wont eat solid foods anymore?!

Britney - posted on 08/02/2009

thanks ladies, you're all very right. its best to just put the food in front of her and let it be.

the reason i was so determined to get her to eat was that i am trying to get her to be a little more independent since shes going on a year old soon. whenever we are out with friends or at church stuff, i always have to excuse myself and nurse in back bedrooms and bathrooms, so i just wanted to be able to give her real food sometimes. also, when she does eat meals of solids, she sleeps longer through the night ... and she had been waking still 5-7 times up until just recently. so anyways, its not that i thought solids were superior, i just wanted some freedom and sleep.
but i'm going to relax about trying to force it and just keep offering solids at every meal.
thanks for the help!

Davitta - posted on 08/01/2009

I agree with Allison.. she could just be teething... my son is 16 months.. and he just stopped eating solids also! The first thing I did was look at his teeth.. both the top and bottom canines are starting to pop through. They will eat when they are hungry.. but don't stop feeding on demand.. they don't know any better yet

Dana - posted on 08/01/2009

My son is a year old and has backed off on solids. He's teething right now, actually when are they not teething?! He seems content with nursing and eating very little solids, so I'm just going with the flow. I wouldn't worry too much she'll come back around and like the other mothers have said, at that age solids are more for fun rather than nutrition.

Minnie - posted on 08/01/2009

Are you giving her the opportunity to feed herself?

"i want to just refuse to nurse until bedtime and figure if she's hungry enough, she'll eat. but i dont know if thats too harsh. i usually was completely in favor of following her lead, but shes refusing foods that i know she CAN EAT and DID LIKE so its so frustrating."

You're correct- that is too harsh, and it's dangerous to boot. Solids should NOT be taking place of ANY of your milk at all until at least 12 months.

Why make this a battle, when solids truly aren't necessary one bit for her? What superior benefit do you think they provide over your milk?

Solids are for practice only at her age. That will involve her experimenting, her taking steps forward, her taking steps backward. And you definitely should follow her lead.

Stop worrying, go with the flow, always nurse first.

Allison - posted on 08/01/2009

Might she be teething? Often the discomfort of getting teeth makes them want to nurse more and eat less.



Keep in mind that breastmilk has all the nutrition she needs, so it's not like she *has* to eat. Keep offering foods at regular times but try not to get into a power struggle about food/eating, as that can lead more problems and really isn't worth the fight. She'll eat when she needs to - in the meantime, though, I'd suggest you continue to nurse on demand and forget about weaning. It sounds like she's not ready and worrying about it may just stress you out more. No need to get frustrated - kids change out plans all the time :-) Just pay attention to her cues and follow her lead. Kids really seem to know what they need!