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He would rather breastfeed then eat solids. He also won't eat any kinds of baby food, but I can get him to eat cheerios and gerber puffs. But nothing else. He's 9 and a half months old. I just want to know I'm not alone in struggly with this. His doctor told me to wean him from the breast and starve him until he has a couple of spoonfuls of baby food, but I just don't think that's the right way to go.
Hmm that's not very good advice from your doctor. If he's breastfeeding well and has plenty of wet/dirty nappies then I wouldn't stress too much about the solids intake. As they say 'food is fun until they're one'. Try offering new foods every few days or so, he'll find something he likes. But don't feel like you have to wean him from the breast. He'll start eating solid food when he's ready but in the meantime he's still getting all his nutrition and comfort from you! Have you checked out the Baby Led Solids thread around here? You might find some ideas there.
hi! My bub was a bit like that, but even more so my little brother, he flat out refused all solids until around 18 months, which was when my mum weaned him onto cows milk.
Theres a saying that goes ' food is fun, until theyre one" so, my understanding of that is that until the baby is at least a year old, their main source of nutrition is coming from you (as a breastfeeder)
Pfft to your silly doctor, Im sorry but that just seems so very wrong to me, as I see you feel the same way.
All I did was just kept trying, whatever I was eating, I would offer to Jacob, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didnt, even now as a 20 month old he still has phases where he will eat a certain food or foods, then the week after, nope, not interested, so we try something else.
Good luck, I hope you and your bub have fun finding out whats yummy ! xx
I'm sorry you've had that unhelpful advice from your doctor. it's hard to know what to do when everyone else's babies that age seem to be enjoying solids too. My DD1 flat out refused solids until she was 11 mth old. In contrast to your experience, I had a great maternal nurse who was very supportive, especially as she was a breastfed baby too, and just encouraged me to keep offering food and said she'll take it when she's ready. My nurse said that it was important she was taking some solids at the age of 12 mths not for the nutritional aspect (because breastmilk would meet those needs) but because of the muscles involved in chewing are linked to speech development. That's something i hadn't heard before.
This didn't stop me being totally stressed out about the lack of solids intake but another thing that really did help was I gained a lot of information and support from a book titled 'My child won't eat' written by Carlos Gonzalez. He's a Spanish paediatrician. Worth it's weight in gold for me as it's full of information and encourages you to trust your child and your own instincts. I would recommend a read if you can get a copy.
Good luck and i'm sure you'll find the mess involved with eating will increase soon!!
Hi,
I think many of us have a baby/had a baby like that. What is the overall picture like? Is your baby healthy and happy overall?
There is one way to solve the problem - stop stressing about it! I really don't mean to be flippant, but you can't make a baby eat. Babies develop at different rates. Some will eat earlier and some will eat later. You have your whole life ahead of you to fight with them - you really don't want to start now. I'm not sure there is any evidence that commercial baby food really has an nutrients in it - and most babies won't want it. They want what you are having. He will eat in his own time - and until then your milk will sustain him
Hi Simone,
yes I have a 'baby like that'. He's now 16months old, still meeting all his milestones and is happy and healthy. He would never ever eat baby food, he much prefers what we have, so baby led solids it was for us. Though after a while he wasn't even really keen on that, and there are very few things he will eat with gusto - but he still has 6-8 feeds over the course of the day. He recently decided that he would only eat frozen peas :rolleyes:. That saga went on for a couple of weeks lol when he thankfully decided he could manage some cobs of corn to go with them...
Like many things it got better when I chilled out. Barb gives great advice.
No offence babe, but I wouldn't be going back to that doctor...very dodgy advice.
Welcome to BB though. :D
My Ds3 and Dd were like this. I simply didn't push the solids. I just offered it every couple of days and eventually they took to it.
:o you're doctor told you to starve your child? Wowee
My 13 month old is still a bit like this...not really a big eater. He was pretty much exclusively breastfed for 9.5 months, I tried and tried to get him to eat but he just wasn't interested....unless it was carbs, he loves bread and cereal :). I too was concerned but I've now conceded that he just has a small appetite (he is very small for his age but has ridiculous amounts of energy).
As long as your bub is looking healthy, lots of full nappies etc I wouldn't worry too much. My sister had the tiniest appetite when she was a wee one, now whenever I'm visiting she is always eyeing off my food asking if I'm finished with that and if so can she have it LOL.
wow, just had a similar conversation at playgroup this morning. Have tried solids with DS2 as he seemed ready and he's just not into it at all.....he's just gone 6monhts but after 2weeks of trying & him not once opening his mouth I figure why push it. He's happy with my milk & I love giving it to him, he will however grap anything we've got so I'm going with the baby led solids and just let him go at his own pace. Can't believe your doctor said that, mine also told me to stop BF if it means I'll get more sleep....grrrrrrr and my child health nurse advised juice in a bottle now to get him to take a bottle, again grrrrrr. I wouldn't push it is bubs is happy and healthy.
Yep! It's stressful isn't it!! My first DS was like that. He finally started eating little bits when he was nearly 1, but it was still a few months before he ate any decent quantity of solids. Now at 5, he is not too bad. My other DS took to solids from 6 months and has never looked back, so they are all different. Mind you, neither of them ever at baby food. After DS1 refused it, I never even offered it to DS2. Instead we went with the Baby Led Solids approach and he was eating family food from the start. If you would like more information on Baby Led Solids, there are some threads on BellyBelly you can check out - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...uidelines.html for some more information and here is a chatter thread - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...atter-4-a.html. This ends up being less work as well and generally these babies become better eaters earlier.
As the others have said, milk is the main source of nutrition for the first 12 months, so try to relax and go with the flow (which I know is easier said than done!). Babies all eat when they are ready, and it generally goes better if they don't think you are stressed about it. Pretending not to care makes a huge difference ;)
All the best with it hun!!