7 month old - feeding/solids issues

Hi

I'm hoping someone will be able to help me here because I'm not currently getting much help through plunket. My 7 month old baby girl is perfectly healthy and happy however she is struggling with eating solids. She was doing fine up until a few weeks ago when she got sick and ever since has basically refused to take a teaspoon of food. I have tried (and wasted!) heaps of different types of baby food.

Plunket have told me that she isn't eating solids because she is still breastfeeding through the night and is therefore too full in the day time. She still normally has 3 feeds during the night. In the daytime I always breastfeed her after our failed food attempts not before. Even when I know she is hungry she still doesn't open her mouth for food.

I was told to make sure that she went to sleep nice and full and not to feed her again until morning time. This sounded like great advice but she still wakes up hungry and if I don't feed her she screams and I cant settle her back to sleep. I therefore feed her and (going by the plunket theory) she then doesn't want her solids in the day time....

Any advice would be great. It feels like we are going around in circles and not getting anywhere.

I wouldn't neccesarily say that still feeding throughout the night is the cause of her not taking solids during the day. 7 mths is still little and I wouldn't bat an eyelid if my baby was still feeding at that age. Many Plunket Nurses seem to have an issue about babies not doing everything by the book and on time I wouldn't personally refuse to feed my hungry child (at any age).

What about just casually offering finger foods at random times - like not putting her in her highchair especially for food. Just casually offering a piece of your banana (as an example) while you are eating some yourself.

And do remember that your daughter is getting EVERYTHING she needs from your breastmilk. I wouldn't stress about it at all, some babies don't start on solids till they are 9, 10, 11 even 12 months old. If shes happy, healthy and you don't mind the night feedings I wouldn't push the solids, even though she was going great with them before being sick.
And also a baby eating 3 full solid meals a day doesn't automatically mean they won't want feeds throughout the night!
HTH

Yeah I also agree with mamma2n. Kyle has only just started showing an interest in solids, previously he would eat some of my food if on my lap but point blank refused to eat in his highchair or eat off a spoon whatsoever. He is now having 3 meals a day plus snacks and still wakes in the night for a breastfeed. I would just chill out about it and maybe even have a few days of not offering solids at all to take the pressure off you both for a few days and then maybe when you do start offering try doing a breastfeed then popping her in the chair with some finger food whilst you are close by but doing something else.

I had the same issues!!!!

DD is now 8 1/2 months and is still doing it, i have also weaned her to bottle in that time with no change lol.

I have spoken to a few people & there said it can be quite common for babies to go off food at this age.

I got really annoyed at plunket saying stop giving boob. Some nights DD would sleep through then others she would wake. So i knew if she was full she would sleep through. When she woke it was because she wanted boob.

They only luck we are really having with solids at the moments is cooked broccoli pieces & cruskits. Not much variety, i offer it she just doesnt want it

We are going through the same thing too. It is slowly getting better so hang in there. I think it is normal

Kel makes a good point. offer her food that you like to eat so if she refuses it, you eat it.

FAvourites for my fuss pot are milk arrowroots and yoghurt.

I dont know if it was just a timing thing but we seemed to turn around on the whole spoon thing when one night I got fed up and fed him his kumara off my finger. Since then he takes it off the spoon. So I dont know whether he just needed convincing that it tasted nice or whether he would have anyway.

To reassure you....James will still only eat about 1/4 of a jar at any meal. he is also incredibly slow and I need to give him HEAPS of time between spoonfuls.

I also started offering solids before boob at about 7.5 months. Actually I just offer it when I can be bothered. but I am not hung up on what he gets when IYKWIM

You are all so kind and thoughtful. I had a feeling that I was getting too worried over the whole situation and then my phone call to plunket just made me feel terrible.

Thanks heaps!!

Heaps of great advice.

I BF Cody whenever he wakes up during the night, unless he wakes up after only being asleep for an hour. And let him BF whenever he wants during the day. Also when he wakes up anytime after 5am I bring him into bed with us and let him BF himself back to sleep while lying down.

At the moment he shares my breakfast, which is either toast or porridge. I just sit him on my lap and either give him some crust or load up a baby spoon and let him put it in his mouth while holding it steady.

He also shares my lunch. And any healthy snacks I have during the day. He loves banana, bread, sucking on apple. With banana I just leave some skin on as a handle and let him feed himself. Just be prepared for the mess.

Also don't offer a BF straight after she refuses Solids, just wait for a bit.

That seems weird that Plunket would say to refuse the boob - milk is still the most important food for your baby!!
I agree with everyone else - it may just be a phase. My 7 month old still breastfeeds once or twice a night too, but it doesn't affect his solid feeds.
He also went off solids at around 6 months when he got a cold, but eventually started eating again, and now loves it!
Good luck!