Feeding issues

Hi,

Am a mother of 8 months old boy based out of chennai . He was exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months. I started with Nestum once a day and gradually increased the feed. About a month later he was on solids like Ragi and Nestum twice a day and i was trying to introduce fruits and veggies. He was constipated when i tried a Canned veggie one day .Immediately i stopped feeding him that and continued with homemade veggies and fruits. About a week later he was down with cold followed by stomach flu.He was teething as well. From then on he is refusing solids altogether. He does not want any thing other than breast milk. He puts up a fight for everything else. i had to force feed him everytime. only then he is able to sleep well in the night. otherwise he wakes up once every two hours and demands to be fed. Please Advise.

Cheers
Ramya

Hi Ramya,
A few clarifications from you please: How long has he been refusing solids now? Which solids have you tried this time? What is your feeding schedule like nowadays? How has his weight been in this time?
If its been only a week or two since his illness and he's not lost much weight I would stop force-feeding him and give him only BM for a week and then restart solids slowly guided by what he likes without forcing the issue. We can never win the battle for what goes into our children (as well as what comes out!) - even the tiniest baby will eat only what he/she wants when he/she wants, so unless ithere is a medical problem, I would give it a break and start again.This is just my opinion of course...

Vanathi.

Sorry, I don't have any comments on this one BUT I just wanted to pop in and say, VANATHI, I love you for being a member in this forum. It's good to have a pedi who knows what exactly is going on, it really helps us new moms to have somebody who understand. Thank you!!

And thank you! I dont always know what is going on though....(always glad to help).

V.

Hi Vanathy !

He was ill for a week. He has not lost (much) weight. Exactly two weeks back he was weighing 7 kgs. His birth weight was 2.75 kgs. Intially i tried what you were saying ie just kept him on BM. His feeding schedule was like Ragi kanji at 10 in the morning followed by BM, Some mashed veggies or fruits follwed by BM in the noon. Nestum or Cerelac in the evening followed by BM. Also i used to nurse him whenever he wanted to. Now he is ok only with Ragi and i was told i just cant give him the same for all his feeds. He is refusing everything else. I tried mixing the nestum, cerelac , lactogen with the BM. That also does not work. No idlis,rice, fruits, veggies nothing. My friends tell me most of the babies go through a phase like this. My mom mentioned that i used to be just the same. Till 1.6 yrs i did not eat anything other than BM and rice kanji.

I really dont know how to handle this and it puts me under so much pressure. The elders in the family are saying that i shud have started him on solids around 4 months. IS it true?

Thanks for your time

Cheers
Ramya

Ramya...that is not true at all. You have done the right thing in waiting until 6 mnths to start solids. I dont think that it would have helped if you had started earlier. Dont worry abt what people say. You have done the best thing for your son.
His weight looks ok. So if he takes ragi, then give him ragi twice a day and BM the rest of the time. After a week he most likely will start feeling more hungry and would have forgotten abt the food battles. Then try something sweet like bananas added to ragi (I'm assuming the plain ragi is being sweetened right now) for 1 meal. If he is ok, after 3-4 days try apples and ragi. If he likes all this, then instead of ragi add banana mashed with milk to idli (pour it to soak the idli) and give that for 1 meal. Keep adding new flavours slowly and if he rejects something let it go. Dont force. Retry that flavour after a week or two. All this is time-consuming, but with a fussy eater patience and imagination are the key. Hope it works!

Vanathi.

hi ramya

i understand that we as mums worry if the Lo dun take food...its all just a passing phase and all of us go thru this...vanathi- you are just a sweet heart and always there to help all of us...ramya just be patient and keep trying diff stuff and am sure u will succeed !!!

lov
sowmi

Vanathy, Thanks for the suggestions and Sowmini, thanks for the encouraging words. Am trying out different things. Hope it becomes Ok.

Thanks Chums for being there

Cheers
Ramya

Hi

Dont get panic..

Do not give him canned foods right now.. You can prepare the same consistency by yourself..

You try this..

Pressure cook 1/2 cup parboiled rice (puzungal arisi), moong dal 1 to 2 tspns, carrots (peeled and cut into half) you can introduce more veggies like cauliflower, cabbage, beans, green peas etc.. once ur baby gets used to it..

after pressure cooking, put the rice dal carrot into a blender and blend it to a smooth consistency.. add ghee and feed ur baby.. this is like a liquefied paruppu sadham..

u can add thelivu rasam if it is not too hot..

TRY Cerelac apple wheat/orange wheat/ apple cherries according to ur baby's months..

Not all babies tolerate nestum (my son did not tolerate) as you have to prepare with pure milk in the right consistency..

Go for cerelac and all that u need is just boiled and cooled water..

Since u are breast feeding you eat properly and eat fibre-rich diet like channa so that ur infant will not constipate..

hope this wud help u a lil.. all the best..

rgds
Uma