I just dont know what to do

[heymamma]

hi

My son Ethan is 9mths old & is making me a tired grumpy bum to the rest of the family cause im not getting sleep & im so frustrated!! :( He gets feed to sleep which i know is a big no no but i actually didnt realize till the other day that it was so bad. But he doesnt want to eat solids,, now i know they say you shouldnt compare ur kids but ive never heard of a baby not wanting to eat solids at this age.. when phoenix & alyssa were this age they were eating the same as us. He doesnt want anything to do with it... he just puts his tounge up & pushes it out.
But anyway because of this i think its the reason he wakes all through the night,, because he is so hungry. last night he was up every hour,,,im zonked!! I fed him 3times the other times if i couldnt settle him i gave him water. but then he would wake half hr later. I just dont know what to do im so tired,,, oh & also phoenix & ethan are both up at 5am so there is no sleep in.:(

[Goosie22]

Hi,
Have you thought about poping him into bed with you when you feed him at night and just go off to sleep yourself?

Some kids don't want to eat because they have reactions/allergies to certain foods or their bodies are just not ready for the food. I have meet people whos one year olds have only just started to eat. If he is having plenty of Breastmilk then he will be fine. By the way feeding your baby to sleep isn't a big No No most of the world do it .
Hope this helps:)

[Miss Tazar]

Hi
Please don't hate me, but at the baby group solids talk our local CHN said that there was a very narrow window of opportunity to get babies interested in foods of different tastes and textures and that we must make sure we start introducing solids by the time they are six months. Evidently, by nine months it can be a bit late and turns into a battle. :(
As our bub is only 4 months old I haven't had to face this issue yet.
Maybe you could try some professional advice? Local CHN, Dr.
In WA Ngala can help, they have a book called "The Secret to Good Eaters" or there is some informaiton on their web site
www.ngala.com.au
Sorry I'm not much help, but thought you might appreciate the feedback even though it is not very promising
Roxi

[Harmony83]

Oh hugs to you! Theres nothing worse then not getting any sleep especially since you have three little ones! Is it possible little Ethan is teething, I know when my DS is teething he wakes usually every hour for about a week or so - its so exhausting, we end up sticking him in ed with us, that way you don't have to fully wake up to re-settle (but it still is tiring!!) Has he never liked solids, or is it just a recent thing, because I know some little ones go off there food when they are teething... Is there some finger foods you could try him on, soft fruit, cooled boiled veges, pasta, arrowroot biccies or maybe a sanga.
I don't think that there is anything wrong with feeding your little one to sleep, as long as he is happy and you are happy. I hope you get some rest soon!

[mariafresnel]

First of all Kelly, my heart and thoughts go out to you, as I was zonked for the first full year of Sophia's life. Unfortunately she wasn't that interested in solids because of her reflux, so despite starting her early (6 months) she still didn't eat very well until she was 13 months to be honest. So the first full year was a hard one, as she wasn't actually satisfied when she went to sleep, and what we know from our paed, was that she wasn't getting enought complex carbohydrates to allow her body to burn through the night, and therefore she was CONTINUALLY getting up, because she was hungry, which made her unsettled, which then meant it took longer to get her to sleep. So it was a matter that the dietician at the hospital suggested (together with child physchologist) (she was admitted for 'fussy feeding' on her 1st birthday) that we limit her bottles to 3 only per day, with only 200 ml in each. And give her a variety of food at each meal time (BF/L/D and snacks at m/tea and a/tea with water throughout the day and if she woke at night ONLY water. Well, I have to tell you she must have realised that it was a new regime, because although she didn't catch on in the hospital, as soon as we got hom, she started eating - 12months is a long time to wait for it though! and now she's 16 months, well she has just begun eating almost everything - but I have to say that I at first (pre hospital) thought 'ok, if she doesn't eat, I'll just give her milk'....and because she knew I would do this, she would hang out for the milk, and not eat. So if I can offer a suggestion, it would be that you are doing the hard yards now anyway, so why not try and do it now, i.e. limit the milk, and have your baby sit with the other kids, so that they are all having a meal together, eventually it may make a difference, and the biggest milestone is if he starts to eat, even if it's a morsel...it's a big step forward....Thinking of you
Maria

[jarrahsmumma]

(((hugs))) it must be a testing time for you. I honestly beleive that at nine months, if he doesn't show any interest in solids, then he clearly isn't ready. Lots and lots of people are delaying introducing solids nowadays as babies just aren't ready for it. I would not blame feeding him to sleep for him not eating anything. There is no corelation there.. And feeding a small baby to sleep is *not* the end of the world! You are settling him in a gentle loving way that he can relate to and appreciate.:) :) Sounds like you are doing the right things, but I hope you get some sleep soon, it must be hard with two older children as well.

[heymamma]

Thanks to all of you... i did try putting him in bed with us but that doesnt work either...he sits up & thinks its time to play. :rolleyes: We did start feeding him solids at 5mths old....he just never wants it. if i give him bread he sucks on it then throws it away,,, he will sometimes chew on a bit of potato ,,, so i have been trying that with him slowley but it doesnt seem as its enough. If he wants a bottle he crys & screams till he gets it...so it is very hard to try to get him to eat solids when he screams as his mouth is wide open & doesnt close.. (because when he screams as any other child there mouth is wide open) so he doesnt swallow the food it just falls back out. But i will try some of your ideas... i think i will wait bout a week & if he doesnt get better we will do CC with him ....i done it with phoenix & it was the best thing i ever done.