DS nearly 1 - weaning is not going well.

[AbiBub]

Hi all!

Our DS is going to be 1 on 7th April.

Weaning is being interesting to say the least.

We have tried him on most fruit (he hates banana's with a passion). I have spent ages blending vegs (as he wont eat them as chunks) and he still doesn't like them.

He occsionally likes bread / toast and the same with cheeses and yoghurts.

BLW and finger foods is not the way for this baby as he just literally either plays with it (it's not a bloomin' toy!) or chucks it over the edge - nothing goes down his gullet!

ATM he consists on half a jar a day of HIPP O creamy rice breakfast or creamy porridge (from the jars, as he doesn't like the stuff I make up) (oooh anyone know where I can get creamy rice pudding in powder form as having troubles locating and that is one thing I haven't tried??)

He also can only tolorate the cow and gate chicken squash and pasta bake and the orchard chicken (half a jar a day for dinner).

Bearing in mind this is all stage one jars and he wont take next stage up jars. Whatever I cook him or prepare for him freshly - he doesn't like.

He is FF. He is still gaining weight, and a fairly contented baby in that respect.

We have been trying things since 6m and still to no avail Also my other complaint is that he doesn't like drink any other type of fluids aside of his formula. I would love him to be able to drink water, as I love it, but he is just not having it. Should I try issuing water how I issue his formula, by using the same style bottle and teat, because we have tried numerous cups and spouts etc and he is just not having it!!

dont get me wrong I love him to pieces but this is getting tiresome as he is just not responding well to anything we try

what are we suppose to do after he has turned one, and nothing is changed, do we keep on with his first stage milk, do we change it to cows milk, if so how do we do this?? I am getting more and more anxcious the closer it gets to his first birthday (not that I show him that, its all sweetness and light when he doesn't except)

All advice and tips please do give - and if anyone else is going through this, please talk as it may make me feel like we are not the only ones!!

Thanks in advance.

I can' really help, but have read so will reply so someone useful will come on but...
Do you eat with him? If not this is the first thing I would suggest. Always have his meal times the same as yours and he'll get a good idea of what he should be doing. Many babies love to eat exactly the same foods they have in their own bowl when it has been pinched off Mum's plate.
He can eat everything you eat by now so may surprise you.
Apologies if you've tried this already.

Thanks peeps. We do sit down with him for meals - we have tried him on pretty much all the food we eat (within reason, nothing with a high salt content) he still doesn't like.

with regards to the BLW or finger foods - he just plays with it, nothing goes in, we have tried soooooo many times but each time is the same

I don't show him when I am feeling worried, and try and praise him if he at leasts trys something, I have the no fuss approach down to a T now (hence why I am on here!)

We have tried the TT free flow - he doesn't like it!

I keep on trying all these things again and again and again and it just isn't working!

Because we have made sooo much progress (small to some but quite big to us!) with him eating the stage one jars, I am reluctant to stop altogether, I would rather try and introduce others and phase the stage one out. I don't want to stop them, as we may then be back to square one (him not eating anything!). Thank you for the advice though I will bear it in mind if I am starting to tear out my hair!

Any other peeps have suggestions / stories??

Hello, I have been there and still am abit. My DS, 16 months, has bad reflux and feeding aversions. He was still on 4 month style purrees until about 13 months old. We kept insistantly trying the 7 month lumpy stuff (as HV suggested he would soon get used to it) when he gagged/choked/vomitted but this eventually made him refuse food altogether for a few days.

So we kept with the purrees that he was happy with and all his usual formula in bottles (his paeditrician said this was fine and her own 18 mth old was still having formula).We did introduce a cup with water from about 7/8 months which he drinks with meals, he never has a bottle with meals, and he eventually drank it and likes water now.

With the food, we gave his purrees and started giving him chopped up melt in mouth foods on the tray. Organix carrot sticks (7 month ones) are great. Chop them up into little pieces and leave on the tray. Same with choc buttons. I know it's not the healthiest but the hospital suggested this to us. Eventually DS managed to pick up and eat them. We stressed chewing motions with him and even if we looked like a couple of idiots doing exagerated chewing motions, it really did help!!!! He just didn't know what to do wth lumps otherwise.

After that, we gave him 7 month jar or simelar consistancy things but mashed up abit, so they were in between 4 and 7 month thickness, he actually took it then (only cheesy pasta, he refused any other!!) and we gave him it daily for about 3-4 weeks and then the proper 7 month jars, he took it fine and eventually tried other flavours.

Then we gave him mashed things like fish cake cut into little cubes and mashed potato and soft bread. We are still not quite on all normal foods but definately making progress and his doctor is pleased with how he has done.

(My DD1 only ate yoghurts and banana for ages at age one but she is 13 now and since about 2 years old ate really well so I think they grow out of it. If he is eating anything half decent, that's the main thing.)

Hi Jellybeans - thank you for this, it's good to know that we aren't the only ones that are having a tough time with things, I guess because we see everyone else doing so well with foods, when it isn't going quite to plan, you just feel like you're the only one!

I will keep on with the formula if thats what he wants. He was a late starter with even taking breakfasts, so I guess it may just take a little while longer.

Does anyone think that if I am still doing the formula it would then be a silly idea to start with cows milk after one yrs? perhaps he would quite like that as a drink after meals? Being a first time mummi is defnately tough, but you don't realise how tough until you are doing it! I guess it is because this little being is so reliant on you, and you just want to get it right!

Little man does do the chewing motion, and not badly at all, but there is only so much that he will even entertain eating!

I must say, if he is anything like me then he might have quite a sensitive gag reflex!

Thank you so much for your contribution.

Again if anyone else can help with some tips and experiences, all is very welcome!

My DD will be 10 months next week and is slightly better than your DS but only just. She is OK with texture - will eat baby pasta for example but eats soooo little in comparison to other babies her age (and my DS who ate heaps). She does like pureed fruit, weetabix and yoghurts and toast, breadsticks and rice cakes. But she is v dodgy on vegetables on their own (puree or otherwise) and won't even entertain picking up bits of veg or fruit. But saying that she did try a bit of new potato earlier and last week picked up bits of peas and corns.

So, what I am trying to say (but not very well I think) is to stick with it and maybe bit by bit things will change. And any progress is good, no matter how little. Just keep trying new things. Easy to say as I do tend to panic every couple of weeks that DD is hardly eating anything and is v unadventurous. Also DD goes backwards every time she is ill, teething etc which doesn't help.

As for the cows milk, I don't know of any baby who didn't like it so perhaps try it for a few days and then see what happens.

How do you structure your feeding solids with formula? Is he hungry enough at meal times to actually want to eat solids? Does he know that if he does not eat the solids he will get formula anyway?

Sounds very stressful for you. You have my sympathies.

My ds refused to eat anything until he was 8 months. What worked for us was finding one thing he absolutely loved. (In our case it was ripe peaches.) Once he got a mouthful of that, he suddenly seemed to "get" eating and started to try lots and lots of different things. I know your ds is older, but it might be worth trying a whole range of things you haven't tried before just in case you hit on a taste he really likes.

how is he at picking up teeny things, like sultanas? maybe give his pincer grip a good workout and see if that helps? dd loves edamame in their pods cos of all the faff.

Hi all!

Wow the responcse has been lovely, thank you all so very much.

He feeding schedule goes along the lines of this:

Wake up - has a bottle
an hour to an hour&half later - breakfast (porridge)
an hour to an hour half later - another bottle
Then most time will go down for a nap. (1 hours 3 hours max)

wakes up - will have a bit of play if only short sleep. - he then has a bottle.
an hour to an hour half later - lunch (whatever he will eat!).

an hour to hour and half later - bottle

Lots of play untill daddy comes home - bottle.
half an hour to an hour later - dinner (usually either orchard chicken or chicken & squash pasta bake).

leave it half an hour and then have bath, jim jams then bottle before bed.
BED!!!

He can have anything up to 6 -7 bottles a day, and they can range from him having as little as 3 oz's to 6 oz's.

He is always willing to try most things, but if he doesn't like the smell he wont even go there! He is always hungry enough (he is a very fidgety baby!)to eat the solids, and he knows that if he doesn't then he will have to wait (no formula if he doesn't eat!) (well not until he is due it anyway!)

His bottles can range from being 2.5 to 4 hours in between each. Most of my day feels like I am feeding him, or planning to.

Because he is getting on well (routine wise) with the breakfasts and dinners as his fav jars come up, I have tended to try him on new things at lunch time to gague whether its going to work or not, that way if he doesn't like something and really hasn't got on with it well, he hasn't missed out on a structured meal that he is used to. Does that sound silly?

He can pincer grip quite well, the thing with the BLW is not that he cant physically pick things up and then bring to his mouth, its just that he thinks all it is is toys, we have tried many times, and it just doesn;t work! I am, to be blatantly honest not bothered if he is BLW, in fact I prefer to spoon feed, and so does he. (sorry to all the BLW out there, just not our bag yet!).

So you see my dilemma. The range of food is not quite how I would want it, I would rather he weren't on jars, I would prefer that he like a bigger range of stuff, and that when we know he likes something, he actually stuck to remembering he liked it in the first place!!

Thank you all for your comments - anyone else have any then please do post, all help and tips is much appreciated

Sounds like a lot of bottles to me. My DD is on 4 and I was going to drop her to 3! My HV said that they only need 20 oz a day but that includes in food so if your DS is getting more than that, drop a feed or 2?

don't even think about blw, tbh, you're waaaaaaaaaaay beyond that now. he's one year old, not six months. basically, most one year olds aren't still getting spoon fed, regardless of how they started weaning, so you're in an unusual situation here.

so if you put sultanas out, just sultanas, in a bowl on the ground while you're both sitting down reading a story, and you toss a few into your mouth as you're reading, he just ignores them?

i agree, you know, it does seem like he's on a massive amount of bottles during the day, for his age. i don't suppose he's hungry really. tricky one for you, though...

I'd also cut down on the number of bottles. One (7oz) in the morning, diluted juice or water after/with lunch and another 7 oz bottle of ff after evening meal is all he needs.

When he gets hungrier, I bet he'll be keener to experiment with new tastes and textures.

My DS is 1 and has no milk at all (rather unusual i know). he is not eating as he is getting all his calories from milk. Cut milk to just morning after breakfast and night. Bin jars and he will eat.

One of the risks is that he may have a speech delay, you need to chew an swallow to be able to form words.

Hi all

Thanks for the replies, does come across a little harsh when said like that, but thank you for your comments.

we have tried cutting out on bottles, it doesn't work!! much fun for us really. until he is actually one he main stay should be milk becuase he needs those calories, you get hardly any calories from the foods introduced and I would quite like him to have a healthy start than not

With regards to his speech and chewing and swallowing. As I mentioned in one of my previous messages, he has no problem with chewing and swallowing, he does this fine with bread etc His speech is fine, he is quite an observant baby, so watches how our mouths form shapes. He has already been able to say mumumumum and dadadadada from about 6 months, and now he can say things like star, and dot and tree and really be able to pronounce the st and the d and t and tr, so we are not concerned there, but I do see your point with that.

I guess what I am trying muster is tips on different types of food that you think he may like (some that I might not have thought of!) And suggestions on how he could be able to drink more water and such. The cows milk we can start after one. He never has any more that max 35oz in a day (and thats when he is having a hungry day!!) most days he will have from about 22 to 29oz. He is above average for his height (his daddy is tall to, and there were thoughts if they may be a throw back from my mum's grandad who was 7ft 3"!!), he is also a very active baby and also very strong, he has always been like that from birth. He tends to be a little and often baby with regards to food / milk. Never been able to manage any more than 6oz in a sitting!

When he is past one, we may try giving a drop in a bottle or so to try it again. My HV said so many people are quick to get babies onto solids that they end up really cutting down on the milk way before a year, when until they are a year they should still be having that as their main source of calories, so I guess I will have to see if we can make better progress after he is one.

Thank you all for your comments, again if anyone has any handy food tips or suggestions, please do continue to post.

Thanks in advance.

do you mean not much fun for us re the bottles? if he's chewing bread, what can you put on the bread to entice him to eat?

and at this stage he really does need the vits etc that come from other foods, tbh, so the milk isn't really the healthiest start any more, iykwim? he may not have taken to initial weaning but you're not stuck back at six months, he still needs the vitamins that other one year olds do. what happens with the sultanas in the situation i was describing? and do you eat with him day in day out, most meals?

sorry, I thought he was already one .

read again

well on week isn't actually going to make much difference, so I stand by my former advice and advocate reducing the milk.

This worked quickly for my dd (who also never had more than 21 oz in 24 hours).

The 21 oz they need a day can include dairy from any source, including cheese and yoghurt.

Hi Abi,

As a previous poster has said, he only needs 20 oz of milk a day and that includes sources of dairy from food i.e. a small yoghurt = 2oz, milk in porridge etc.

As others have commented, your LO is not eating solids because he relies on his calories from milk, so is not interested in the solids for nourishment. If you want him to eat solids you need to dramatically cut down on the milk NOW. The healthy start you mentioned, is not coming from a milk diet. He needs a solid diet at 1yr to be healthy. This is why...

At one year old, milk is not a complete source of nourishment. From 6 months, babies need protein for essential growth and development, especially of the brain. Milk contains some protein but not a sufficient source. Protein, which also contains iron, needs to come from meat (it is also found in other diary and lentils etc but not in its complete form - meat contains all the amino acids unlike vegetable/dairy sources). The iron in milk is no longer sufficient either, so there is a very real chance that your LO could be anaemic. I know it sounds harsh, but that is a real reality of not eating solids.

By one, your LO should have 2 bottles - one in the morning and one in the evening. This will be providing him with sufficient calcium and some other vitamins, some iron and some protein. He should then be having 3 solid meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner for all other essential nutrients needed.

You say he is big and growing well. If I were you, I would only give milk in the am/pm and the rest of the time only offer solids + water. For the first day, maybe two, he might protest. But once he is hungry, he will be more adventurous.

You could try slices of avocado, banana, fish (like cod) poached in milk, par boiled veg sticks (so they are soft), toast soldiers, strips of omlette...

Also, try breadsticks, rice cakes, baby biscuits - anything really that will encourage him to eat rather than drink. Always offer water, he will take it when he is thirsty (with 6-7 bottles a day, he probably isn't thirsty inbetween!).

Anyway, I hope things improve and try to remember that it is giving him the right balance of solids that is going to give him a healthy start, not milk!

Good luck

as it happens, both of my dds were on 6 bottles per day until they dropped them at about 13-14 mos, so i don't wholly buy into the 'they should only have two per day' line. however, they were eating. had they not been, i would have acted to reduce the number.
if you don't think there's a sensory thing going on, abi, you need to give it a good shot. plus everything else, most importantly eating together all the time.

Hi all

There is a lot of feedback to and frowing here isn't there!

Just to clear something up - it's not just milk, when I say milk I mean Formula!

As I have been told by HV a babies iron levels deplete far more at 6 months if they are a breastfed baby compared to ff babies, this is because the formula is a complete mix of all the nurtrients he needs. His iron levels are fine, because from birth he has been a ff baby.

I guess some of the people replying are not the ones that use the phrase until they are one, its just for fun??

let me just ask everyone a question - can people please tell me how many illnesses there LO have had within their first year?? I am just curious

I am not doubting anything that people have to offer with regards to tips, as I said before, after he is one is when things like normal cows milk and other ingredients can start to be established better I am sure it may be a bit easier, after he is one!!

I do not appreciate (sorry to be blunt) being told to dramatically reduce his bottles now (please note that by putting it in capitals you are actually coming across as shouting at me).

I have tried other smaller food objects, with me also eating them ( as I agree, they are guided by us, and if they see us eating the object, not only are we showing them what to do, but we are also reassuring them its safe to eat it!). He just thinks they are toys, what ever we give him to feed himself (bar a farleys rusk) he just think its toys!! now I don't mind wasting a certain amount of food, but its all of it that goes to waste! we don't live on a huge budget, and we are trying to do what is best for our LO by provding food items (like the jars) to get him happy and comfotable with the eating first.

I came on here to ask for tips on what sort of recipes I could try that he may like, different styles of food, and if anyone else had experienced this sort of thing and how they dealt with it. Some have kindly answered this, others have been, sorry to say this, pushy.

I am a new mum, cut me some slack so I must have not made it clear enough from the start, ahem:

Does anyone know what I could do to help him accept having water during the day (don't mention the amount of ff he is having please). I need positive responses, could I be putting something in his water to help,also cups, beakers, straws, anything??

Please could people suggest some recipes on foods. Please just suggest something, I may not have thought of it!

I am tired and its late, so signing off for now. Please don't think that I am not taking into consideration some of the things said, but sometimes we have to be guided by our LO's too.....

Have you tried diluted juice? dd initially refused water in a cup so I gave her diluted juice and when she'd accepted that I changed it to water dd drinks from an avent magic cup. We have had major problems getting her to drink from anything other than my boobs She hates bottles and didn't like the TT cup (though will now drink from it). Have you tried a doidy cup or just letting him sip from a normal cup - messy but at least he will be getting fluids other than formula. I did this with dd to begin with, then once she had got the gist, I experimented with cups with lids!! She seemed to like the soft spout on the magic cup - maybe because she is bf?
Re food - have you tried letting him lick food off bread sticks. dd loves soft cheese. You could try that, hummus etc.

If I have a jacket potato with tuna mayo dd has some as well - let him try what is on your plate when you eat. Put an old shower curtain under the highchair and don't worry if the food goes on the floor. Pick it up and put it back on the tray. Eventually he will stop throwing it. But I guess he needs to be hungry first - hence the point people are making about his milk intake. If you are anxious about him not getting enough fluids maybe you could focus on getting him to take other liquids first, then deal with the food issue afterwards. I've had my own food/liquid dramas with dd so I sympathise. She has reflux and at 8mo is still not eating that much but hopefully we are getting there.

My 15 month old has only just started eating solids! We decided that if food wasn't going in then obviously we're not ready. What's the rush? Too much rush these days to get food into children as quiclky as possible.

I'd be more laid back about food if dd had more milk but she has drastically cut down the amount of bf in the daytime since 5 months old and I can't top her up as she won't take milk any other way.