Does anyone have a LO like this?

[ymenik21]

Does anyone of you have a little one who is willing to not have any food other than milk in the age range of 11-13 months?Or is my little one exceptional?

I have seen other kids getting hungry and pulling food from hands of mummy's and daddy's and I have seen kids crying when they are hungry and I thought that's what it is normal.For the last 3 to 4 weeks my Lo is simply living on breast milk and air.

At Breakfast when I offer her cereal with grated fruit she wont open her mouth,she plays with bits of toasts and fruit and they all end up on the floor.Sometime she might try to put one or two bits in but never very desperate.

Lunch time.I spend time making her something I think she will like and she wont even open her mouth to see what it taste like.She knows her yogurt and that is the only thing that she eats at the moment and ripe pear.

Tea time,again the same story.I offer her some finger food and I keep the plate with me to feed her.I tend to feed her my self because I cant get used to the fact that she throws it all on the floor.So she is not good at feeding her self with the spoon.I know I should let her have a spoon.

My husband thinks we should take the tough love approach and offer the food and let her do what ever and clear the table after sometime.We did this for one day and she had No food intake at all.He thinks she will wait and wait till she gets her yogurt at the end of the day coz when I cant watch her starve I offer her a little tub of yogurt.

I don't understand why she thinks food is such a pain.Has anyone of you had an issue like this with a Lo?

I would love to know how to tackle this situation and how you all parents get your LO's to eat.

Cheers

[The Nappy Lady]

Sam,

You are having a rough time just now one way and another!

The whole not eating thing is so upsetting I know, and I do think if you are really, really worried you should maybe go and get baby ymenik21 weighed regularly etc. so you can see whether weight gain is all OK. But I do know lots of babies who are like this. Baby C (15 months) eats loads some days but hardly anything on others, and at times nothing but yoghurt and breast milk which is still her favourite thing. My friend's little one currently exists on crackers and cream cheese more or less!

What I do now is give Baby C her cereal in a bowl and we both have a spoon - she tries to feed herself and it goes all over, but inbetween I manage to get mouthfuls in, so she does eat. Breakfast is the best real of the day in that respect. The rest is all very hit and miss.

Re cleaning up - you need a dog.....ours sits under the highchair and hoovers up and whilst I know it isn't great in some ways I still thank heaven for her. She was away for 2 days over Christmas and I couldn't believe the amount of extra cleaning I had to do after every meal!! I do clean my floors honest, but I just don't have to do the whole food picking up thing....but I think maybe you just have to brave it - get some floor cleaning spray and a few rolls of cheap kitchen roll, or those Ikea flannels they sell in the baby department, and just wipe up after every meal. I have loads of those flannels and just bung them straight in the washing machine after I use one and seem to have a wash on most days now anyway with 4 of us to wash for.

Don't give up hope, she will eat, and even small amounts are good....remember how tiny her tummy is. Don't do special stuff for her though, just do meals for you and hubby and keep little bits of everything in pots in the fridge, then offer her a selection - she'll love the selection of colours, textures and flavours, and less effort for you.

Oh - also, not so easy I know, but if you can do meal times with her, or even better with other children - the best meals for me are the ones when I've got about 3 five year olds plus baby C at the table, and they all seem to eat up then - no idea why but they spur each other on. Maybe arrange play dates to coincide with meal times?

Molly

x

[Fuschia]

Read Baby led weaning by Gill Rapley, stop trying to fed her, put stuff on her tray for her to play with/try and do your best not to hover and worry. A baby won't starve themselves.

xx

[snowboarder]

hello - do you know approx how much milk she actually has? I'm totally not qualified to advocate this as but as a test could you see if she eats more if you cut back on the milk a bit? Whilst I know that milk should be the main source of nutrition until they're 1 - well - worth a try? If babySB has had a particularly lovely long night of b/feeding he's quite naturally not very interested in his breakfast...

All about getting a balance I suppose. We've def cut back on milk in the day lately.

[agathoise]

Dear Yemenik21

Don't forget that breastmilk is ideally supposed to provide the bulk of your baby's calories until she is around a year old. Nothing else that you can feed her can provide as dense a calorific intake. It is not unusual for babies to take to solids later than what we (currently) consider the norm; there is some evidence that babies who decline complimentary foods (foods other than breastmilk) may be those who are at most risk for allergies, and that a reluctance to eat solid foods may be designed to help these babies avoid allergens until the gut is mature enough to tolerate them. Babies who start solids later tend to do it quickly -- going from 0-100mph -- rather than the gradual introduction you get at an earlier age. Jaw and maxillofacial muscular development isn't an issue for breastfed infants who start solids later (as it is for bottle-fed babies) as the muscle-action required for bf is different, deeper, and more complex than needed with an artificial nipple/teat. If your baby is otherwise thriving and meeting her milestones, you have little to worry about.

Do keep her involved in the "food culture" of your home, give her access to food - even if only to play with at dinner time, but you'll find that when a baby is ready to eat, you won't be able to stop her: she'll mug you for your dinner!

In 6 years as a bfc I've seen many, many "late starters" -- they aren't late, they're right on time for their own schedule, but we worry because we're told in books or by health visitors that X or Y should happen at a particular age: unfortunately not all babies have read the government's health policy! :-)

There's a La Leche League group that meets in Norwood (Crystal Palace-ish) and the LLL Leader, Elena, will be able to give you lots more information. There's also a library of useful books to borrow. PM me if you'd like her details, or ring the free 24h helpline 0845 1202918 - the breastfeeding counsellors are also trained in early child nutrition and weaning and will be able help you in much more detail.

Hope this helps

Agathoise

PS: you might find the book My Child Won't Eat by Carlos Gonzlalez both useful and reassuring

[The Nappy Lady]

This is so true;

"but you'll find that when a baby is ready to eat, you won't be able to stop her: she'll mug you for your dinner!"

Try having her on your lap while you eat food and see what happens - I did this at lunch and discovered baby C loves cooked smoked salmon - supposed to be my treat - cheeky monkey!

Molly

[ymenik21]

Dear All

Sorry I was silent for a while and thanks for all the advice given.

What is shocking is each time I get too worried about her and put a post on this forum she starts to eat .Well not a big eater anyway but She did start to eat bits and bobs and actually cried for food this lunch time which has never happened before.

It isn't that I get worried if she does not eat for week,this time she was off proper meals for at least couple of months.I have cut down on milk a lot.She only has about 3 breast feeds for the whole day may be four .Now I try not to worry about the mess and let her do what she wants with it,but keep feeding her because she takes a long time to feed her self and most of the times things end up on the floor.When I was really desperate I fed her while she was in the bath,she loves her baths so much she did not even noticed that she was eating.

I wish I can a dog Molly but we are on a rented property with no garden so I may have to wait till we have our own place:(When I am really worried about her weight I do take her to get weighed.She is on 25th centile and she had been for the lst few months.So I think I worry too much sometimes but I find it hard not to when she goes on hunger strikes.

Have to go do a shop,every one is ready except for me.Thanks again Molly ,Fushia,Snowboader,and Agathoise

XX

[lorraineliyanage]

I wouldn't worry too much about the growth charts, Sam. My daughter is a greedy scoffer and only around the 20th/25th centile for weight so there's really no rhyme or reason to it.

[Belle]

You could always talk to the GP about it to reassure you if you're worried though I echo everythign the others have said. I'd def say if you wanted advice to go to the Doc rather than health visitor.