and just continuting to offer something tasty and nutritious every day (I also read My Child won't eat by Carlos Gonzales- very good book)

Try not to worry, and that window thing is bollocks. Maybe its true for getting them used to flavours, but it sounds like you are doing that anyway. Good luck.

All my children were ready for food at different stages ...DC1 wanted it by 4 months, and demolished piles of everything ditto DC2 although as recommendations had changed I tried hard to hold off til 6 months, DC3 couldn't be bothered with food until well after her 1st birthday (yes I gave it to her but I don;t think she ate anything significant) DC4 wanted food by 10 months but would decorate the walls before then...

So long as you are presenting the opportunity for food and giving plenty of different tastes, textures and combinations I am sure you child will eat when he is ready...

the one good thing about baby led weaning is that you can present a tray of bits and pieces and let them get on with it....and if you cook your own you know it's safe.

I do wish health professionals would be a bit more sensible about the language they use....you can't MAKE a child eat and the more stressed parents get the harder it is for them to make food noral, fun and sociable.

stay calm op, CMPA is one thing, eating is another...of course it's important but it's a normal process and he will get there. reduce his milk gradually by all means but he is still very little at 8 months

The advice the dietician has given you is a recipe for stress, negativity, sleep deprivation, and food/weight obsession. Hardly healthy a healthy joyful introduction into food which is what it should be

Thanks everyone. Will just carry on and try not to get stressed, hopefully he will get it soon

Zombie my DD ate nothing til 10months, small amounts until 12 months, brilliantly from 13-14months and is back to tiny portions at 15months. It stresses me out and has stressed me over the months but there is simply no way to make a baby eat. My DD would not be spoon fed, would scream and spit out food if put in her mouth and withholding milk just left me with a distraught baby. I remain calm and relaxed with her at all times and I know she will get there at some point. In the meantime I am attempting to distract from milk in the day and am trying to night wean. But there is no way this would have worked at 8months!

That's good to hear milky, although not for you! Is your dd on vitamins? I have looked for some today but they are all sold out, will try again tomorrow

I give her vitamin D, otherwise no. But I think if her appetite doesn't improve I'll get her iron stores checked. She lost a good bit of weight after starting nursery at 10months (constant illness for 2 months) and are really well (for her) for a few weeks, regained some weight and is back to tiny portions so I'm trying to trust that she knows what she needs. She is small but healthy and has boundless energy. She can walk long distances, climb and is generally very happy so she must be getting something. I do wonder if she has issues with dairy though- she won't touch cows milk, yoghurt, cheese or formula. I stir cream and butter (for calories) into her food in small amounts but she has had more rashes etc since weaning attempts started. No trouble with breastmilk though and I have plenty dairy.

My dd has nothing mechanically wrong like TT (can drink and eat fine) but just weans slowly. She only started taking "meals" (a piece of cheese on toast or most of a baby food pouch for example) in the last month and is almost 11 months.

The window makes no natural sense ... If cave babies hit the window in mid winter they'd just suckle till food became more plentiful in spring!