Not feeding well

[KapowSchazam]

Hi. My daughter is almost 5 months old. She has been on solids for one month now, as she dramatically reduced her bottle intake from 180ml/bottle to 60-90ml/bottle, and would refuse to drink anymore. (So she lost weight). I have been told to offer solids after each bottle, which I do, usually baby rice cereal and pureed fruit for b/fast, yoghurt for m/tea, vegies and pureed fruit for lunch, custard a/tea then chicken/vegies and pureed fruit/custard for dinner. She has been feeding well most days with this, and for b/fast, lunch & dinner has either full jar of main food/2 tbsp rice cereal. Since Saturday just gone (9/12) she has been refusing her solids, sometimes only having 2 baby spoonfuls, without increasing her formula intake. She simply will not open her mouth. We have tried distraction techniques, which only work for about ½ the feed. I have tried giving her a spoon of her own to hold, and 'shove' my spoonful in when she opens her mouth to chew on her spoon, but this is a very long and frustrating process. My husband has tried feeding her, as well as my mum, but it makes no difference, she still won't open her lips!!! What can I do???

[the pero clinic]

Dear NayBob,

I am quite interested as to what caused your little one to refuse feeds in the first place – as this may also account for her recent disinterest in food. If this hasn’t been just a passing phase, I would suggest that you seek some medical advice to make sure that your daughter isn’t unwell or experiencing food intolerances, reflux or similar.

She is having a large variety of foods for someone who is so young, so it is quite possible that she isn’t able to digest or tolerate something in her diet – was there a new food that you tried before this started?

As your daughter is still quite young, it is important that breast milk or formula forms her primary intake, and that milk feeds aren’t replaced by solids. To this end, I would suggest concentrating on re-establishing bottle feeds instead of focusing too heavily on the solids.

Talk to someone about the difficulties you are having with the bottle – perhaps a change of teat or formula is required. It is a very good idea to discuss any changes with your doctor, CHN or infant feeding specialist first – it will save you money, time, confusion and unnecessary changes.

the pero clinic