My (almost) 11 months old is a terrible eater and he seems to have regressed over the last month.
He will happily eat Weetabix or porridge for breakfast but is awful at lunch and dinner. Every meal time ends with someone in tears and a well fed dog.
I'm at my wits end trying to get him to eat and all the guidance says he should be eating three meals a day with milk top ups at this age. I feel like I'm failing. He's already on the smaller side due to being premature but this feels like it's going to set him back so much! Any advice or reassurance is welcome.
We've tried all sorts of textures and flavours, gone back to things he used to enjoy, eating together, eating separately, puree, finger food, high chairs, lap, floor. Nothing seems to make a difference, he just doesn't want to eat food.
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Hi, I just want to start off by saying you are not failing. It’s so so hard feeding a small baby, especially the weaning stage.
You sound like you are doing such a good job trying so many different things. Babies are all different and my children were all difficult feeders. It was so hard persevering with something that for us was so difficult - especially when I read all the guidance of what they were meant to be eating. For us I worked out with my hv what was right for my babies and then we worked to that. It was hard to stay positive with it all but as we moved through it I began to see we had bad days and good days with eating. I’d notice the trends of what worked and what didn’t.
I wonder if maybe talking it through with someone to work out what is right from your little one to help you feel reassured. You can ring and ask for support with this from just one number 0300 300 0123. Maybe in the meantime you could also keep a basic food diary ( which you may already be doing). This can also be a good source of info for you when talking with your hv. It might help you see tiny bits of progress which aren’t obvious in the first instance. Good luck lovely you are doing a great job 😊
Sorry to hear feeding time has got really stressful.
Please don't ever feel you are failing, you are giving mealtimes lots of thought and the main role we have at this age is keeping mealtimes fun and relaxed and offer a variety of foods.
There are lots of things which may affect food intake at this age, including those teeth coming through!
It might be worth checking the amount of fluid your baby is taking as it is very common for them to favour milk over food (and they can easily fill up on this and take the edge of the solids.)
MrsHello made some really good points so hopefully you feel reassured and have some ideas where you can get further support from.
It is so tough isn't it. I remember feeling exactly the same. We also tried all the colours and textures just as all the books and blogs told us too but with little success. After spending a small fortune on "the right diet" we decided to do what suited our family. In the end we kept it really simple. Porridge or yogurt for breakfast, broccoli and/or apple for lunch and something like mash potato let down with gravy for dinner. Most of it went up the walls but at least we knew the milk was still giving them the bulk of what they needed and anything they did eat was at least healthy. The fact that you are worried about it shows what a wonderful parent you are. Let us know how you get on.
The day after posting this he comes down with a temperature, cough and general all round unwell.
Food went out the window, barely ate or drank anything over three days.
He seems to be through the worst and nursery have reported back that he is eating some stuff whilst there.
Thank you all for the words of wisdom and support, it's so easy to read all the information out there and feel you aren't achieving.
Still slightly stressed that he still won't be eating much in a months time when he turns 1 but trying to not let it get to me and remember that so much can change in a month!
Still trying new bits along with repeating exposure of certain things to try and encourage him!
Thank you all, really appreciate it.
For any one else who might see this and had anything to add, please do. It's all welcome!
He will happily try and eat anything new that happens to be sweet, granola, Cheerios etc. but getting any kind of protein down him feels impossible.
He is still so apprehensive to try new things and dinner times can still feel incredibly stressful. He's also started to go off food he used to enjoy so that is certainly posing new obstacles.
Still unsure we are doing anything right and still stressed that we are going to have an incredibly fussy child.
Why does everyone else seem to have wonderful and fun weaning processes.. it's only ever been stress and tears for us.
Hi sorry I’m only just seeing this. Yay for your progress that’s amazing. Any progress is fab and I think with weaning particularly it is worth celebrating. You sound like you are doing such a good job trying different textures and foods, I know it’s not easy when they are less willing to try certain foods. It brings a whole new meaning to perseverance! I remember mine when they were younger (and even now they are older) go through phases of foods and not accepting the foods you want them to eat. I still have to sneak healthy foods in, by using different blends, or toppings alongside their favourites. I very quickly learn whether it works. Sometimes I can add cheese to something and other days not lol. I just pick my battles and work out what is ok to let go and what I’m going to try and persevere with. It’s helped me a lot with some of mealtime stress as my children got older. I know I keep saying it but you are doing so well, parenting around food can be hard and a bit of its own adventure. Even those who have good eaters now will have things they have to deal with. Keep going 😊 x
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