pls advice I dont know what I am doing wrong

[Evana]

Sorry if post is a bit long.

My 11 month old dd is bf on demand ...I started weaning her at 6 months but it was not a priority just tasting food here and there ..At about 8 months I started to wean her properly some times she was excited about it and ate but most time refused to eat and just wanted to breast feed.

I got do frustrated that I tried to trick her in many ways to eat and at times force feed her so she could have something else besides breast milk ..till I read this could be traumatising for babies to force feed I stopped that ...and tried insisting but she was having none of it .

now she is 11 month old she is not underweight and is a happy healthy and very friendly baby and fusses very rarely ...but she still refuses to eat most days ...I only offer her pureed food ...its usually custard based food she prefers..veggies are a big no no she refuses to open her mouth after the first taste ..

I came on here and was quite suprised what her age group has been eating ..what babies eat at one meal I am lucky if she eats that the whole day ...and now I feel I am failing her ...she still bf on demand and I cannot stop as I am afraid I will be denying her the only thing she eats ..

she turns 1 yr old soon and I am desperate for her to eat a proper meal with meat and veggies ..I would also like to try formula which she refuses..so I was thinking in a month I can offer her the milk we consume so I can start putting her off breast..

Thankyou for reading pls advice how I can go about this ...Her dr said I should just keep insisting ...

 

[Pertie]

Have you read anything about baby led weaning?

Am lot of babies don't want to be fed by others, they want control of the situation and to be allowed to explore.

Have you just tried putting a selection of whatever you're eating in front of her and just let her play with it?

 

[Evana]

Thank you..I have read about baby led weaning but was really paranoid my baby would choke ...however I will now give it a try!

 

[adrie]

I do a mix of purees and solids. One thing I noticed is that she may not like a certain veggie right now, but if I add a bit of fruit, she eats it right up.

With BLW, baby will gag and a lot of food gets thrown on the floor at once. But when s/he self-feeds, it's so cute and I do think it is better for them too!

 

[misspriss]

My LO was not eating hardly a bite or two until after a year, he's really taken off eating at 13+ months. We do BLW. Babies will gag when feeding themselves, it's normal. It will freak you out, but it's okay. They may also puke a little with the gagging. This is fine. They are learning to eat. My LO will only allow himself to be spoonfed yogurt, and we're working on teaching him to feed himself that.

Your breastmilk is providing everything she needs, don't stress!

 

[pLadyBug]

It is actually NOT ok for a baby to gag when eating, especially if its at every meal. It's a sign that they are not ready for solids. Giving the age of your child ideally she should be. However every child is different; I would allow her to go at her own pace. She has to learn to use her tongue to push foods forward in order to chew and then swallow. As for the types of food, any she will eat at this time is fine. BF babies have an acquired taste. (not all) Fact is breast milk is sweet so naturally she will be more willing to eat fruits. As for the introduction of milk goes: if she refuses to drink formula there is a good chance she will refuse the milk also. Don't be disappointed if this becomes the case. Just keep trying. In the meantime the nutrition in BM is still plenty enough for her to thrive on.

Just wondering has she started on a sippy cup? You may find that she will drink other liquids better from a cup rather than from her bottle.

 

[misspriss]

You are somewhat correct, I hope it didn't read like at every meal or anything. But occasional gagging is normal for BLW. It is a sign that they are moving food around in their mouth. It does not mean they are not necessarily ready for foods yet.

https://www.babyledweaning.com/features/gagging/the-gagging-thing-v-the-choking-thing/

Having seen my child gag, and then recover, he seems to think it is normal. He isn't choking.

 

[cocosianelle]

Gagging is a normal part of the weaning process, if you think the baby has only been used to breast or bottle so of course they may gag with a new texture they are experiencing. I think the key thing is to firstly diffrenciate between gagging & choking firstly to put your mind at ease and second to know what you are dealing with. I found some good videos on you tube that really put my mind at ease. Although that being said we still experienced some gagging but it didn't cause us any issues.

Have you tried any finger food? Like others have said she might not be ready or just doesn't want to be fed by someone else. Maybe try offering her some toast fingers or some fruit if you think she would prefer this and see how she gets on?

If you do go with BLW just be patient with her and let her explore what is put I'm front of her. I found it took my daughter a good 2 months until she understood she could actually pick the stuff up and eat it herself.