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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

18 month old refuses to eat

10 replies

Amiatfault · 30/05/2019 13:14

My little girl is 18 months and from 6 months we started to wean her. Now she got to a year and her eating started to go down hill. She would refuse breakfast so I tried all sorts porridge, wheatabix and yogurt but she would just spit it out. Same for lunches and dinners. We can just about get her to eat 10 spoons of dinner but that's it

I know she's ok as I have taken her to Drs and health visitors who say just stop the bottles and she will eat eventually but I have tried that and she still won't eat
Does anyone have any ideas for me to try

OP posts:
lilbubsmama · 30/05/2019 15:23

Do you feed her every
Meal or does she have a chance to feed herself?

dementedpixie · 30/05/2019 15:24

How many bottles is she having? Will she eat finger foods?

LuckyKitty13 · 30/05/2019 15:27

Are you giving her the opportunity to play with the food and get involved? Let her feed herself/make a mess. Offer a floor picnic for example. What's your reaction wheb she doesn't eat? Do you act frustrated or try to push it in her mouth? Try just ignoring and take the pressure off completely?

Original poster
Amiatfault · 30/05/2019 16:02

Hi
Yes she has half a bottle of milk when she wakes up at 6 then at 8 I give her porridge , normally a sandwich for lunch which she will throw on the floor and something like cottage pie for dinner during the day she will have snacks fruit and veg crisps.

Bottles she will have 3 or 4 she still has bottles for naps and bed time.

Sorry first time mum so I'm really not sure what I'm doing

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 30/05/2019 16:04

After 1 year they only need around 300 mls of milk so maybe the milk is affecting her appetite for solid foods. 3 or 4 bottles is an awful lot for an 18 month old, could you cut any out or drastically lower the amount in each

Original poster
Amiatfault · 30/05/2019 16:32

Hi thanks for the replies, I will give her water when she wakes up then try the porridge at 8 I will try reducing the milk again

OP posts:
LiliesAndChocolate · 30/05/2019 23:48

Snacks+fruit+veg crisps are her source of food.

Remove snack and the veg crisps (these are ultra-processed food that are engineered to be palatable unless you are talking about home made veg crisp like Kale)

Keep the fruit but i piece in the morning and 1 in the afternoon.
There are set times for breakfast 8-9, set time for lunch 12-1 and a set time for dinner 5.30-6.30

Don't offer food several times per hour, control what she drinks as anything but water will kill her appetite at meal times.

Original poster
Amiatfault · 31/05/2019 09:13

Ok so little update I didn't give her a bottle this morning she had some water and she had 5 spoons of porridge this morning at 8 so I will do lunch around 12 30 and see how it goes
Its so hard as she crys for her bottle but I have to try and stay strong

OP posts:
Mishappening · 31/05/2019 09:18

Indeed the way forward is to cut out the bottles - maybe just leave one at night. The other thing to remember is that a child might appear to be eating nothing, but if they are well and active they must be getting enough food. If you are openly concerned about it then it will be become a battle - give her food and smile if she eats it - if she throws it on the floor then just ignore. No big deal either way.

Gosh - it is so hard being a first time Mum!!! Smile

dementedpixie · 31/05/2019 09:22

You could give a cup of milk alongside breakfast and a bottle before bed. She still needs some milk, just not the amount she was having

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