[Halfasianmomma]

I'm trying to transition my DD (9 months old) to full-time daycare since I'll be starting full-time work soon. So far, she's only been there 5 days in total, spread out over the course of 2 weeks. We've got one more week of part-time care and after that, we're supposed to start full-time.

So far, I've taken the advice of a few MDC mamas and have tried to create a regular drop-off routine (saying goodbye, putting her in the arms of the same caregiver, coming back afterwards to play with her), and I've been told that save for a few difficult moments, DD is adjusting very well. She plays well with others, she listens attentively to the bigger kids singing songs, and she cries very little. If she wasn't going on a hunger strike while there, I'd be really comfortable with leaving her at the daycare.

Unfortunately, DD is one of those boobie-lover/slow to start on solids babies. I've been trying to get her to eat more solids, but right now, we're only chunks of bananas, apples, pears, avocados, some cheerios and some bread. This is never regularly and never 3 meals a day. I can manage to get her to eat if I feed her over an hour after she's nursed, but the caregiver told me that DD categorically refuses to eat when she's at daycare, even with all the other kids eating around her. She'll just nibble on some Cheerios and sip a tiny bit of water. And since she's never taken a bottle (I can't store my milk anyhow), she's literally starving by the time I come back to pick her up.

So far, I've only left her at daycare for 4 hours, and she's held on until I came back (almost tearing off my shirt when I get there!), but next week, I have to continue stretching out her time there so that she can adjust to a full day without me (9 hours!!!).

Has anyone else experienced this with their LO? How did the situation resolve itself? Is it just a question of letting DD go hungry enough that she'll eventually give in to taking solids? That seems so cruel somehow...

 

[spirit4ever]

Thats a hard situation to be in..

I would offer a variety of food to bring to daycare and have the provider try what ever she can.

Does she feed herself at all? My dd is 9 months and she does like the heinz momma's recipes (I buy them as back up for the days that I have nothing prepared for her). She also loves chicken/rice and peas, macaroni, mixed veggies (peas, carrots and corn), banana, strawberries, grapes (cut in 4), bluberries, pears and i'm pretty sure I'm missing some!

What is the daycares menu? Is there food that can be cut up really small and offerred to her, the same food that all the others are eating?

 

[Halfasianmomma]

Oh that's the thing, DD generally only likes feeding herself chunks. She's got a hate-on for spoons so purees are out. It takes a lot for me to get her to eat something...generally, I sit on the floor with her and have the food (ripe fruit or cereal) available for her. She'll nibble here and there. If we're at the table and she's strapped in her chair, she doesn't last very long.

As for the daycare, I really can't complain about their menu. They only serve vegetarian organic food, and the owned asks that all parents contribute one or two items of food per month. They try to customize the meals to every child's needs/likes, so whatever I bring, they're ready to feed her. I've brought in the fruits that I know DD likes, but she won't take them from the DCP. I think it's a sort of hunger strike because she's not comfortable there yet.

 

[demottm]

I have a 6 month old and he has done the same anytime I leave him. Up until a couple of weeks ago I could come back for him after 3-4 hours. But the other day I was away from 2 until 9:30pm. He took 4oz of formula about 6 o'clock and then held out for me to get there. When I did he was hungry, but still in a good mood. I think that if they get hungry enough they will eat. Can the DCP offer formula instead of water? I know formula sucks, but sometimes it is better than nothing.

 

[Three~Little~Birds]

Oh - this is so hard, Mama. Hugs.
My dd was exactly the same way.
She was 1 at the time she started daycare.
She would go all day and only eat like 4 peas on some days and drink 2 sips of water.
I was responsible for packing her food for the day and I loaded a lunch bag everyday with stuff that I knew she liked, and 3 options of liquid (BM, ricemilk, and water). She NEVER got into eating and would starve all day and try to nurse all evening and overnight to catch up.
Strangely, when I would pick her up from daycare, she would eat a ton of snacks in the stroller on the way home (the same ones that were in her lunch bag) so it obviously wasn't the kind of food that she had at daycare that was the problem. The doctors were freaking out and sent her for numerious tests because she was falling off of the growth charts, but they all came back fine. The problem was just that she wasn't eating enough!!
I wish that I had a solution for you. I, personally, never figured it out. It never did improve, unfortunately, but once I was back at home with her on my second mat leave (when she was 22 months) she started gaining like crazy.
Do you have an option to meet her for lunch everyday to feed/nurse her?

 

[Halfasianmomma]

demottm...I'll try offering her formula to see if it works, but she's never had a sip of it before now...I don't see her starting anytime soon. If she was older, I'd try having the DCP offer her whole milk, but that's still a few months off.

mamatotwo...I'm SO freaked out about this. I was hoping that my DD would eventually learn that she needs to eat at daycare b/c there's no way I can come to nurse her at lunch, and I won't be staying home again anytime soon. Maybe another mama has some suggestions as to how to deal with this...

 

[Three~Little~Birds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halfasianmomma mamatotwo...I'm SO freaked out about this. I was hoping that my DD would eventually learn that she needs to eat at daycare b/c there's no way I can come to nurse her at lunch, and I won't be staying home again anytime soon. Maybe another mama has some suggestions as to how to deal with this...

One thing that I should mention about my situation was that I only ever had her in DC for 3 days per week. I suspect that once your LO starts going more regularly, she'll start eating more. It's like my dd didn't ever HAVE to b/c she could 'catch up' later and she never really got into the swing of DC. I think that FT daycare would provide a more consistent routine and make her more likely to start eating as the other kids do.
Hopefully someone else will have some advice

s

 

[Halfasianmomma]

bump...

 

[betsyj]

I am also struggling with this. My 11 mo old son (who has been at daycare FT since 6 mos) is all of a sudden refusing all bottles and sippy cups.

What we have been trying is water in a regular plastic glass-this is working somewhat as at least he drinks a small glass a couple times a day. I also broke down and bought some organic aby food-sweet potatoes, peach oatmeal, and prunes. He eats these with relish now so at least I know he isn't starving.

When he gets home he nurses immediately, and then every hour or so until bedtime. He wakes up every two to three hours in the night to nurse as well-so I am hopeful he is making up for his lack of liquid intake at night.

 

[tjjazzy]

something to try that seems to be working with my LO. use a spoon to feed the breastmilk/formula to the baby until s/he is used to the taste/idea of it. i think this might have solved our problem...or at least we're on our way anyway.

 

[organicmidwestmama]

could you possibly find a nanny, relative or very small child to teacher ratio daycare where dd could develop a solid and close relationship with her caregiver? maybe then she would feel comfortable eating with someone who isnt you. i went to work when my first dc was 11 months old but it wasnt full time, about 4 hours a day, he was watched by a relative and was happy all day but didnt eat or drink much. he nursed furiously when i got there to pick him up.