Feeding FAQ: 6-9 months – Weaning/Solids

My 8 month daughter is uninterested in eating breakfast

My daughter has recently started to refuse breakfast following her breastfeed in the morning. I now only feed her from one side in the hope she will have more of an appetite for her cereal, but this does not seemed to have worked. She is offered Weetabix and half a banana followed by finger food such as toast or a rice cake, but she isn’t interested. Despite her small breakfast she manages to wait until 11.45 for lunch. She eats a protein meal, followed by fruit or yoghurt and has dinner at 5pm with another meal followed by fruit or yoghurt. At both meals she has water from a beaker. She has a breast feed before bed at 6.45pm. Despite eating her lunch and dinner well I find she is not at all interested in finger food and despite my bests efforts eats nothing herself.
She has always been a good sleeper. However she now is waking at around 5.15 and 6.15am, although she settles herself again. When I fetch her at 7.15am she may have been awake for a while but is not crying from hunger. Is this normal?
My daughter is 8 months old and weighs 21lbs 2 ozs.

Not being ravenously hungry first thing in the morning is a perfectly normal stage in your daughter’s development. As she already takes water from a beaker at lunch and tea, begin to offer her milk at breakfast time in a beaker. If you wish to continue with breast milk, express the feed when you wake: this should help her be more interested in her cereals.
If you are not already doing so, begin to offer her something other than Weetabix. Ready Brek is a good choice. Alternate between wheat and oat based cereals as babies can get bored with the same cereal daily and begin to refuse it. Add some grated fruit such as apple or pear to get your daughter used to different textures.
Helping your daughter enjoy finger foods more will take a little thought. She needs to be tempted by different colours and textures. Try offering her a spoonful of cooked, frozen mixed vegetables to entice her. Using simple dips can also work; give steamed batons of carrot or florets of broccoli and a small portion of an avocado dip like Pick up Sticks on p120 of the Weaning book. Show her how to dip and eat. Sharing finger food can help a reluctant feeder who will copy you eating.
Another idea is to make a simple picture on a plate using finger foods, a house or face is easy with steamed vegetables and pieces of toast.
If you sit your daughter in her high chair whilst you get her meal ready, offer a small amount of finger food to keep her content whilst waiting. Her hunger should help her explore a little.
As your daughter is not crying in the early morning and settling herself again don’t worry. As she becomes more active in the day with lots of crawling and pulling herself up on the furniture, this phase will probably pass.