Why won't my baby eat?

[Lupena]

My little fella (nearly nine months old..)  is so not interested in food. He's hovered around twenty pounds for about three months now,He might have gained a pound. doesn't seem to be gaining as fast. He's EBF, and tho' I know he has lots of dirty diapers I'm worried he should be eating more. I think my milk supply is ok, but my breasts don't get hard very often. I have tried him on avocadoes and sweet potato, both soft chunks ( self feeding ) and mashed. He spits it out, and swallows very little. The only thing he seems to want to eat is toast/ bready things, which I didn't want to give 'til he was  a year old. I know some babies are ok until a year EBF, but I need reassurance. Why would he not want to eat? My other son started solids at seven months and took right to it. I am scared I'm denying him something... He was seventeen pounds when he was four and a half months old, so his weight percentile has dropped from, like the 90th to the 75th.. I never thought I would worry about this!

He has also gotten six teeth since January, yikes.

[CoBabyMaker]

He sounds like he is doing fine.  I wouldn't worry about solids too much.  The first year really is just for practice and exploration.  Just keep offering little bits here and there and he will eat when he is ready.  DD1 didn't actually swallow much food until around 9-10 months.  DD2 is 8 months and wants to hold things but spits them out most of the time. 

As far as your breasts not getting hard that is fine and good.  It just means that your supply has adjusted to his needs.  Are you looking at the WHO breastfeeding growth charts or the formula feeding charts from the ped? Many BF babies slow drastically in weight gain when they start becoming more mobile.

[Knitting Mama]

Sounds okay to me, mama! A lot of babies aren't big on foods until well over a year, actually. Just keep offering and he will keep trying, and he will eventually eat!

As for your breasts not feeling full anymore, I hear that it's super common to stop getting engorged at all the closer you are to a year. If he's got good 'output' and is still gaining (and that slows down over 6 months too, by the way; look at the curve on the WHO growth charts-- it's way less of a sharp curve after 6 months), he's doing fine.

[Lupena]

Thanks so much... I'll get his records and compare him... He was just so big, now he's slowed down, I feel responsible. Invevitable, I suppose. Logic tells me that if he was hungry, he'd be eating..

[goinggreengirl]

Don't worry- sounds fine to me! Everything everyone else said is right on. DS still (at 11 months) isn't too keen on solids. He still prefers to breastfeed and since he's walking now, I'm sure his weight is going to level out if he doesn't up his solids a little.

[Coco_Hikes]

I have an EBF 9mo and we are in about the same place. You are doing fine, mama! Weight always tapers off as they start to move around, crawl, cruise. If his outputs from nursing are good, he's good!

[Lupena]

Thanks for all the reassurance..

[McGucks]

My 11 m.o. still isn't big into solids.  My ped told me at 9 months to "hold back on breastfeeding" so he'd be hungrier for food.  I ignored that advice.  Your LO's teeth, I would imagine, may well play a part in decreased appetite for solids and increased or at least leveled interest in nursing, cuddling, etc.  Kids eat on all different schedules.  I liked what a PP said about once they get more mobile, the weight can level out.  Our babe has always been at the top of the chunk chart and I will be interested to see what happens at his 1 y.o. WBV.  Good luck and try not to worry!

[katelove]

Sounds fine to me too. We started BLW at just over 6 months but J really didn't start swallowing much until recently (almost 10 months) and still gets hardly any calories from solid food. She has also slowed her weight gain down considerably since she became mobile. She was a pretty chunky little baby (80th percentile, gained 400g in a week once  ) and now she is about the 50th percentile and had only gained 30g in a month when I weighed her at 9 months. But, she is happy, settles well, has a good amount of wet and dirty nappies and is meeting milestones so it's all good as far as we're concerned.

And my breasts don't get hard anymore either, unless I'm too tired to change sides and feed on one side all night or something. And even then, the full side feels firm but it isn't rock hard or sore or hot.

I'd keep an eye on him but, as long as he's doing all the right things in terms of output and general wellness then I'd say it's all good.

[Lupena]

Thank god I'm not the only one! If I even give him just a couple of smushed peas or a dab of avocado they some right out an hour later ( pooped out as if they were an insult! ) or a moment later ( spat out..) No one is paranoid about iron?

[katelove]

Originally Posted by Lupena 

 No one is paranoid about iron?

Aware? Yes. Paranoid? No. Plenty of bioavailable iron in breastmilk plus she eats some food with Vit C and some iron-rich foods.

[Knitting Mama]

I'm not paranoid about iron either-- and my girl is anemic. I just make sure that amongst the things she gets every day are organic O's cereal. Yes, there is a bit of cane juice in them and I really don't like that part, but to me it's more important that she gets the iron in them. Does your little one like self feeding O's?

[Lupena]

I'm sure he would love it, but I'm staying away from cereals as I've heard they should come after veg.... Does your LO eat other things as well? Mine literally eats nothing! Maybe a half teaspoon of avocado every three days. Not much interest either, except the aforementioned toast-grabbing..!

I would give my ( vegetarian )  five year old organic o's but the only ones I can get here in Canada are not fortified, bummer.

Thanks katelove, just got some ester c for myself, now just have to remember to take it!

[Knitting Mama]

Well, for me it became a "what's most important?" decision. I wanted to avoid cereals before one as well, but with her actually being anemic, it became more important to get iron into her. She'll eat meat and veg, but not a ton. But she'll feed herself O's very well. So, it became more important to me to give her iron rich food than it did to keep her away from cereals. She still hasn't had anything glutenous, so I'm pretty happy with my decision.

I have heard that supplementing yourself with iron does not mean increased iron in breastmilk.

If you are really concerned about iron, ask your pediatrician to test his hemoglobin. Maybe knowing for sure one way or the other will help you decide what you want to do.

[Lupena]

Yes, I've heard that too, that iron supplements don't help transfer iron through bm.  If your sweet girl is anemic, giving o's seems like a bio-available perfect decision! After all, all around the world cereals/grains are traditional first foods.

How did Ceclia do with a blood test? Or is there another way to check hemoglobin?

[Knitting Mama]

She did fine with the little prick on her toe, it was when they squeezed it to get the drop of blood that she got a little pissy! But it was over super quickly, and she forgot about it within seconds.