Re: Eating / Weaning

[Guest guest]

I never did find a way of getting food into my child, and she is absolutely

fine. She slowed down her food intake at 6 months and then again at 9 months,

so personally I didn't worry

too much (ha!) AFAIK no child ever starved to death, and research shows that

providing you offer a balanced diet they will eat what they need rather than

what you think they should

have. Does this help? IME us parents overestimate the amount of food our

children need. Emma survives most days on a bit of fluff she finds under the

sofa! And she is 75 centile ofr

height and 50th centile for weight and 109cms at 4 (age 5 clothes).

Finger foods are part enjoyment / part nourishment and for me a lot easier to

clear up than baby puree. Carpets you see.

As for the BF, well the great thing about Bf is making it work for you. So if a

morning and night feed isn't convenient, then don't do it. It is advised by

UNICEF and WHO that

breastmilk should be the main drink for the first year, but when and how they

get it is up to you both. People, especially those who don't live with you,

love routines as they see it as

'progress' that's quantifiable, but the happiest children I have come across

have been those who have a partnership with their parents, and who work it out

bit by bit between them. What

I mean is rather than an adult enforced schedule, go with the flow so four feeds

is ok today and 2 feeds ok tomorrow, etc. That way you both remain flexible.

OK so you can't say to anyone, that she has 2 feeds a day and they are at x

time, but you can play it by ear and remain flexible and fit it in to your

lyfestyle.

Hope this helps.

Sue H.

BFC

[Guest guest]

This sounds so like my daughter - she's ten months, and behaves very in

a very similar fashion over food. I do think it's very important that it

doesn't turn into a battle, and there is no way you can force a baby to

eat if it doesn't want to, so I try not to worry about it too much!

>Is there a " magic " way to get a hungry baby to eat the food you've lovingly

>prepared!

>My DD (9 months), even if starving, will not eat something if she doesn't want

>to. I'm assuming it's because she doesn't like it but often she'll eat the

same

>food at her next meal.

>What makes me mad is that I know she's hungry but refuses to eat.

>Often I've resorted to b'feeding her so I know she's had something.

>Is this the right solution though? Or should I leave her hungry (and

miserable)

>and keep trying?

>I feel like I spend all my time preparing food, putting baby into highchair and

>feeding her, cleaning up the mess and then starting all over again.

Try not to get too stressed about the food you've lovingly prepared! If

you can prepare ahead in bulk and freeze so you only have to defrost and

feed, you don't take it so personally when they refuse to eat it. My dd

also gets a lot of jarred stuff when she's going through one of her not

eating phases, for the same reason. When she is going through one of

those phases, she gets the most basic things offered to her, in very

small quantities, because I know then I'm less likely to get uptight

about her not eating them.

>Which leads me to finger foods.....

>Do babies actually eat these?

>My DD always throws everything on the floor (which I know is normal) but

doesn't

>seem very interested in feeding herself.

>Any tips to encourage her? Or is it a case of just letting her do what she

>wants?

I expect she will eventually - my dd is now feeding herself some finger

foods quite well, although sometimes she just messes about with them,

and I've noticed that when she's had enough, she just throws the food

straight on the floor instead of even trying it (even though she may

have been eating the same thing quite happily a few moments before).

Things dd will eat include rice cakes, bread sticks, broccoli florets,

chips, cooked pasta shapes, peas and corn (although she's not very good

at getting these into her mouth yet). I generally feed her some stuff

out of a bowl, and then leave her with a selection of bits on her tray

while I eat myself and deal with my three-year-old. She picks through it

and eats what she wants - a lot ends up on the floor, however. I also

give her her cup to deal with herself, and she helps herself (that ends

up on the floor eventually as well, of course!).

>And finally......

>Cutting down b'feeds.

>Everything I've read and my doctor advise to do morning and night feeds, but we

>don't fit into this.

>Sometimes we have just two feeds (spreadout through the day) and other days it

>goes up to more.

>Does it matter at this stage that there is no set 'b'feeds only at these

times'?

>I know b'feeding is very personal and you adapt to your needs, but with all the

>'advice' given from various sources I'm getting confused.

>I'm torn between wanting to have an organised schedule and doing the easiest

>option at the moment.

Hah - we must be doing somewhere between eight and ten feeds per day

still - I'd love to cut it down a bit, but dd has other ideas! My older

daughter was only having three bfs a day by this age, but she was always

much more interested in solids, and was eating well at ten months. DD2

has only really got to the point of eating three reasonable sized meals

a day in the last month.

The only thing you could try is to bfeed her after meals rather than

before, so at least she's reasonably hungry when you're trying to give

her the solids, but I still wouldn't get too stressed about how much she

is eating.

I don't think it matters in the least how many times a day you are

bfeeding her - do what suits you and her. If the health professionals

don't like it, don't tell them! It's still a good source of nutrition at

this age, particularly if she isn't eating well. My dd has had a bad

cold the last few days, and is refusing virtually all solids, but I'm

not bothered as I know she is still getting lots of nourishment from the

breastmilk.

HTH!

Cath

[Guest guest]

>This sounds so like my daughter - she's ten months, and behaves very in

>a very similar fashion over food. I do think it's very important that it

>doesn't turn into a battle, and there is no way you can force a baby to

>eat if it doesn't want to, so I try not to worry about it too much!

Agreed.

My Mum gave me a cutting from the Daily Mail yesterday, entitles " Tricks to

get your Toddler eating well " , thinking it would be helpful to me as

doesn't actually believe in eating meals.

I started reading. I got to ... This can be avoided if you ensure your

toddler's daily intake of food and drink is properly structured " It goes on

" Breakfast should be finished by 8am, so your toddler is ready to eat a good

lunch at around 12 noon, and tea should be given no later than 5pm "

At this point I thought " *@//?*?\%*!!! Who wrote this? " and turned back to

the beginning. You've guessed it - Ford. It appears she's now got

another book out - " From Contented Baby to Confident Child "

" From Regimented Baby to Oppressed Child " I would have thought...

Anyone seen it? Got an opinion?

McVeigh

Newsletter Editor & Secretary, Leighton Buzzard & District

SAHM to (AKA Tiff Toff) DOB 19/9/97

& Caitlin (AKA Cake Tin) DOB 12/1/00