8 month old off solids

[newmummie24]

My baby’s just turned 8 months. He’s been very on and off solids. He’s mainly breast fed. Recently he’s just not been interested in food at all. Not in BLW form, puree, anything. He’s had a few allergy issues so is on an egg and milk ladder, which makes food a bit tricker.

is it normal for him to be off food a little? Feel like he’s never been in a routine of food and worried that he should be on 2/3 meals a day already?!? He’s nowhere near and is still having milk all day.

Totally normal, he definitely doesn't need 3 meals at that age, I think we only did 1 at that age. It's taken til 13 months for my BF baby to really start eating 3 meals a day. Don't worry at all - just keep offering, eat with him, zero pressure, let him play with food. I know it's messy but it is really beneficial to do this. From about 9 months, I tried to be more strategic about BF timing, so I'd offer food at least 2 hours after a BF to make sure she was hungry, that definitely helped but it's been SLOW. My 13 month old still has about 3 BFs during the day, plus bedtime and 1-2 night feeds. Reducing BF will not make him eat more.

Does he get more interested in food if you let him get a little bit hungry? You could try giving a solid breakfast before breastfeeding to see if a bigger appetite helps. If he’s still feeding a lot at night maybe try to reduce this so day time food is more important for him.

My son loved eating because I always struggled with breast milk supply so my experience is it helps if they are hungry!

if you think there’s any issue with the actual mechanics of eating, like he struggles to swallow, then def bring up with GP.

That really gives me some reassurance, thank you. I just worried that I was behind, but thank you. I’ll continue to offer and won’t put pressure on it x

Is there a reason he’s doing both the ladders at the same time?

Usually they are done individually and only after 12 months?

We ended up going private. He had a skin prick test and is allergic to eggs. He then just had little reactions to milk and other things. So we were told to get him on the ladder’s and to continue introducing these things at such a young age, in the hopes that it won’t develop into a proper allergy.

why? Is this usually advised after 12 months?