going backwards with solids

[Priscilla]

Cameron has been on three meals a day now for a few months with only one bf at 5pm during the day. He's still bf at night and first thing in the morning. Everything was going fine and people were commenting on what a great little eater he was. I was soooo proud of him!

Then one day, it stopped.

He was teething and lost his appetite which was fine. But then the tooth came through and meal times are now just draining for me. He'll eat maybe eight spoons while playing with a toy and then he'll just start pushing the food out with his tongue. He doesn't actually blow raspberries, just pushes it out through his lips! He's so good at it too - sometimes, the food has been pushed out BEFORE the spoon has even left his mouth! The food doesn't fly out, it just oozes out of his mouth. It's actually quite funny (when I'm in a good mood!) - I don't encourage it at all, he KNOWS he's not supposed to do it but I just can't stop him.

What use to take under 10 minutes (yes I have timed him!) now takes half an hour. He used to just sit there with or without a toy and just open his mouth and swallow whatever I gave him. Now, I'm carrying on like a clown distracting him with stupid sounds, faces, toys and other things to look at . Even the dog and things like the ceiling fan has become my ally!

It's as if once he's decided he's had enough, then that's it. But I KNOW he's not full. And I don't want him to stop gaining weight.

Does anyone know what's happening?! Has this happened to anyone else? Am I missing something?

I'm starting to bf during the day again and not only do I don't want to be going backwards, but I don't think I have enough breastmilk anymore to provide enough nutrition for him anymore.......

Please can anyone help me? He's already a terrible sleeper and I'm so tired already that the one thing that was going smoothly was his eating and now THAT'S out the window. I'm really drained and just NEED some advice, please?

[cwsmum]

How old is your bub?

My DD doesn't seem to eat much at all some days, other days it seems like she can't get enough food

I have noticed with her that if she doesn't seem to want to eat what I'm trying to feed her she will eat stuff she can feed herself. On those days she gets things like cheese on toast, tiny pieces of cheese and crackers, pieces of cooked veges (if I have any in the fridge)...basically anything easy for her to chew.

I'd try not to worry too much about how much solids he is eating unless he is over 12mths old. Plenty of bubs don't even get the hang of eating solids or just aren't interested, til they are over 12mths.

Good luck, hope he is eating better again soon

[polony]

Maybe bubs is just trying to adjust to eating with teeth. My DD went through this (about 2 months) and now she is eating me out of house and home!
Maybe he wants to also try and feed himself or start finger foods?

[li'l mac]

My bub also used to be a great eater until he started fussing heaps at meal times and refusing to open his mouth for the spoon. i was the same as you - sure that he needed more. Anyway, after much experimentation, it turned out he didn't want food off a spoon anymore and wanted to feed himself. So now I just load his tray up with chunks of cooked veges, pastas shapes, whatever and he happily feeds himself. Turns out he grew up faster than I expected!!

Good luck, it's so frustratin when something USED to work and now you have to struggle with it.

[mama2cierra]

I agree

Cierra teethes horribly. her molars have just come through and FINALLY she has gotten her apppetite back. but it was very simmilar to your situation. she wouldnt eat anything heated up or savoury! it had to be sweet, cold and runny!! easier to swallow i guess. the longest this has lasted is 10 days or so. one tooth came through and then the other and it went on. ..

HOWEVER It will only be a matter of time before your little one is back to his old tricks again. keep faith!!

[almond eyes]

I agree with li'l mac
Sam is also a good eater (12 months now) but there are days when it's just too difficult to keep anything in his mouth. When that happens I give him his own spoon and a little food on his own dish. Somehow this works. He seems more interested in the food and the "act" of feeding himself. Some does end up on the floor but a lot also goes in his mouth so I'm happy. I do keep food in a separate dish and try to feed him when he's "distracted" .

It could also be that he would like to experiment with other kinds of food. Do you vary the kinds of food he eats? I know that Sam gets bored with the same kind so I have to give him different dishes all the time. I probably freeze 4-5 types of food at a time and I cook 2 new batches every other day.

I hope everything goes well.

[WizzFizz]

Also, if you are worried about your breast milk supply not being enough when he is refusing the solids, perhaps you could give him some formula to top him up? My friend went through the EXACT same thing as you are now, and gave her son formula top ups but out of a cup, so he learnt how to drink from a cup (her holding it!) which is a very good thing!!

[Priscilla]

thanks for all the advice ladies!

I have tried out all suggestions, and maybe it could have something to do with what I'm giving him, but he just doesn't seem to be interested in eating much anymore.

I gave him some pasta and chicken bits in his little plate and put it on his tray. He played with it and even put some in his mouth but most of it just ended up everywhere... maybe the pasta wasn't soft enough so I'll make it a bit softer tonight.

I have him his litte spoon as well, in case he was wanting to try to feed himself with his spoon, but he just ended up chewing on his spoon (he has one of those heinz chewable spoons).

I have him little sandwiches with jam but for some strange reason, he wasn't able to bite it. I'd cut the bread slice into strips so he was easier for him to hold, but he couldn't seem to bite it. Very strange as I can give him one of those little bread rolls that you get from Coles to bung in the oven (but I don't put it in the oven for him) and he is able to bite into it. Lately, I've been giving him one of these in the morning after eating whatever he can morning bowl of congee (overcooked rice) and he manages to get through about 3/4 of it!

Cameron is 10 months now and it really does seem like i'm going backwards. I will start another thread for finger food ideas.

Sometimes, tricking him works.... i'll feed him his food with my spoon but after a few spoons he's onto me.

Well, thanks for suggestions. Hopefully, as you all have said - he'll get start to eat like he once did really soon. If you have any other/more suggestions in the meantime, I'd LOVE to hear them!!

[mama2cierra]

i used to trick my daughter 2!

id have the mainmeal on one side of the plate and the dessert like yogurt or something on the otherside. so 2 spoons would be yogurt and the 3rd would be vegie mix etc. haha she latched on pretty quick. and didnt have a bar of it either! oh well....WE TRY!!

also Iread somewhere that even if your child eats only one sort of food for a week or so it may not look quite likea balanced diet..but if they stop eating so much fruit say, and concentrate on the grains or meats or vegies the next few weeks then in the end they all countebalance each other out. so in the long run it IS a balanced diet! cool

i hope i made sense