Oh weaning!

[snowboarder]

Just a rant. It is SO dispiriting! 7m old is just not interested, refuses to eat ANYTHING I make for him. Will tolerate fruity purees and yoghurts and the odd ellas pouch. Will only pick up rice cakes and toast - just looks at everything else in disgust. I'm not worried just frustrated - esp as he's not keen on bf during the day, mostly because life is v interesting and his brother does all in his power to distract him.

BABIES!! Having gone slightly unsuccessfully down the BLW route with first son I wanted a little annabel karmel baby who would eat my lovely purees!

[Helen GV]

Don't worry about it, in no time at all he'll be plastering your walls happily with your lovely purees!

[bluesuperted]

Ditto to HelenGV's point:

My slow to ingest (but happy to experiment) BLW baby today had a 13.5 month old meltdown because he wanted my Calipo SO BAD!!! NB yup bad mummy, but was only eating it as am recovering from a heinous tummy bug and can't face much food at all at the moment!

In seriousness, I found 8/9 months really marked a change in realising food was quite fun to munch on... It'll come really soon.

[snowboarder]

I think am only stressing as oldest is such a rubbish (well, limited range) eater despite all my efforts when he was little. 8/9m actually marked a turn for the worse with him!! Argh.

[jennyh]

My 7 month old is identical - she has now cut her milk intake suddenly and seems completely fine with hardly anything, clearly no appetite! She will also refuse pretty much all food, she will take fruits, fromage frais and any Ellas veggie pouch that is pretty much laden with apples as well. She refuses any meat/fish, any root veg, green veg...anything else! She may take an accidental spoon before she realises what it is but then clams shut. I try not to stress too much but it is incredibly irritating, partly because she is taking so little milk so her nutritional intake at the moment is most definitely not enough. I do try all manner of tricks to get her to open her mouth for the spoon (shock horrow) but only because often she will come around to eating a bit more by the way of a 'second wind' so to speak.

Ive also tried adjusting her milk so that I give her less (if that is even possible!) in order to see if her hunger increases. It doesn't.

I completely understand what a pain it is. Guess they will get there when they are ready but I am envious of all the parents whose babies are naturally good eaters. I find it all very stressful!

[snowboarder]

Smallest sb is already wise to my meanest trick - give him a rice cake, he opens his mouth for it, I shove spoon in. And this is from a previous BLW devotee. Trouble is BLW is no freakin' good if they won't pick up the tempting(!) fruit and veg.

Won't even eat cereal or porridge. Tsk.

[hellosailor]

what happens if you spread the toast / rice cake with puree?! popping the puree in by stealth for the time being!

[snowboarder]

Too clever. Rejects rice cake. What I find incredible is I LOVE food....

[jennyh]

snowboarder Wrote:

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> Smallest sb is already wise to my meanest trick -

> give him a rice cake, he opens his mouth for it, I

> shove spoon in. And this is from a previous BLW

> devotee. Trouble is BLW is no freakin' good if

> they won't pick up the tempting(!) fruit and veg.

>

> Won't even eat cereal or porridge. Tsk.

Yep that rings a bell. I make mine laugh by doing something stupid and then shove the spoon in, the funny thing is that she now smiles with pursed lips so she too has worked it out! Mine wont have porridge or cereal either, just fruit or yoghurt. Blimey, they are so annoying!

I sometimes use a breadstick as a feeding implement but again only works once or twice.

I know everyone says you should leave it as they will come around in time so i keep that in my head but doesn't stop me wanting to try one more time, its addictive!

[alieh]

I'm doing a modified variety of BLW. It revolves around sticking items of food in his hand whenever he is whingey but not supposed to be tired and also putting him in a high chair whenever I feed his brother and shunting a few bits from toddler's plate to the table in front of him. I reckon he eats approximately nil but luckily (for him) his nightime nursing habit is helping him to grow nice and plump. Shame it is sucking the life blood out of me!

I also have these great spoons so that he can self feed things like yoghurt, porridge, puree (Ella's....who's kidding who). He would never let a spoon I am holding pass his lips but will feed himself all of these things quite happily as long as I load the spoon and hand it to him. I think maybe they're only available in the U.S./Canada though (maybe someone ships here?): http://www.babyhumaninc.com/index_files/Page1202.htm

[hellosailor]

I was only thinking the other day that if laboriously prepared home made foods were presented in an ella-style pouch then they would probably be greeted with more excitement...so did a bit of a google search and....someone else has had this idea!

Look!re-usable pouch for purees!

[KateW]

jennyh wrote:

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I make mine laugh by doing something stupid and then shove the spoon in, the funny thing is that she now smiles with pursed lips so she too has worked it out!

Oh this post has cheered me up no end and made me LOL! I started off loving weaning, smugly thinking 'Oh she's such a good little eater, this is a doddle' til she hit 7 months and demanded more independence and it all went pear-shaped! DD is now nearly 11 months and we have good eating days and not so good. I'm starting to be a bit more chilled out about things but as you've all said, it's just so darned hard. Then to top things, after a day of fussy eating yesterday (she has a cold and literally ate hardly anything) she slept a straight 12 hours and I had to wake her at 7am - she's NEVER done this!! There's me, daily cramming her with every carb I can find at tea-time to keep her nice and full then, blow me, she eats nadda, just milk, and has a blissful 12 hours! MONKEY.

[jennyh]

Can I just ask without hijacking...did anyone feel that issues with weaning were ever talked about before they started? I only ask because I never imagined that there would be problems and was very surprised at the stress it has caused. I struggled and failed to breastfeed and having just got over that drama, it all went pear-shaped again! I wonder why there isnt more support for these sorts of issues, I guess it is the fact that at this age there is no reason why they must eat these foods so it is meant to be for fun!! :)

Im thinking of bringing out a book called 'can't eat, won't eat' and I will try to put in lots of handy tips on how to co-erce your cheeky child into opening their mouth more than 4 times in one setting, a range of facial expressions and amusing prompts to try and get one more spoonful in, how to disguise vegetables amongst a range of sugary fruits, what kit you need to deal with gagging and vomiting...etc etc etc.

edited to say that hellosailor has hit the nail on the head, perhaps the book can have a cut out pouch kit for serving your own purees disguised as Ellas

[snowboarder]

Eating and sleeping. Both so important and both so tricky and complex!! And in later life - both SO enjoyable.

My 2.5 yr old can detect a tiny speck of broccoli even when hidden in a pesto style pasta sauce. He studies everything he eats and demands 'OUT' when he spots a foreign ingredient. They are so weird.

[KateW]

Awesome idea jennyh; I'd buy it!

[snowboarder]

AND this was him aged 8m. Spot the broccoli? So you can feel as smug as you like but things change...

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/11636_179772357084_532722084_3375013_2002987_n.jpg

[Fuschia]

Jenny, I think it's the trying to trick and persuade them that makes them fussy

Honestly, child no 1 is the fussy one ... The rest of mine just get on with it

I just give them some food then leAve them to it

Easiest strategy and effective!

Weaning is a child's way of letting you know you can't control another human being

[Saffron]

We've done BLW with Little Saff, and it's been brilliant, though not without its difficulties. The thing about BLW is that it can take you to the highs of triumph (the day she ate pickled beetroot) and the depths of despair (the week she only ate meat...), but it all balances out if you are patient (...she only ate fruit the next week). You have to think of BLW as not an act of surrender, but an act of free will. It's a concious choice to let Baby discover for herself. If you're finding weaning difficult --whether you do BLW or traditional weaning-- it's time to take a step back. Give Baby the spoon, or offer finger foods only, don't hover, and don't worry!! :)

[EDmummy]

Fuschia Wrote:

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> Jenny, I think it's the trying to trick and

> persuade them that makes them fussy

>

> Honestly, child no 1 is the fussy one ... The rest

> of mine just get on with it

>

> I just give them some food then leAve them to it

>

> Easiest strategy and effective!

>

> Weaning is a child's way of letting you know you

> can't control another human being

Took the words right out of my mouth, Fuschia. No. 1 v. fussy and had a very stressful weaning. By the time No. 2 came along I had realised that it was highly unlikely he was going to die by not eating a meal or 2 and had a completely relaxed approach like Fuschia.

If it is any consolation SB, fussy eater baby No. 1 is the child who likes mussels, prawns, lobster, snails and any manner of creature out of the sea (still not keen on lamb though).

[jenc]

This has cheered me up no end too! My 23mo son eats a very limited diet despite also happily munching on broccoli when younger, like you snowboarder I have the photos to prove it so I know I wasn't dreaming it. Both me and his father LOVE food so I find it very disheartening that he's so fussy, I'm just hoping that like lots of things it's a phase and by the time he's five he'll eat everything but somehow I doubt it. I try to be relatively relaxed about it but just find it incredibly irritating. Hope the next one is more interested in food and one of those lovely children who eat anything! On the upside my brother was the fussiest child in the world and now eats like a normal human being so there is hope.

[sophiechristophy]

Fuschia - I agree 100%.

[Fuschia]

Put yourself in the child's plAce

Imagine sitting down in a restaurant in some obscure Chinese town with no menu

Everytime you open your mouth to chat about the weather a deranged woman leaps out from behind a pot plant and tries to shovel some totally unfamiliar item into your mouth

When you protest and clamp your mouth shut she starts doing some bizarre dance

Just as you are relaxing and begin to laugh, again she tries to lob something obscure into your open mouth

[cuppa tea]

Fuschia Wrote:

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>

>

> Weaning is a child's way of letting you know you

> can't control another human being

There is nothing more unpleasant than a power struggle over food. It's taken me

a second child and relaxing with the first one to realise that they really do know

what their own bodies need. A big lesson in trusting your kids, but it does mean they are likely to

have a healthier relationship with food as well as a healthier body.

[cuppa tea]

Also would recommend giving yourself a break and do smorgasbord type meals instead and let them pick up what they want off the plate. Bit of this and bits of that. Somehow more seems to get eaten and they can choose what they fancy.

[KateW]

Fuschia, I really think that's the wisest thing I've read on weaning in a long time (the bit about the Chinese restaurant). It made me gulp and feel very guilty about not REALLY thinking how it must all seem to my daughter. OK, new perspective on feeding tomorrow...