Baby feeding problems...

gt568

This has probably been done to death, so apologies if it has...

Our 8 month old seems to be going off food at the minute and becoming a really fussy eater..

When we started solids with her she would eat everything in sight, now some meal times she will, others she won't eat anything..The problem is the wife took her to the health visitor to get weighed yesterday and she had lost 2oz's over the last 4 weeks, and the HV said if she hadn't put on weight by 8 Dec she would refer her to a peaditrician..

what are we doing wrong..

She gets breast milk 1st thing in the morning and last thing at night, then cereal at breakfast and minced up versions of what we eat for the rest of her meals..and breast in between..

onlyroz

In general I think you have to trust that they'll eat when they're hungry enough, and won't starve. So unless the health-visitor, GP or paediatrician indicates that there's a genuine medical problem I wouldn't worry about it.

gt568

Well they obviously do think there is a problem or we wouldn't be going back to get her re-weighed or refered to a doctor and she would be gaining weight not losing weight

aligerdie

I agree with the above post, your little one is getting breast milk, so its not like there's no nutrition at all.

Have you considered finger foods? Baby might just be getting to the stage where they want to be independant and feed themself. Toast, fruit, pitta etc plus lots and lots of praise should do the trick nicely. Make sure there's plenty of milk, and cut down on the snacks in between meals ( a little biccie of low nutritional value, fills up a small tum!)

My little one went through this stage and it was awful. Thing is now, she's a skinny dainty little thing, but she eats like a horse :rotfl:

Good luck, and don't worry.

galvanizersbaby

aligerdie wrote: »

I agree with the above post, your little one is getting breast milk, so its not like there's no nutrition at all.

Have you considered finger foods? Baby might just be getting to the stage where they want to be independant and feed themself. Toast, fruit, pitta etc plus lots and lots of praise should do the trick nicely. Make sure there's plenty of milk, and cut down on the snacks in between meals ( a little biccie of low nutritional value, fills up a small tum!)

My little one went through this stage and it was awful. Thing is now, she's a skinny dainty little thing, but she eats like a horse :rotfl:

Good luck, and don't worry.

I agree with the other posters OP - I don't think you are doing anything wrong with your DD's diet.
My daughter was a bit like this and still doesn't eat much now (she's the grand old age of 4)
I'm not sure either of mine would have been ready for finger foods like toast etc... at 8 months (though I could be wrong it's a while since I've been there):D

rchddap1

Everything sounds right to me. Sometimes my monster would eat like a horse, and othertimes (for a sustained period) she'd go off food pretty much completely. All you can do is to keep trying and see what happens.

If you do get referred just don't panic. Doctors aren't ogres. They are there to help. Its possible that if you do get referred they'll take one look, decide they're fine and send you on your way with another appointment in a few months. A referral doesn't mean there is a problem....and even if there is a little something that needs sorting the doctors are the ones best placed to give you the help you need.

Don't worry, try variations suggested above and see what happens.

funky-footprints

teething often effects babies diet, all 3 of mine have gone from being fabby eaters one week, to faddy the week after. worrying that it is, as previous poster wrote, they eat when they are hungry. once on the move, (crawling) thier weight gain does slow down. sounds like you are doing a good job to me. xxxxx

daphne_descends

IME health visitors are too quick too panic and often fail to look at the bigger picture.

2 oz at 8 months does not sound like a big loss. And how accurate is that anyway? Was she weighed on the same scales, at the same time of day, and were the scales static ones i.e. not moved around? Why is she being weighed monthly anyway?

It is very old-fashioned to look at weight solely as a measure of good health.

Has your daughter recently learned to roll, crawl, sit up, or even stand/cruise on the furniture? Is she teething? Has she been poorly with a cold or ear infection?

hayleyc_2

Totally agree with the above post. 2 oz is nothing over 4 weeks, unless there is a sustained weight loss over a number of weeks/months, I wouldn't worry too much. Breastmilk is the most calorific thing in your little one's diet so if you're in any doubt then up the milk feeds rather than the solids. I agree with the other poster who mentioned plently of finger foods, and keep food fun. The last thing you want is to worry so much that you start making meal times stressful or focused on trying to make her eat more than she wants. I never bothered getting my son weighed as it seems to cause people such unncessessary worry. As long as your daughter is active and happy with plenty of wet/dirty nappies then small weight losses like 2oz are nothing to worry about. All babies are different, and will always gain or lose weight dependant on other developmental milestones like crawling, teething, walking etc etc.

Hayley

Krystaltips

Up until 1 year old babies get their nutrition from their milk, in your little ones case, breast milk is the absolute perfect thing for her. Food should be seen as a complimentary thing at the moment, something for her to taste, experiment with and explore, not something to fatten her up with.

If she is breastfed on demand then she will be used to regulating how much she eats, this will carry over into solid food too so on some days she might seem to eat less than others but she will still be eating as much as she needs.

gt568

She's been slow to put on weight her whole life...and now she's going down over a 4 week period..thats wh yI'm worried again.