im doing it all wrong...im all stressed...and so confused...

[hubbahubba]

ok so i started with a little baby cereal when dd was about 5months.she is now 6 months and will still only take the odd spoonfull.I have been told to give cereal for brek,some fruit a bit later on and then veg after that.i am still giving her the usual milk, i usually feed her her milk then wait an hour or so and try and give the fruit then the same again with the veg.she is very uniterested in the fruit and veg.i am scared to try and give the food when she is hungry before the milk as im worried she then wont want the milk.i dont know if im supposed to be replacing milk with the meals or doing the usual milk.i have heard you are supposed to keep the milk the same until approx 9 months??? god how do you fit it all in? how can i make her eat more? sorry this is long, im getting so panicky about the whole thing!i just dont understand it!i am doing purees by the way.although i did give her a banana to muck about with and she did have a little but i was wayy to worried about her choking

you're doing the right thing: she's still supposed to get most of her calories from milk.

ds1 was like this - it's just one of those things. she will eat eventually and there's no sense in pushing it. It could be worse: ds2 cannot eat quick enough and often eats so much so fast that he yacks it all back up again. which is nice. He's 6 months too. He hides it up in his mouth so I think he's eating OK.

Speaking of which, babies' gag reflexes are very sensitive: it's highly unlikely she could choke on banana as she'd projectile vomit first.

If she doesnt want food, dont stress, milk is most important in the first year.

take a deep breath, that was a massive long post!

She's only 6mo.
She's getting the vast majority of her nutrition from milk (don't cut it down yet).
There's no reason that she should be eating cereal / fruit / veg 'meals' yet so don't try and get her to eat 'more'.
Giving her (eg) a banana or some steamed carrot sticks to muck about with is a really good way to get her interested in food.
She won't choke - she might gag a bit to help her shift food out of her mouth but it's not dangerous - Aitch explains the difference really well here .

Sorry - my reply was brief, my dinner break cover had arrived and I had to shut down quickly!!!

Just go with the flow. Give her the usual milk feeds. Try a bit of food at the beginning, or the end - doesnt really matter if she's been gaining weight adequately.

Might be an idea to go with the whole Baby Led Weaning (BLW) thinking. There are lots of threads in Weaning about it, have a look, give it a go .

They all start to eat eventually, even if it is off of the floor - like my DS

aw thanks very much.it is just worrying when you want them to eat because you think they need it and it isnt happening!! just seems like everyone else is "oh yes my dd/ds just loooves his banana or butternut squash"-whatever the hell that is lol.what is butternut squash????

im going to give the whole blw a bit of a go,alongside with the puree idea.suppose that doesnt make it blw but anythings worth a try!

HB - you'll get used to the fact that some parents think that rearing a child is a race or a competition.

It is also worth bearing in mind that a few parents will only tell you the "good" bits. Or they will say that their LO is sleeping through the night, which in fact constitutes a sleep from midnight until 5am....

Try not to worry too much about what other babies are doing in terms of development. Babies are all different, and develop varies skills at differing rates. You will know if something is not going as it should. Try and enjoy these special times (particularly the not faffing with purees and food). You'll miss these days when they are gone

Just pretend your dd likes sushi, foie gras and a nice claret to wash it all down with, that'll stop the comments about butternut squash

She may be one of these kids who prefers to feed herself, and that's quite difficult at six months.

Also, don't be afraid to give the food before the milk. If she misses a single feed, she's not going to starve.

LOL! Say she's on page 51 of Annabel Karmel

Seriously - butternut squash and sweet potato are always good things to start with because they are sweet and the texture is smooth. You can get them from most supermarkets.