worried my CM won't be able to feed my baby

[yentil]

dd will be 8 months when she starts at CM 3 days a week. she an absolute joy to be with but a complete PITA to feed. she never takes more than 3 ozs at a time of milk and her solid intake is little and often.

my worry is that, on average, 3 hours a day is spent trying to feed dd and this will not be possible with cm. to be fair 2 hours is spent in day time and the rest at night (to make up for poor milk intake in the day)

has anyone given a 'poor feeder' to a CM and found that in fact they just adapted to their routine and fed better or will my worrying of her taking even less and resulting in poor weight gain become a reality?

any tips? should i just let the CM have her for 1 day a week firstly then introduce more days when she gets used to feeding her. i would have to use annual leave to do this though.

my CM has years of experience, whereas i have 8 months of experience and a hell of a lot of aniexty around feed times, could this make a difference perhaps?

I think your last point is probably a good one. Ds is ok with his food but daytime naps have always been a problem. He has been with a CM for 3 days a week since Oct and what do you know? He sleeps fine there and it is still a problem here!

She will know what to do and I'm sure it will be fine. A good CM certainly won't be phased by it in the way that we, as first time parents are. Also, being around other children eating may help as they love to imitate.

I found going back to work stressful, full stop. If you are feeling the same your anxiety is likely to look for something to focus on and this may just be it. I would have a chat with the CM and ask about how she will approach this to put your mind at rest. Best of luck.

I have no experience, sorry, but just thought you should speak to the CM and gauge how prepared she is to try and make the feeding 'work' for your DD. If she has experience she will know that all babies are individual and need more attention with certain aspects of their care.

My DD is a PITA eater. She went to a childminder from much earlier than 8 months. They just got on with it. I think eating difficulties in babies is deffinitely something childminders specialise is. You child will probably continue to be a difficult eater and the childminder will just get on with it.

With my DD, I finally grew to accept that she is just a PITA eater. Always will be. My 8 month DS eats more than she does for breakfast, and DD is 3 now (well, will be on Wednesday). If she eats half of what anormal 3 year old eats, I figure it's good enough.

DS1 was terrible when he started with his CM.

He soon fell in with the other children and his eating habits improved.

So not all doom and gloom.

Mine will eat anything the childminder puts in front of them!! Potato and leek soup that they screw their noses up at, at home!!
How many other children will the CM have? This might play a part in how long the CM will have to 'coax' you dd to eat. EG: If she has 4 or 5 others to feed she may not have much time to fuss and your dd will eat anyway, if she has less children in her care then she will have more time to fuss, and hopefully you dd will eat too.

CM has 1 other toddler in the day and about 3-4 bigger kids she picks up from school

I am a CM and find children eat so much better for me. I have had little ones who cum to me with a list of about 4 things that they will eat, by the time they have left me the list has grown considerably for me and at home. Dont worry just make sure you communicate well with your CM talk abut any anxieties as they come up. Good luck!!

I would certainly tell your minder about your concerns - you will need to tell her what your usual routine is anyway.

I've had lots of babies and toddlers who will happily do/eat something for me that they refuse at home. I think they are probably designed to be as difficult for parents as they possibly can!

If she is as experienced as you say she is, she has probably seen it all before, and won't be phased by any of it.

can't help but think that there has never been a baby as hard to feed as mine

Oh, I don't know yentil, I've had a few pass through my doors over the years!!

Have you actually spoken to your childminder about it? I still reckon she's probably seen it all before. And then we'll have you starting threads, "why does my baby only eat/drink at my childminder's?"

Theprisoner is right. I have had parents openwmouthed at what their children eat here with me, and they have seen it with their own eyes.

My mindies, inckluding the 6 month old baby, tucked into undyed smoked haddock with leeks, green beans and mash yesterday, followed by stewed fruit and yoghurt.

Parents are very grateful that i giave them a home cooked meal at lunchtime everyday, so they don't get so stressed about their children eating in the evening.

Chikldminders have seen it in all shapes and forms, your baby will be fine.