9 month old refusing solids and not feeding well

K

kyojee

Registered User
Hello! My 9 month old who had never been very fond of solids is now refusing it altogether. She started rejecting it about a few weeks ago, and since fever and a cough (still going on now) she wants nothing but the boob. I take forever to give her a bottle of formula as well.

I do worry about how little she eats. Some days it's 3-4 light breast feeds (some more for comfort than food), 8-10 oz of formula, and hardly any solids. She's not a fan of water or juice even. Tried so many sippys and she takes only a little like an oz or 2 even with loads of offerings.

Ekkks! Been worried and frustrated with the food refusal. Doc said she's gaining weight but very slowly, and told me not to over worry. Her intake is just so much less than the recommended for her age group. I'm getting so sick of myself trying to make mealtimes fun and am trying very hard not to forcefeed!

Does/Did anyone have the same issue and how did/do you cope, and did things get better?

- worried mom
 
Hi,
I undertand you are worried, I've had the same problem a few times... it happens often when the babies are sick, or having their teeth growing. My son once refused ANY food during a whole week, absolutely nothing !! But don't worry too much, she won't starve herself. Anyway, even later, you'll be surprised how little the kids are able to eat, and still have a lot of energy, and their eating habit are changing all the time. Unless the problem lasts really long, I think your doctor is right.
 
As worrying and frustrating as it is when your little one won't eat, as Frenchy says, you shouldn't worry. As long as your baby is getting enough milk then she will get all her nutrients she needs. Is she teething? My 10month old goes through very fussy phases and I think it is due to his teeth coming through. I was also really worried a month or so ago as he refused all solids (except rice cakes!) and was really fussy. He is better now but still has days when he eats hardly anything. As long as they seem happy and healthy don't worry. I was told not to force my baby to eat. Also, I found letting my son hold the spoon and make a REAL mess with his food made him more curious to try solids.
 
Both my children weren't very fond of food, especially while I was still breastfeeding them and the older one still is not a big eater. It's wonderful that they can find comfort with you at the breast - imagine how much more difficult it would be otherwise! There were definitely days when it felt like I was back to exclusively nursing my younger one when he was sick or teething, but the good news is that they're getting both comfort and nutrition from you. Another thing that you can try would be Pediasure - I give it diluted to about half strength but allow them to drink twice as much to get more fluids into them. There's no cow's milk in it as I notice that some children know to avoid cow's milk when they're not feeling well. It's great when they're sick, as you can give them their RDA of all their vitamins, minerals, etc. with it, so you can worry less. I had also heard of people giving full-strength Pediasure to promote weight gain, but my pediatrician thought it was too sweet and would develop the child's taste for sweets. Finger foods are sometimes more interesting to them at this age. Steamed diced carrots, corn, peas, apples, bananas or the stems of vegetables like broccoli, choi sum, etc. As long as she can still laugh and play, she's healthy and well. Hope this helps!
 
thank you sooo much for sharing your experiences!!! i feel much better after your responses. would like to share with you something our paed told me today...

we went to a have a check on her cough this morning, and doc said not to worry too much about her weight at this point (though i feel she's fairly low between 10-25th percentile). he said baby probably won't take much solids when she is sick, and may even experience a bit of weight loss. One thing he brought up did make me fumble about breastfeeding. He said if my baby continues to have a poor appetite after getting well, I might want to consider to stop breastfeeding if I suspect my milk supply is low, as some babies would rather go hungry refusing solids/bottle and use the breast for comfort. While the baby's hunger is alleviated, he/she may not exactly be getting enough milk. This according to him is a feeding behavior problem. Huh... While I am keen to continue breastfeeding up to a year or more, I'm concerned if what he said could run true for my fussy-eater bub. =(

frenchy - yes i am truly amazed on how little they can survive on and still have heaps of energy! where do they get the fuel to keep going!!?? Heh...

princess101 - yup she is teething! i guess this is always a difficult phase for feeding/sleeping...

yonge - will try more finger food! she isn't a big fan, but i think she prefers that to all pureed! =)
 
just wanted to add: my paed also mentioned, it's okie for the baby to gain weight slowly, as long as it's a fairly consistent rate.

my bub is falling on the percentiles (from 30% to 15% over 5-6 months). Although it's an upward trend all in all, i'm not sure if that is of concern.

if only i could use some of my weight gain on her! i don't think i ever worried so much for not gaining enough weight... =)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top