Discovery Home & Health

Hiya Everyone,

I am currently trying to wean my daughter and having big trouble with it. She will be 7 months next Friday and so far barely has anything. At most 1/4 to 1/2 a jar of food once a day. Altho she has finished off a whole jar on a few occasions. I have been told by the HV that i really need to push the food and cut down the milk so that she doesn't have feeding problems for years to come. I have a couple of problems though, she barely opens her mouth for it and when i eventually get the spoon in she lifts her tongue to the roof of her mouth and when she tries to swallow obviously all the food comes out again. Even when you do get it above the tongue it seems her tongue pushes most of it out. It's driving us mad as know she needs the solids now she is over 6 months and is also waking again at night lately.

Has anyone else been through this? Have you got any tips? I have tried her with finger food even like the HV suggested but again her tongue keeps pushing it out! My DS took to food easily so i am at a loss of what to try with her and getting very very worried about the whole thing. Please Please can someone help.

a very worried upset Rhi
xxx

Hey Rhi,

Maddie took ages to get into solids and i took until she was at least 8 months before shewas having anything much at all. My HV said the opposite! I was told not to stress, they get all their nutrition from their milk and to just keep giving her tastes. I pureed a load of stuff and for ages the most she would take would be 2 small ice cubes. Just as i was at the end of my tether she got it but she was over 8 months by then because it was in the lead up to christmas.

My advice would be to try not to worry because i'm sure they pick up on your stress to get them to eat, allow her to have as much milk as she needs and wait till she gets it. Maddie eats brilliantly now, loves her finger food and we haven't created a fussy eater by letting her do it in her own time!

You poor thing! Its so so hard this feeding business.
A tricky one that I have to confess I really don't know the answer to....
However a few ideas!!!

Have you tried making some of your own food.
Steam some apple, pear, sweet potato, butternut squash or something like that - then blend it down to a thinner paste. It might be that starting with a really plain flavor might help??
I know this is time consuming with another child.

Is the HV sure that she doesn't have a problem with her swallow reflex. It might be worth asking for a speech and language therapist to get this checked out??

The fact that she is waking at night, sounds like she is getting hungry - so for your sake, you need to get this sorted sooner rather than later!!!

This is a really easy thing to say and a really really hard thing to do... try not to get yourself up tight when you are feeding her. I find with Tom, any stress instantly rubs off on him. A really bad thing to get into I know, but have you tried putting the TV on or some other form of distraction whilst you are trying to feed her??

Have you shown her what to do? Ie put a spoon of food in your mouth, making noises, showing her what to do!!!

These are just a few thoughts. I really really really hope something helps and works out for you asap!!

Let us know how it goes

Love Em x x x

With Noo on this one.

You don't want to link food with stress and she will def pick up on you being stressed.
Just sounds like she's not ready for solids yet.
Why not leave it for a few days/a week and try again?
if she is happy/content/sleeping/(weeing & pooing normally)/etc. then DON'T WORRY OK?

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. She is waking during the night so i am sure she is hungry. Could she have a swallow problem though Emily if she is managing to swallow milk ok? Surely the food isn't much harder to swallow than the milk. I have tried to eat my lunch in front of her whilst she is in her highchair too so that she can see what i am doing. Maybe i ought to stop stressing and it's nice to know that there is another baby that didn't take to food quickly. I have also tried making my own food and there's no difference really with the food.

Thanks for the tips. I'll give them a try.

Rhi
xxx

I am sure I read that if a baby is still pushing the food out with its tongue then it just means that they are not ready for solids yet-milk should be the main source of nutrients for the first year-as long as you are not giving her more than the reccomended amount regularly then she will wean when she is ready.

I would say a swallow problem is unlikely, however the mouth uses very different muscles when drinking milk to that of eating. When you eat next note as to what your tongue has to do (ie flip food around to the back of the mouth to then swallow)
I would say there is a chance she could have, but it is very unlikely. Maybe get the Gp to check her out!
It sounds like you are doing everything you can!!

My understanding was that more than milk is needed after 6 months. The body starts to need more nutrients eg iron levels start to reduce after 6 months!! I might be wrong - however that was my understanding.
I am sure that she will do it all in her own time. But like you I would do everything that I can to encourage her - without making it all into a big deal! If you know what I mean!!
Its so easy to say stop stressing. But when its your own its impossible not to!!!!

You sound like you are being a perfect Mummy and doing everything you can.
Just keep up the good work and make meal times as fun as possible!!

Have you tried feeding her somewhere other than the highchair? A bouncer or a bumbo!? You never know... it might catch her out!!!!

Take care
Love Emily x x x

I have heard that too, it's a reflex that they start doing because of the way they take milk. You just have to keep going with little bits and she'll get there eventually.

I got really tired of it as all the weaning books i read said try baby rice one day, then up to 2 meals next week and then up to 3 the next. I was on one meal for weeks!! pureed carrot was her favorite at first, that and parsnip or butternut squash are good as they're naturally sweet. 2 carrots will make a tray of cubes so just try steaming or boiling them up and blend them and try. It is disheartening but she won't let herself starve. I agree that the night time waking could be hunger, but it might be something else.

I also agree that milk is main source of nutrition, food is just for playing and if you treat it that way you will be able to relax a bit more. I have friends with girls who had the same problem but my friends with boys found that they weaned early and ate for England!!

Just a thought but have you tried using different types of spoons? My friends little girl would only feed from a certain type of spoon and I found Damien a bit fussy with spoons too (so much so that I had to beg extra petit filous spoons from my pals!). Its prob nothing to do with it but it might be worth a go.

Hope she gets the hang of it soon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rhi

Please dont panic, Kieran is 2 and he still won't eat proper food he will eat rusks, biscuits, yogarts, skips, garlic bread and sometimes bread. Won't even try most things, we have tried so many things but he still don't want to know.
I have tried lots and lots of different things, but if he does not like the texture he wont let it go in his mouth. Now as he has just turned 2 the nurse came to see me at home last week as I am worried, she said just keep trying and keep doing what I am doing. She weighed him and he is a little under weight for his age but she said that maybe cos he has been ill lots with chest infection, 4 ear infections and then the really bad UTI!!! Keep trying its all you can do babe, she will get there, all kids are different and like different things, smells,textures etc. At this rate she will be eating before Kieran LOL

Thanks everyone. I had heard if they push it out with their tongue then their not ready too but also now she is over 6mths i've read that they need more than just milk coz of their store of nutrients being used up. I guess she's putting on weight ok so we just have to keep trying.

I might get someone to check her out though Emily just to be on the safe side as i would hate to battle on for another few months getting nowhere and then find out there's something wrong and i hadn't done anything about it. I'll try and make a note of what my tongue does like you suggest emily too.

We've tried feeding her in different places, our arms, bouncer, bumbo and highchair but it doesn't make a difference and also tried lots of different spoons. I seem to have a tiny bit more success with the smaller ones but not much.

I reckon she's just sent to challenge us an keep us on our toes. lol. Neither of my kids have been easy babies. lol.

Thanks for all your suggestions and help. It has calmed me down slightly.

Aww Lorraine, i think alot of kids get like K. Was he like Lucy when you were trying to wean him?

Rhi
xxx

Cross posted with Emily last night!! I meant that i agreed with Baby USA that babies get most of their nutrition from their milk in the first year. They do start to need bits from other food but it won't do them any harm to wait a bit to start getting them. If you're formula feeding use a follow on milk as they have different quantities of nutrients, if you're breast feeding then they get most of what they need from that.

I swear with Maddie it was as if one day she clicked about what to do with the food and got it. From then on she would have a couple of cubes and a yoghurt or fruit puree but it did take her a while to build up the amount that she had. She loves her milk too and i think that she was full from that, maybe see about your milk feeding times and try some solid when she hasn't had milk for a while - it doesn't matter if it isn't meal time.

I totally understand your anxiety, maybe speaking to your GP might help reassure you as i'm sure that your helath visitors advice (which was the total opposite to mine!) has made you more anxious. I have 3 friends in the same town as me with babies the same age and we were all given different advice from different health visitor's about formular milk, follow on milk and cows milk!! How on earth are we supposed to know what is the right thing to do !?

Thanks Noo. Let's hope Lucy follows like Maddie then. I know what you mean about the contradiction in advice. One HV had told me to get her completely established on one meal before moving onto the next and then this one said no she should be on three meals a day by now. I have def felt more unsettled and flustered since i saw them Thurs and so has my husband. It's nice to hear another story where it's taken a child to actually cotton on to how to eat though.

Thanks

Rhi
xxx

Rhi Yeah K was a fussy one at weaning.

I have been worried for ages, they did suggest at one point that he say a speech therapist and I was like eh??? they said it was to do with his tounge?? But he still eats sod all now, so like you I worry, we just got to keep trying.

xxxxx

Hi,
Firstly we are told not to wean til 6 months so where did you hv get it that within a month of that you should have weaned your dd?

It is a really gradual process so please dont worry, your daughter is just in no hurry but that is usual.
I have weaned 3 babies and my latest addition i dont intend to start til 6 months of age.

From milk it is a big step to go to propper baby foods, you could try.....

either mixing your milk or bottle (however you feed her or can express) to her food, this will make the texture thinner and add a familiar taste for her.
try really tiny ammounts on the spoon and go with the flow on what comes out.
Allow loads of time for a meal and relax as your dd will pick up on your worries.
give her a spoon to hold and even an empty bowl to bash it against to reflect the no rush no bother type feel to meal times!
gradually use less of the mixer milk until she is taking the food on its own.

I hope this helps, even if you have weaned a baby b4 all babies are different, my son would only take choccy pud at one point and gagged on anything else,

good luck, take it easy and she will get the hang of it when she is ready

Pinky xx