8 month old not eating solids or taking enough breastmilk/formula

[user1456935303]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone has any advice about feeding my 8 month old. At the moment we're in a bit of a mess with feeding, as she doesn't seem to be getting enough to eat in any form. She was exclusively breastfed until 6 months, when we started baby-led weaning as she didn't like us spoon feeding her. She never really took to it particularly well, and after she lost some weight when she was ill we started topping up breastfeeds with formula as she seemed hungry all the time.
However at the moment she is only taking tiny amounts of formula (60-100ml) per feed, and the only solid food she will eat is yogurt or chew on bits of toast. As a result I'm still mainly breastfeeding and feeling exhausted and don't know what to do - I'd really like to reduce the amount I'm breastfeeding. I've tried reducing the number of breastfeeds, but this hasn't resulted in her eating more solids or taking more formula and just means she's up all night hungry!
Wondering if anyone has any advice on how to get her trying more food or taking more formula? Going back to work at the end of the month and worried she won't eat during the day and will be up all night...

Thanks!

When, roughly do you give food? Have you tried completely missing the first bf/bottle of the day and going straight for porridge, so she's quite hungry? If she won't take a spoon you could make it very thick so she can pick it up herself? What is her general routine?

Hi Nicky,
Thanks for your reply.
We generally try to give her solid food before milk feeds - although we have tried both before and after and in-between, as she is usually too grumpy to try anything if she's really hungry. Unfortunately she seems really put off by unusual textures at the moment - so when we offer her porridge or chicken/veg etc to pick up in her hands she just rejects it.
The only thing I've found so far which works slightly is distraction by letting her play with a yoghurt pot while I spoon feed her some purée (mixed with yoghurt...) I'd rather she ate finger foods but we can't seem to get past her reluctance to try new textures!

My DS was like this (although I didn't give formula). He just wasn't interested in food at all really until he was 9/10 months. He would have bits and pieces of fruit and eggs and loved yoghurt but not much more.

Just keep offering food. I actually found that he would eat new things better if just offered a tiny bit almost snack like and not at the table (although I still did meals at the table of course!).

It does improve I promise. Try not to stress too much, you have trusted her to eat her fill up to now so she will eat as she wants.

For what it's worth, I found having the radio on and singing and chatting during meals was a good distraction for both of us.

I also cut back feeds at about 10 months (!!) to 5 a day (had been 10-12 times) which improved things slightly and it just got better from there. I did the feeds as follows: 1st thing, mid morning, mid afternoon, bed time, early morning feed.

Good luck and honestly, keeping calm makes it easier (I had a LOT of stressful mealtimes!)

Thanks - I think you're right I need to relax about it. The combination of going back to work and the health visitor saying she should be eating three meals a day by now has got me stressed out! But I guess she will get there in her own time

She definitely will. I know 'relax' is the worst bit of advice ever but what really helped me was looking st American sites. They have such a huge obesity problem that they absolutely advise against any form of stress or bribery etc it's entirely a 'they'll eat when they're hungry in the amounts they require' approach and I've honestly found this to be true.

Some weeks you honestly can't fill DS, others he barely eats a thing!

We're (and by this I mean everyone like our parents, friends, strangers) are obsessed with having a 'good' eater (seriously people comment on DS all the time), I just don't know why.

Good luck with it all, she is doing great. I also think you, like me, have fallen a bit victim of the BLW lines where they regale you with stories of 6 month olds stealing a chicken drumstick from mummy's plate and devouring it.... It's ok, that's one baby, one time!

My 8 month old dd is exactly the same apart from she also won't take yogurt. I'm trying to stick it out until 10 months before panicking but it's very frustrating!