How on earth do you get babies to eat???

[HeadFairy]

ds is 9 mo, he was quite happy to eat when we started weaning, I did a combo of mush and BLW, to be honest he never did get on with putting food in his mouth, it went in but came straight back out again. He's now refusing all the food I give him (lumpy mush really) so I thought "oh maybe he's ready to start feeding himself, perhaps that's what he's trying to tell me" but he's just eaten absolutely nothing for his tea. He refused to be spoon fed and refused all the finger food too. I gave him some cheese, some apple, some bread, some carrots and tried to give him some yoghurt. My sister suggested trying to give both at the same time, but to no avail. I'm sure babies can't starve themselves but I'm worried he's not getting enough food. What on earth can I do to get him to eat? He's not ill or anything, no teeth coming through, generally well and happy.

sometimes mine went off it for a while, afterwards realised they were proabbly having a rough time teething or something. They are a law unto themselves, but generally don't starve, despite. Will he take extra milk?

I don't think he's teething, he doesn't seem distressed or anything by sore gums. He's barely taking any milk either. I bf him this morning, I gave him a bottle of formula this afternoon of which he took 2oz, I'm just about to bf him again and I'll offer him some formula afterwards, but if it's the same as last night he'll take a couple of oz and then refuse the rest. His clothes are starting to get really loose, he's not exactly big anyway, he's 9 mo and still in 3-6 months clothes.

maybe you are trying too much? difficult not to i know. they can tell when you're stressed out.

what are you doing for meals tomorrow? what will you be eating? did you have cheese, apple, bread and carrots for your tea?

You may be right, but I don't think I'm getting too stressed. I'm not prising his mouth open or anything I did go through a phase of making about 5 different meals and each one being rejected so I decided to stop that. If he doesn't eat what I give him I don't try and offer him something else. To be honest he doesn't even seem that bothered when he's eaten virtually nothing and I put him back on the floor to play.

What he's had today...

Breastfed
approx 5 mouthfuls of porridge and banana

one jar of noodles with leeks and chicken (and a bit of cheese grated on top)

2oz formula

1 mouthful of lamb casserole
a thumbnail sized piece of cheese
1 mouthful of yoghurt

Breastfeed
3oz formula

That's a pretty normal day, actually I was amazed he ate so much at lunch. He's really active too, crawling everywhere at the speed of light. I guess the fact that he's so active would indicate he's getting enough but a couple of weeks ago he would eat three times that amount easily.

My DS has recently turned one and its only in the last couple of weeks he has started eating solid food in any sort of quantities. I wouldn't worry about the solid food, it will come in good time. Best thing I found was just to try and be relaxed about the whole thing - hard to do when other babies seem to be scoffing down full meals though I know.

My DS was maybe drinking more milk than that though, he is breastfed and was prob on 4 feeds a day at that point plus through the night. He is quite big though.

that's reassuring preggers... as he's so active and lively I'm not too upset, but I was just curious if what he eats is a normal amount for a child his age. He does have one more feed to go, I usually do a dream feed just before I go to bed, he doesn't have masses then though, just a quick slurp. I suppose it all helps.

My dd is 8.5 months and has days like you describe, where she eats practically nothing. Very frustrating but I am determined to be relaxed (I had loads of stress over eating with my other two dcs.). IMO you should just carry on with the BLW, offering a few different things each mealtime. For what its worth my dd loves pasta, toast and bananas and tonight she ate a little salmon for the first time.

And remember the MN mantra "Food is just for fun until they're one!". As long as your ds seems healthy and is having his milk then you can relaaaaaaaaaaxxxxxx (easier said than done I know!).

thanks for the advice jafina... I'm going to have to start thinking about different kinds of foods now, it's a shame as I've got a freezer full of mush! Perhaps I can use them as pasta sauces and soups.... he refused his weetabix and banana this morning but took a few bites of some toast and butter so I think perhaps he's more keen on feeding himself. At lunchtime I think we'll try some fishfingers and steamed veggies. Fingers crossed!

well if it helps my baby has just turned 10 months. She eats about the same as your little one. She does not show any real interest in food yet..and refuses anything lumpy - also finger foods! She is getting her 10 month check up in a bit over a week so will mention it then and maybe get her to have a medical check - ENT or something..as there maybe a reason for the refusal. Around march she was wolfing down food - then she got ill with an ear infection in april, the same time her teeth started to come through. Ever since her teeth have started to come through we have quite a few days where she drinks very little and refuses mealtimes.With her bottom teeth I could see they were starting to come through, but with the top ones they were just there.. so you cannot always tell from the appearance of the gums if teeth are on the way.
She is also active - rolling about and as happy as larry - laughing and smiling. I was however getting very stressed at mealtimes and it affected her badly I think..so I am stepping back from the lumpy food for a week..and will try again soon with a more relaxed approach. Our little girl is also tiny - weighs just about 8 kilos.

Sorry to hear you're having similar troubles bekkie... I'll be very interested to hear what they say at her 10 mo check, we don't have them here, only 8 months and then 18 months I think.

I've decided if it goes on much longer I'll take him to the baby clinic and have a chat. He was ok at his 8 month check, the food refusal has only been in the last couple of weeks. It did conicide with a nasty tummy bug and cold combo which laid him very low. We ended up in casualty one night as our gp was worried he wasn't taking any fluid in.

I did have another look at his gums and maybe one is coming through, he's got three top teeth so maybe the fourth is on it's way.

He's very contrary with his food, at lunchtime he only wanted to feed himself, refused to be spoonfed at all, but at tea time he refused everything but yoghurt which I spoonfed him. I did manage to get a bit of banana in him while he was playing before bathtime too.

I've tried to relax a bit more as well, it's really hard isn't it? I'm hoping ds' weight loss is due to his increased activity. He's a little bigger than your dd, he's about 9 kilos (he was 8.46kg at his 8 month check so I'm guessing) but he's still in 3-6 months clothes.

I hope you manage to get some answers soon, keep me posted.

my dd is now 2.1, but i bf her a LOT up until she was 18 mths old and it is only with hindsight (and cutting down to just morning and evening bfing) that i realised that she must have been getting much more milk than i ever imagined. she never ate properly at all, and i used to worry about it, but her eating has improved dramatically since i stopped bfing her.

likewise, my nephew, who always appeared to have a good appetite has also just stopped bfing and now eats 3 x the amount he used to.

my dd still has days when she seems to survive on nothing, but i try not to worry about it because there is nothing i can do. i offer her good, nutritious, varied food, if she doesn't want it i can't force her to eat it.

it's very hard to get the balance right isn't janek? I only bf morning and evening and give a bottle of formula mid afternoon so I hope I'm not giving him too much, but the flip side I feel is that if he's not eating I'd rather he was having some milk then at least I don't have to worry about him missing out on some vital nutrients. Oooh it's a minefield . the good thing is he ate his whole breakfast of a weetabix with mashed banana and milk so I'm feeling very happy, we just took it very slowly, played games, chatted and even took a break halfway to give his daddy his father's day card and present. Even if he doesn't eat again for the rest of the day I'm happy I've got one meal in him!