I'm not enjoying weaning :(

[Babyeatsdiddlysquat]

Hi

LO is 8 months next week, been weaning since she was 5.5 months with purees, mashed and some finger foods.

Routine is

7 BF

10.30 BF

12 Chicken/Fish and veg plus fruit

2.30 BF

4.30 Veg then yogurt

7 BF

She hardly eats a thing, perhaps 3 or 4 spoonfuls. Have tried BLW of sorts but she is soooo lazy and will only eat if I put it to her mouth first and hold it. Only thing she will hold herself is breadsticks.

So she still has 4 BFs a day which I know is her main source of nutrition but she is not putting on weight as well as she was before, dropped off birth curve. We don't make an issue out of it, as soon as she stops, we stop but you can't help being a bit concerned.

I'm just a bit lost. I know the mantra' food is fun until they're 1' but it doesn't seem much fun for her or us at the moment!

Any adivce?

see, i'd be most inclined to wait. my dd took a spurt in eating at 9 months that made no difference to her milk (she was ff, so i can be definitive about that) and then at 13 months started dropping feeds for herself.
i don't know how a few mouthfuls more of chicken or fish and fruit will be more calorific than milk, either formula or BM.

When you're 8 months old, life is far too interesting to be on the breast 4 times a day. With a rice cake (or some other such finger food to play with), you can keep looking around and get in a few calories at the same time.
I dropped the 1030 feed because my dd was only ever interested when we were at home, never wanted this feed when we were out and about, so I realised she probably didn't need it.
All babies are different and it's taken me 10 months of motherhood to learn not to worry because babies are very clever and regulate themselves somehow - no research to prove this, just talking from limited experience and instinct I'm afraid.

I would introduce breakfast, keep the 10.30 feed and make lunch later. At 8 months my ds
was
6 am bf
7 am breakfast
9-10 ish sleep
bf on waking
1.30 ish lunch
2-3 sleep
bf on waking
5.30 supper
7.30 bf + bed

My ds is 7 months old and he isn't showing that much interest in food either. Will not take food off a spoon so going down the BLW route. Some days he eats more than others but I still find it quite frustrating as more food goes on the floor/in his ears/on his clothes than in his mouth!! I still give 5 milk feeds a day (he is bf) as I don't want him to start waking in the night for food, I like my sleep too much! I never anticipated weaning to be such hard work, especially as none of my other friends with babies have this problem. Its good to know I'm not alone with this, sorry I haven't got any advice but just wanted to add to the thread

tea71 you are right, but that's why it's important to still offer the feed. Obviously you can't force the baby to take milk if it doesn't want it, but by "dropping" the feed you take away the choice. My dd is 9 moths and still has at least 5 bfs a day.

TBH OP if you really sat down and documented what your baby eats and compared it to others on here I bet you would find that your LO is not eating as badly as you think.

Check out the BLW blog, it may just be that you need a bit of inspiration for different things to try. Plus it takes them a bit of time to get used to feeding themselves, if your DD only has finger foods occasionally maybe she just hasn't had the chance to practice.

I notice you don't give the LO breakfast, maybe give that a try, she might just be hungry at different times of day. You could try cereal with a bit of breast milk. At the moment dd is loving shredded wheat with warm cow's milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon

I know we shouldn't compare our lo to others bt when you are a new mum it is your only point of reference. All the other babes in my group are happily eating 3 meals a day with 3 milk feeds and eating a fair amount more than my lo. I KNOW all babies are different but when you are looking for guidance that's where you turn.

DD has finger foods at every meal, we always offer them and always give her something off our plates if we eat at a different time - which sometimes we have to!

I was just keen to enjoy the weaning process and think it's a shame that it can be stressful whatever method you chose - I feel unsupported by HV (no surprise there then!)

I am going to try breakfast today, thanks for suggestion Bumper... and see if she still wants 1030 milk (although we at Jo Jingles then so could be interesting . Will let you all know how it goes.

I have been keeping a food diary for my DS over last few days which has helped a little, felt that we had a slightly better day yesterday, put him to bed at 7 having had 6oz FF, then he woke at 2am and had 9oz! went back to sleep until 6ish, had a small BF on waking then not wanted anything else since . We're off to see HV shortly, wonder if I will come back feeling even more stressed/usless?!

Today was much better!

7 bf

No feed at 1030

Lunch at 1145 which was cod, sweet potato, courgette and a dollop of cauliflower cheese!! She ate the lot plus a breadstick and some pear

2 bf

4.30 Potato, baked beans and yes that trusty dollop of cauliflower cheese followed by a yogurt.

So dropping the feed worked today and she hasn't asked for it, she has also had 2 lovely naps during the day.

I guess she is a dairy freak and loves her cheese so if we need to have cheese for a while then so be it.

Tmw of course may be a different story....