Almost no solids at 9mths

[elissas]

Hi Pinky,

I have a 9 month old boy who pretty much refuses all solids. I offer food several times a day (cereal, fruit, veggies, yoghurt...) and he either rejects it flat out or has a few mouthfuls and then stops. He even cries when I try and encourage him to eat. I refuse to force feed him.

We first introduced rice cereal at about 5mths, which he took to. The only reason we introduced it so early was because he was attacking our food. For a few weeks he ate happily, then slowed down to almost a complete stop.

He has been seeing a therapist in Network Spinal Analysis, which has been fantastic. His daytime sleeping, general acceptance of sleep, and his usual hyperactivity has improved remarkably in only weeks (problems caused by overstimulation of adrenaline). His digestive system has improved as well (at 5mths he had surgery for an undescended teste, and had a spinal block, and had problems with bowel movements as a result).

I'm concerned that the constipation may have created a negative association with solids, as it was about the same time.

Now, I suppose it's about breastfeeding in that I'm still pretty much exclusively breastfeeding round the clock, and he's getting a lot of his feeds in at night, which is exhausting me. He is on the go during the day, crawling, standing and taking steps using furniture. He is 10kgs and 77cm long. I have no concern with his health! My concern is that I'm running out of steam. The longest block of sleep I've had in the past 5 months is 4hrs, and on average I sleep in blocks of 1.5-2hrs. He has refused bottles, so it's just lil ole me on duty.

I try to encourage more breastfeeding during the day but it just ends up in him getting cranky and fighting me. I really need him to feed more during the day, whether it be milk or solids. With his stage of development and activity level, solids would be great, but I don't necessarily subscribe to the "have to eat food" club.

Sorry for the long post. I'm hoping you might have some suggestions for me.

Thanks
Lis

[Pinky McKay]

Hi Lis,

You sound as though you have been handling your bub really sensitively. I think this is the most difficult/ tiring stage for mums - chasing an active baby and being woken to feed. Some babies arent overly interested in solids and with so much development going on wont feed much during the day - life is MUCH more interesting than eating!

Thankfully this stage wont last for too much longer ( truly!). Meanwhile, although its your responsibility to provide food, it is your baby's responsbility to eat (or not) -you are right in not forcing.

Have you tried leaving finger foods ( soft fruits/ pieces of cooked veges/ bread) on his high chair tray and letting him feed himself? Sometimes babies will happily sit and munch away while parents eat their dinner as they supervise from a "distance" ( actually being right there but not overly involved) -or you can give your baby a sppon and let him 'feed' himself as you poke a bit of food into his mouth between his own attempts. If he joins you at meals, you will be modelling eating rather than trying to be overly interested/concerned in what he is doing. This way the child doesnt pick up on your anxiety / stress around eating.

Will he nurse in a darkened room lying down during the day? Even just for one feed before a nap - sometimes babies feed better when drowsy - or could you nurse him in his sleep during the day - in a light sleep cycle. Lying down to feed and resting when he does will give you a boost of energy to get through this stage too. And do address your own diet/ energy.

Do you have any help you can call on? Somebody to play with your baby ? One tip is to pay a school girl a few dollars (13 - 15 year olds are fine) to come and play with your bub after school while you are there so its not unsafe but you can get a few things done/ have bit of achange of pace and conseve some energy. Then you will feel better resting when your baby does - you do need to take care of YOU! Even a baby class or two will give him safe motor activities but it will be a break in scenery for you - he will may be nicely hungry/ thirsty after a swimming/ GymbarOO session,and will probably have a good afternoon rest so you could get some much needed rest too.

Sometimes babies who refuse solids til later have a tendency to allergies - any family history? One of mine would happily chew on a red block, lick leaves in the garden but refused all solids til 11 months - she was active and healthy ( so no probls with iron levels). :Later when she was ready she ate and was never fussy about food. She had been a 'colicky' baby reacting to some foods I ate so perhaps it was allergies.

If it is related to your babys surgery/ constipation , taking things gently is really all you can do - tummy massage strokes may help if he will stay still long enough. It sounds like you are on the right track and the therapy is having benefits.

Pinky

[elissas]

Hi Pinky,

Thanks for the advice. Will was a very colicky baby. The tiniest bubble will wake him. He had quite bad colic starting at around 4 weeks, and after a week I realised I had a foremilk-hindmilk imbalance (for a while I had to express before each feed, and within 24hrs had a happy baby back). But I have found that he is very sensitive to what I eat, particularly dairy, sugar, certain veggies, and too much bread.

Will has 2 very keen grandmothers and aunties, so there are people who can help, which I call on. I guess I call on them mostly when I need to do work (I work from home about 15hrs a week doing admin and singing lessons), rather than do anything for myself. I also use the time to try and get our finances in order (including tax :( , so there is stress there that I know is affecting my energy levels and therefore Will). My DH has insisted that I get at least a few hours a week for myself to myself, but it's easier said than done, because of Will's feeding (and because he won't take a bottle).

He does tend to prefer to feed himself. He'll happily play and munch on vegemite toast. And paper... And leaves...:eek: I'll try the suggestion of pieces of soft fruit/cooked veg. I am also going to try some patties made from veggie puree, kind of like little patties he can pick up and feed himself.

He is improving, and I guess I'll look back in a few months and it'll all seem so far away, like everything else so far :)

Thanks again Pinky :yes: