At almost 8 months my daughter is refusing nearly all her solid food
Olivia is refusing 95% of her solids. I have tried: self-feeding, spreading veggies on bread fingers, veggie fingers and offering a few ozs of milk then her solids. I have tried to give her a few ozs of milk before solids, but she just grizzles until she gets her bottle (usually after 30-60 minutes of getting her to eat). She has been “teething” for a few months now and I am wondering if that could be the reason, but it could still be months before her first tooth appears. Olivia does not seem to be hungry between meals and is not waking in the night. Mealtimes are becoming quite stressful.
She still has 4 milk feeds a day: 7.30am 240 ml, 11.30am 150 ml, 2.30pm 200 ml and 6pm 240mls. At 4.15pm she has 2-3 ozs water. Her present weight is 7.5 kg.
Her breakfast is: 1tsp yoghurt, 1 mouthful of toast and lunch is 2-3 mouthfuls veggies and /or cheese, chicken or tuna.
She has two naps in the day: 9-9.45am and 12.30-2.30pm and settles at 7pm.
It would appear that Olivia has become rather a “milk addict” which often coincides with a baby who is in some discomfort from teething. Sucking is an easier and more comforting option, but she must begin to have a wider diet and more solid food.
As Olivia is accepting protein, her milk at 11.30am needs to be cut right down so she is absorbing the nutrients from her solid food. Milk can prevent the absorption of protein by up to 50%.
At 11.30am there are two ways to do this: The first way is probably better to suited to Olivia, as she needs to be hungry enough to eat solids. Offer her solids first without her catching sight of her bottle. Babies will clamp their mouths shut if they see that their milk is visible.
Offer her solid food along with some eye-catching finger food. As she should be hungry and accept more, then give her a smaller feed afterwards.
Decrease her milk and begin to replace it with water offered in a beaker.
It is very easy to become tense about rejection of food and a baby will easily sense it. Try to approach mealtimes in light-hearted and happy way, offering her food with a smiling face and words of encouragement.
The other way is, to offer her a feed at 11am, and as she shouldn’t be so hungry she should then take less. Then have a break of 45 minutes and offer solids at 11.45am. This is not such a good option as Olivia needs to cut well back on her milk in order to increase her solids.
At 2.30pm give her a smaller feed and be aware she may be filling herself up with water at 4.15pm which is taking the edge off her appetite at 5pm. Olivia should be eating a vegetarian meal at this time. It can include dishes containing cheese and sauces made with milk which all go towards her daily intake. At her age this needs to be a minimum of 500-600mls a day. As her daily total is 830mls it is easy to see why she is not really hungry at meal times.
In the same way offer her a far smaller feed before breakfast, perhaps having a break between her milk and solids. Give her a couple of different cereals, alternating between oat based and wheat based, so she doesn’t get bored with them. Some milk is used to mix them which again adds into her daily intake.
Introducing solid foods to a reluctant baby, can easily become a difficult issue for all involved. A baby who cries for her milk and refuses a spoon is very difficult and trying. But by structuring the amount and times of Olivia’s feeds, she should be hungrier and more willing to accept a wider variety of food.