Hello All

I haven't posted on here before so hello!!

I visited the Health Visitor today to have my LO weighed and she has dropped below her line and hasn't gained as much weight as she should have done. To be quite honest the Health Visitor made me feel awful and it felt like she was accusing me of starving my baby (which I don't!!)

Sophia has been refusing Purees for about the last month, she will not be fed!! The only thing she will take off a spoon is yogurts and the occasional stage one puree (if we are lucky). I have resorted to letting her feed herself but she doesn't actually swallow a lot. She throws it about and chews some food really well then spits it out instead of swallowing it. The health visitor said that I should be giving my LO more protein but she doesn't seem to like meat!! The only things she will eat (and not spit out) are bananas, the occasional piece of chicken, potato and cheese spread sanwiches. She is still on 3 bottles of 7 oz a day.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

many thanks

Abi xxx

Hi Abi
I'm a newbie as well, but I hope I can help. As long as your little one is still drinking all her milk in the day and is not crying beacuse she is hungry, then you really have nothing to worry about. The HV have a way of making you feel really bad when you have done nothing wrong.
My little one is a very fussy easter, he will not eat any packet foods at all! The only food he will eat is what I have made. But last week he started to refuse everything we gave him, (all foods he had loved before). So I changed his diet completely, cooked some differnt foods using the Gina Fords baby book for weaning.He loved them all. He is now eating lot's of finger fruits, rice cakes, boild eggs and soliders. Try some differnt foods and see if she likes them. Hope this helps and don't let the HV make you feel bad, you know whats best for your baby.

Rach xx

Hello

I'm also new but have some thoughts

My HV recommended baby-led weaning, I did some research, didn't find enough to understand it so bought a book on Amazon which I then read cover to cover.

Basically you don't feed the baby any puree, you go straight to food. To begin with they won't swallow much, that is normal. They will touch it, chew it and most will then come back out. As time goes on they will start to swallow more and more.

Meanwhile you still feed the milk feeds as per normal. At this stage a baby doesn't see food as something that fills them up so when they are hungry and cry it is milk they are asking for. You should only ever feed them food when they are not due a milk feed as you just upset and frustrate them when you give them what in effect is still a toy at what they think is dinner time.

As to the foods you can feed they are many and varied. Low salt, non-processed and some things you should avoid, like nuts and honey.

I have started my son from day one the baby-led way and it is SO easy. He tries everything I offer him and is swallowing and digesting a wide range of foods now. He is eight and a half months so is two and a half months experienced. He still has his milk which is good to feed anyway as it is full of nutrients, but he doesn't have as much or as often.

As for the weight change, I have found with my son that as he has become more active he has dropped on the line a small amount. I figured that was because he was burning more calories.

I hope this helps, I know some of it is not in answer to your question, although hopefully some is ... I would really recommend the baby-led weaning book though. It explains a baby's dietary needs and why some things work and why they don't. It makes so much sense and will make you see feeding so differently

Good luck!
Julie