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Weaning

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

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Original poster

complete weaning failure- where do I go from here?

10 replies

liv01 · 31/03/2008 10:20

Started weaning my 6 month old about 5 weeks ago. It was great at first and she loved it- really enjoyed purees- grabbed the spoon and tried to put it into her mouth. And then she got ill- and I stupidly tried to coax her to eat. She is better now but now will not take anything- clamps her mouth shut and arches back- she is not remotely interested. What can I do? Everything I have tried with her (night sleep, naps, etc) has gone completely wrong- this was the one thing that was actually going well and I can't believe that this is going to be a huge struggle as well..

OP posts:

kittypower · 31/03/2008 10:23

is she teething as my DS loves his food but as soon as there is a tooth coming through he totally refuses to eat anything at all or even take a bottle, he will just clamp his mouth totally shut and scream until I stop offering it and then as soon as the tooth is through he is back to eating heaps

EdieMcredie · 31/03/2008 11:48

Im no expert but as long as she is having her milk and seems happy and healthy then don't worry too much, maybe relax a bit (easier said than done I know!!-Im not very relaxed with weaning either!)

This isn't going to be 'a huge struggle', keep telling yourself that...

Some on here may suggest putting some different types of finger foods infront of her and seeing what happens-many babies don't like being spoon fed-or go off it. I bet she would grab stuff and put it in her mouth. My DD has philly on rice cakes, cheese and toast as finger foods.

Sidge · 31/03/2008 11:59

Leave it for now. As long as she is having her milk she will be getting all her nutrients, food is just for fun.

Also EdieMcredie is right, many babies don't like being spoon fed, esp ecially when they are teething as their mouths are sore.

I would put finger foods in front of her, especially when you are eating. Babies of this age love to copy! Fingers of toast, chunks of fruit and veg, chunks of cheese etc.

This is a temporary phase, don't worry, it won't become a huge struggle. Just back off and relax and it will all pick up again

MrsBadger · 31/03/2008 12:03

Edie has beaten me to it - first job is to relax

so long as she's getting milk she won't be going hungry, so let her set the pace.

Keep up her mik feeds and offer her finger foods to investigate with no pressure from you - sit her in her highchair at the table when you're eating and let her see you picking stuff up and going 'mm mm'. Chances are she'll copy you.

I don't want to make you feel bad (or indeed worse ), but it sounds like your series of traumas might be coming from thinking about how dd 'should' be sleeping 7h a night / napping predictably / doing so and so at such and such an age.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with being led by her with respect to these things, doing what works for you as a family (be it demand feeding, cosleeping, letting her nap in a sling on you etc) and ignoring the 'helpful' advice of MIL, HV etc if you want to.

SmugColditz · 31/03/2008 12:06

Leave her alobne and let her do it herself. Take the spoon and bowl out of the equation if it is causing problems, and giver her little fingers of your toast to suck while she sits on your lap.

How can you 'fail' at a biological event? Don't be daft, that's like 'failing' at labour, or 'failing' at going for a poo!

StarlightMcKenzie · 31/03/2008 12:10

This reply has been deleted

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Original poster

liv01 · 03/04/2008 19:52

Thank you for the reassurance. Thank you MrsBadger- I completely agree that some of these traumas are of my own making! I find it so difficult to relax about all this- I have read far too many books and listened to too many people who give you dire warnings along the lines of 'if you do/ don't do this your baby will not sleep through until they are five/be a fussy eater/ be completely psychologically traumatised...' I just want to do what is best for her but don't know what that is.

OP posts:

Aitch · 03/04/2008 22:56

the BEST thing you can do is realise that you are one of the two people who love her most in the whole world and you know her best in the whole world. you're not goiing to harm her if you follow YOUR instincts, it's when other little voices start nipping that things go awry.

so. what are those instincts of yours telling you?

Tinkjon · 04/04/2008 08:33

Also, everything with babies is phases, I've found. My 2 have been alternately great sleepers then awful sleepers, great eaters then awful eaters... what is the case one month is often not the case the next. So I'm sure it won't be a huge struggle, this is just a difficult patch in what will probably otherwise be a perfectly fine experience!

Naboo · 05/04/2008 11:10

Try to look at it in the long term liv01 - you'll be battling to stop her scoffing chips in school hours when she's 14! She will start to eat at some point.

Milk is the vital component for the first year - so she will be ok. It's not nice battling the worry demons though.

Try placing a few finger foods on the table and then pretend not to watch her. You can guarantee anything they are not 'meant' to have, they will be scoffing in five mins!

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