Not eating much - when do I need to start worrying?

[FinnMcMissile]

DD is almost 8 months. Been weaning since 6 months, and have tried a mixture of things - purees, finger foods etc. These days I mostly offer what we are having if it is suitable.

She does seem to enjoy some things, eg strawberries, bananas. But still barely consumes anything.

When do I need to start worrying? I was thinking we should be well on the way to establishing solids by 9 months, but that is looming now.

She is bf on demand and I'm not sure if I need to address that. She wakes up lots at night, probably every 2 hours. I also feed her to sleep once or twice a day for naps. I'm not sure how much milk she actually takes though. Interestingly, sometimes she wants a milk feed almost immediately after dinner..

I really struggled to get my DD to drop her milk feeds and replace with solids. We did eventually turn a corner around 10 months and she dropped feeds and naps herself.
At nearly 1 DD now has 3 meals a day and 3-4 FF depending if she wakes in the night or not.
As far as I was told was that children still got a lot of nutrients from their milk until they are 1. If you're happy for your DD to lead and she's following her weight centile, then just keep following her lead.

You don’t neeed to worry, your baby will develop well. Just keep on doing what you are doing.

About 18 months before my DS was on 3 meals. Didn’t eat lots of anything until about a year old. If you’re BF on demand then they’ll be getting everything they need so as long as you don’t want to wean for another reason just keep doing what you’re doing

ages and ages away yet.

Honestly 8 months is still really early, yes some children start eating 3 meals a day within a few weeks, but not many!

I think for most its around 12 months old when the balance starts to really flip towards food. In the meantime carry on offering milk as normal and solids in between and naturally she will start eating more solids and needing less milk.

DS2 wasn't interested in food at that age. He's 8 now, and still not massively interested - more of a food as fuel attitude. As long as your DC is happy and has enough energy, there's no cause for concern.

Thanks all, this is all very reassuring!

Sounds like my son and I even posted on here for advice. He is now 16 months old and eats more food than I do sometimes! I do still breast feed him too but as he has got older it is mostly just in the morning and at night, and I think he is almost ready to self wean from breastfeeding. Just keep on doing what you are doing :)

My DD ate barely anything until she was well over 1, she was bf on demand too. At 8 months barely a morsel had passed her lips yet, she refused spoons and had absolutely no interest in food. I was so stressed about it at the time, but she got there when she was ready! Don't worry op

I've heard paediatricians say "Food before one is just for fun". Takes away any pressure on unsure mums, follow your child's needs.

Food before one isn't just for fun, though - there are some very specific nutrients that babies must get from food. Their iron stores run low, for example, and breastfed infants don't get much iron in their milk. Dietary iron is therefore very important.

I wouldn't worry just yet OP as I'm sure she's absolutely fine, but maybe try to give her some foods high in iron (dried fruits, fortified baby cereals and things like Weetabix, green leafy veg, red meat etc). There's a nice date and Weetabix loaf on pinterest that DS loves (with a lot less sugar than the recipe).

I've heard paediatricians say "Food before one is just for fun".

Hmm... this phrase gets used a lot on internet forums, in baby groups and by some HVs but I would be really surprised to hear it from a paediatrician or another experienced health care professional. According to WHO (page 22):

www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guiding_principles_compfeeding_breastfed.pdf

Breast milk can make a substantial contribution to the total nutrient intake of chil- dren between 6 and 24 months of age, particularly for protein and many of the vitamins. However, breast milk is relatively low in several minerals such as iron and zinc, even after accounting for bioavailability. At 9-11 months of age, for example, the proportion of the Recommended Nutrient Intake that needs to be supplied by complementary foods is 97% for iron, 86% for zinc, 81% for phosphorus, 76% for magnesium, 73% for sodium and 72% for calcium (Dewey, 2001).

These are important nutrients (e.g. iron is absolutely vital for cognitive development).

I fully agree with @FartnissEverbeans - I would not worry too much about the total number of calories coming from solids but I would definitely focus on offering iron rich food.

She is probably full of milk , she needs less of that to be hungry .

Give her a small bf, then solid food, then the rest of the bf when she's had enough.

At 8 months we were really just trying little bits of things and hadn't introduced much apart from fruit and veg. By 10 months DD was eating pureed casseroles with green leafy vegetables etc., and a decent portion at that but still only 2 meals a day. Now at 13 months she has 3 good meals a day. It just sort of happened. I wouldn't worry just yet!

I wouldn't worry too much

I'm sure your baby will let you know if she's hungry for more than milk.

My first took to weaning like a dream, straight on from 4 months and wouldn't stop eating.

My second didn't start weaning until he was 8 months and even then it was tiny titbits. He didn't really start eating properly until he was well over a year old

If you're worried that she doesn't get enough vitamins and minerals you could mix nutrigen vitamixin sprinkles into her food. They really don't change the taste of the food. I realise that it doesn't solve the problem entirely, but it could at least weigh up for a lack of a varied diet.