Feeding FAQ: 6-9 months – Weaning/Solids

At 7mths my son is refusing to eat is his tea at 5pm which is causing him to wake up hungry in the night

I have been trying to move tea to 5pm, but finding it difficult to find anything my 7mth old son will eat at this time of day. I have tried thick soups, pasta with sauce; jacket/mashed potato with various toppings, baby rice with vegetables mixed in. He eats really well at other times of the day, but at tea time just screams and has now begun to wake up in the night hungry. It was 4 times in the last week – he had been sleeping 12 hours from approx 5 months. I have resorted to feeding him, usually 4-5ozs after trying the core night method.

One night I tried moving back to baby rice and fruit after his milk – which he ate, but still woke in the night. Any suggestions of what I should do? I’m thinking of reintroducing the 10pm feed just so we aren’t up in the night.

My son feeds at 7.15am 8ozs formula, followed by 2-3teaspoons of porridge with pureed fruit.
11.30am, 6-8 cubes of meat casserole with vegetables. 3-4ozs juice
2.30pm, 4-5ozs formula
5.00pm, attempt at tea
6.30pm, 8ozs formula.

My son weighs 17lbs 12ozs.

He naps at 9.20-9.40am and 12.20-2.20pm. He is settled by 7pm.

Looking through the amounts of milk and solids your son is eating during the day he may be protesting at 5pm as he is not yet feeling hungry.

There are a couple of things you could try to see if he is happier to eat his tea around 5pm:

• Replace the 3-4ozs of juice your son is having with his lunch with cool, boiled water. Wait until he is a least halfway through his main course before offering him a drink. If possible wait until the end of the meal, as drinking too much fluid may be filling him up and he does not need so much of his solids. Offer him 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt and fruit puree after his main course.

This will allow you to cut down on the amount of milk he drinks at 2.30pm.

• Providing he is eating the yoghurt at lunchtime this will boost his daily milk intake and you could cut out the 2.30pm feed completely for a few days, to see if your son is then hungry for his tea at 5pm. If you find that cutting out this feed does encourage your son to eat better at 5pm, and to stop waking at night, you could either put back a very small feed at 2.30pm, 2-3ozs at the most, or offer him a drink of water and a piece of fruit at this time.

If you continue with this plan for a few days and see if the nights improve you will not have to think of re-introducing the 10pm feed. By this age your son does need to be eating a carbohydrate rich tea, but will only do so if he is hungry. If dropping the 2.30pm feed does make a great deal of difference, move his tea to 5.15pm or even later and see if this will encourage him to eat more. Once you have found the right time to feed him you will probably find that your son enjoys his tea as much as his other meals.

Do check through other reasons for his waking at night, such as being cold. Dress your baby appropriately for the temperature of the room and whether it is a cold night. Also, make sure he is tucked in well as at this age a baby can begin to roll around and disturb himself.