Five month old feeding snags

[frasersmummy]

Can anyone advise? My son is five and a half months and has been on solids with the health visitors advice since four months as he is a big baby (Curently 22lbs). We did the rice and veggies and fruit thing which he loved and would eat about 4oz at a time for breakfast lunch and dinner plus about 20-25 oz of milk too. However since last week he has flatly refused to eat hardly anything - even the things he loved before. He clamps his mouth shut, turns his head or spits anything i give him out. Coupled with this he started waving his arms around so much he's knocked his dinner right out of my hands! It's getting very frustrating now!! I thought he might be teething but has no obvious signs except chewing everything in sight (except his dinner) but he's done that for a while anyway. Any ideas?? I feel like i've taken a leap backwards and i don;t know what to do now. thank you!!

[sa]

yeah .... sounds like teething. my DS did that as well when came down a cold last week.

also a possibility that he wants something different. but if he is not 6 month old yet, i am not sure what different fruit/veg to suggest. may be ask your HV for suggestion.

hth

[notenoughshelfspace]

Oh my god, I am going through the same thing as we speak. I even went to the doctor because I was so worried.
Here is what he said.
1) Do not worry; keep offering the food, the baby will take it eventually. If he is hungry during the night do not feed him, just keep offering the solids during the day. It can take about a week apparently
2) It could be teething, it certainly was with me
3) It could be a cold, at that age it apparently affects thier stomach

The waving of the arms, the turning of the head........... Oh so familiar. It was really bad for the last few day and today she was bad until teatime and she took that quite well. I am not holding my breath, see how we go tommorrow.

P.S. How are his bowels; loose or normal?

[sa]

if he is teething, may be try offering something a little colder. e.g. pear(very ripe ones) from the fridge.

[frasersmummy]

He has had a cold recently but seems happy enough and is sleeping okay. Bowels are fine - normally every other day now when usually he'd go every morning but he's not constipated. should i give him more milk instead or wait til he's gets hungry enough to eat solids? Thanks for your advice, i was feeling quite upset about it  :cry: but it's quite comforting to know i'm not the only one! should i go back to baby rice or continue with what he would normally eat? Thank you all!! What would i do without you?!

[notenoughshelfspace]

I would give him milk, that is what I was advised to do. She had her breakfast this morning with very little fuss so maybe we are going back to 'normality' I will only know after lunch. Hugs to you, I know how frustrating it is, I was really going quite nuts about this so I sympathise. Hang in there and keep me updated on homw it is going

[frasersmummy]

Thank you!! He had a few spoons of porridge for breakfast and haven't tried lunch yet but he's a bit better than the last few days when he wouldn't eat anyting at all. Do you know how teething affects eating? Is it because it hurts? he's more then enthusiastic with "feeding himself" with any empty spoon and is still chewing! Does this mean teeth are imminent then?? soory for all the questions but daddy's away at sea and i don;t have anyone else to bounce ideas off. How's your little one doing now?

[sally & savannah]

Me too!!!!!

Savannah is 4 1/2 mths has been on solids for about 3 weeks and loved them kicking her legs and smacking her lips every time the spoon came towards her.  Had a cold up until a few days ago, now cannot be bothered grrrr, likewise is hitting the sppon out of my hand  :?

Will keep persevering as advised though.

Another problem is that she is only doing a poo every 5-6 days with lots of grunting a trumping!!!! not a new problem really , she is b/f and has always been irregular but loose when they come.  Obviously now they are becoming more like peanut butter and a bit harder to pass.  Any ideas?? have been trying to get water down her which is a BIG struggle in b/f baby who won't take bottle  :evil:

thanks
love sally

[notenoughshelfspace]

Thought I was back on track with the feeding but no, this afternoon we were back to the clamping of the mouth, waving of the arms etc....... I am so frustrated I can not tell you as it is affecting her sleep. I am offering her a bottle instead of the food so at least she eats something but I do not know if this will just come and bite me on the backside. I can not believe she is teething again as a tooth only popped out the day before yesterday. It is really getting me down and wearing out my patience, spent the evening crying today just out of sheer frustration. Will see how it goes tommorrow.

[frasersmummy]

Don't cry mummy! If she doesn't want to eat she can't be forced so better just to ride it out and give her milk instead. I totally understand how you feel. one day fraser's fine the next he's refusing too eat anything. I did make some rice pudding for him though which he loved. He's okay today but who knows tomorrow. I know how frustrating it is - i thought it must have been something i'd done or got wrong and if i just gave him milk he'd never eat solids again but of course, they will. Please don't get too upset. Think you should pour yourself a large drink and put your feet up. At the end of a long day everything always seems much worse. It'll be better tomorrow even if she still doesn't eat.  Thinking of you, big hugs   xxx

[notenoughshelfspace]

Thank you, you really put a smile on my face, I will check in with you tommorrow, hopefully it will be a bit better, I do not know how much more I can take. Thank you, I know she will eat solids in the end but at the moment it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Again, thank you for your words of support, it was just what I needed.

[frasersmummy]

You're welcome - you made me feel a million times better when i wrote in first so thank you! No-one tells you how hard it is! My DH is away at sea and i don't always feel like asking my mum or sisters for advice because it always seems like everyone else has got it sussed except for me and that it's only me that has problems!  i know really that that isn't true but when you're trying to cope with a difficult baby it seems so personal - that you've done something wrong or it's your fault but as one of my baby books says if you do your best then that all your little baby needs and you're the best mummy for your baby ! Chin and breathe easy til the next crisis. Let me know how tomorrow goes, thinking of you, fran xxxx

[notenoughshelfspace]

I know exactly how you feel, I am alright with asking my mum for advice but she is away at the moment and also she is soooooooo laid back it actually does not help me, she just ays not to worry. I do not like asking my firends either ecause whether tey want to admit it or not discussions always get comeptitive 'Mine hasnever done that...' etc..
As for my morning; after a crappy night  (she was hungry but I did not give in) it was time for breakfast, a meal I have never had problems with before, this morning was OK but far from great, thw wailing etc.... I perservered and then she was sick. GREAT! Really feeling crap now. Let's see how lunch goes, I might crawl bak into bed when she has her nap.

[frasersmummy]

Well done for not giving in!! My mum's a bit like that too. After having four babies with no help/money/advice etc every problem i have seems like small fry in comparison!! I always want a cure right now but mum says that that's what babies do and is so relaxed about the whole thing whereas i seem to get increasing neurotic!! As for friends a little story might cheer you up.... I have never really had a good night with fraser, he's always been up two or three times for feeds between 7am and 7pm. I ask my friends how babies slept and it was always the same - all night from seemingly a day old. I thought i must be doing something wrong or that i was a bad mummy and especially when they had husbands/partners to help i had no-one i really thought i had the rough end of the stick. But no - what they omitted to tell me was that their babies still had the night feeds like mine did only because they would be in their cots or cribs they still classed them as sleeping the night. I hope you're feeling okay today? Can't believe she's got a tooth so soon!!! xx

[Katet]

Girls I just wanted to add something. my ds#1 didn't start solids until almost 6mo & my #2 despite being over 9kg I'm waiting too.
BUT my SIL started her #1 at 4mo & so did my sister... in both cases they had days/weeks where their los didn't eat much in the way of solids... babies are great self regulators & as long as they are getting plenty of milk (before solids up until 9mo) even if they only take 1 spoonful they are getting the nutirents they need from mostly milk & the top up from solids. The more you stress & push the food it their faces the more likely you are to make your lo a fussy eater.