Updated in OP - How to start solids at daycare?

[tiki]

Update: Took DD to the pediatrician today to rule out ear infection, as feeding her continued to be a nightmare all weekend. The pediatrician says the way DD is refusing and her other behaviors (playing independently, interest in solids, drinking from open cups, trying to stand) are all consistent with a baby who is self-weaning early. I guess she just wants to be a tiny, toothless, 7 month old toddler.  We are supposed to try to get her to take at least 16 oz of formula per day and make sure she is wetting at least 2 diapers per day and otherwise work on shifting her diet to solids + water. 


How did you introduce solids at daycare? DD's teachers keep asking me if I want to send in food, but honestly it's been so hard to get her to finish her bottles lately (being distracted, having a stuffy nose, just being generally difficult), and I'm afraid if we start giving her more solids during the day she'll refuse her bottles even worse. She's not-quite 7 months, so too young to start really reducing her formula intake. Daycare does not provide any food so I can't just opt her in to what the other kids are having. 

[Velar Fricative]

She very likely won't reduce her intake. DD2 just turned 9 months and it's only now that she's showing signs of reducing her intake, and it's not by much (an ounce from each bottle). At your baby's age, we stuck to solids at home only so you can just tell them she's eating just dinner right now and eventually you'll bring in a meal for daycare. We added breakfast at maybe 7-7.5 months and lunch a little over a month ago, but she also was slower getting into solids than DD1 was at those ages.

[Deleted]

babyharpy is right around your kiddo's age, and we started solids a few weeks ago. We are doing baby led weaning, so we just send a few pieces of finger food and ask them to give them to her between her bottles. The main things we've sent in are broccoli, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and wedges of homemade whole wheat pumpkin waffles. She's just now starting to get consistent about putting food in her mouth, but she's not actually eating much.

[mbcdefg]

We started giving DD jarred purees a couple months ago, along with baby oatmeal and rice cereal, and she really hasn't been drinking less formula. Like Velar Fricative said, she might leave an ounce or two if she's not particularly hungry. Going up a nipple size helped a bit. And like you said, tiki , when DD has a stuffy nose she's not as eager to finish a bottle. We just use the NoseFrida and try our best. I'm much breezier about unfinished bottles than MH, as long as DD seems OK otherwise and her diapers are normal.

She's nine months old tomorrow and I just asked daycare this morning to start giving her real food ... but they provide breakfast, lunch and a snack so I don't have to send anything in. At home we've given her bits of pancake and scrambled eggs, avocado, banana, pureed carrots and pears, and a little peanut butter mixed into her oatmeal. We've also offered her little containers of Happy Baby yogurt but she didn't care for it. This week she tried blueberries and Cheerios for the first time. I also gave her bits of my own food this week - rice and beans, mac and cheese, a lamb gyro and pita bread, string cheese - and she took it OK. Generally we give her some oatmeal and fruit after her first bottle of the day (before we go to daycare), and we try to give her something else prior to her last bottle of the night.

ETA: We started sending purees into daycare with DD in small lidded containers I bought at the grocery store. We'd give her a few spoonfuls out of a jar at home, then put the rest in the container for daycare. Once daycare told us she was finishing the whole portion and looking for more, we just started sending in the entire jar.

[brooke77]

I send a couple small containers with DS. Usually just a veggie purée and fruit purée. He usually eats some of it. At home we do more finger foods, but I think the purées seem to work best at daycare. He still is getting the same amount of intake of milk.

[icedcoffee]

I started sending it at 6 months. I started with one container of fruit and one of veggie. Once those were coming home empty I added a third container of dairy (yogurt or cottage cheese). Eventually I started sending soft solids instead of purees. I wouldn't hold back on solids just from being nervous about reducing formula. Formula is important, but so are solids! More than likely she will not reduce her intake anyway.

[joy]

We started sending solids at five months, I think. I made five small containers of a puree and daycare gave her one a day for the week. It was really easy - don’t overthink.

[macmars45]

My DS didn't start reducing bottle intake until 9/10 months. We started purees at 5 months old and did once a day for a few months and then twice a day for a few months. We didn't even start offering 3x/day until he was 10 months (lazy, party of one as DS was ready before that).

[tiki]

Thanks all! @angryharpy , I love the idea of sending true solids to daycare, as well as maybe some more savory purees. That's the stuff we have less time to practice at home during the week. DD loves any puree that's even remotely sweet (banana, sweet potato, mango, other fruits), so we can keep doing those at home - dinner usually goes something like 1) tastes of whatever we are eating, 2) bottle, 3) fruit puree or similar.

[y4m]

I found that zoodles were great for the early BLW stages - they are just easier to pick up. We sent all kinds of veggie spirals, or roasted chunks of squash, and then eventually pastas, meatballs, etc.

[tiki]

Ugh. I sent a pouch of puree and some finger foods to daycare today, and sure enough, DD refused her 11am bottle. It took me an hour to get her to eat 5 oz of breakfast, and so far daycare has only gotten her to eat 1 oz of formula in 5 hours. Of course then she was hungry and crying so they gave her the puree, which she ate with enthusiasm (only 60 calories, so still not enough to be a meal). Has anybody dealt with a 6 month old who started refusing formula/breastmilk?

[Deleted]

What is the timing of the formula and solids, tiki?

I'm not really sure why I'm asking because I doubt I'll have any decent suggestions. We have the opposite - babyharpy is all about the boob/bottle and maybe puts food to her mouth once every three meals. For the most part, she just throws it on the ground.

[joy]

How many oz is she eating total in a day? Our pediatrician was mostly concerned wth total amount per day.

Can you make the purees with breastmilk/formula to sneak more ounces in?

I guess I’m a bit breezy about this. Is she losing weight or have other concerns? Otherwise I’d work in a meal of solids and let her bottles adjust accordingly. I let her lead me in a lot of this stuff.

[tiki]

DD is a robust ~70th percentile for weight, so not at all worried...yet. She had been drinking 30 oz per day reliably, but in the last week or so it's dropped to ~25, yesterday we only got 23 into her, and today she's had 9 oz total across 4 bottles. I feel like it's falling off a cliff.

I just read something online that said to try putting formula in a sippy cup. I have one sippy cup and one straw cup as hand-me-downs from a friend, so I think I'll try those tonight. This is not great timing as DD has her first airplane trip tomorrow. It's only a 1.5hr flight, but I can only carry so much stuff on my to try for getting her to eat.

[tiki]

Mar 15, 2018 13:11:32 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

What is the timing of the formula and solids, tiki ?

I'm not really sure why I'm asking because I doubt I'll have any decent suggestions. We have the opposite - babyharpy is all about the boob/bottle and maybe puts food to her mouth once every three meals. For the most part, she just throws it on the ground.

Daycare says they offered the bottle first, then the solids an hour or so later. My guess is they've been struggling to feed her lately too, and knowing I'd sent in some alternative food today made them more comfortable giving up on the bottle with less of a fight.

[Deleted]

I'm sorry. No advice from the mom of a 5th percenter who inexplicably seems to hate food.

[tiki]

Mar 15, 2018 13:23:17 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

I'm sorry. No advice from the mom of a 5th percenter who inexplicably seems to hate food.

:-(

FWIW, this is the baby food that was so good it seems to have made DD hate her bottles: www.amazon.com/Inspired-Start-Pack-oz/dp/B07574JWXG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?   

[joy]

Mar 15, 2018 13:20:20 GMT -5 tiki said:

DD is a robust ~70th percentile for weight, so not at all worried...yet. She had been drinking 30 oz per day reliably, but in the last week or so it's dropped to ~25, yesterday we only got 23 into her, and today she's had 9 oz total across 4 bottles. I feel like it's falling off a cliff.

I just read something online that said to try putting formula in a sippy cup. I have one sippy cup and one straw cup as hand-me-downs from a friend, so I think I'll try those tonight. This is not great timing as DD has her first airplane trip tomorrow. It's only a 1.5hr flight, but I can only carry so much stuff on my to try for getting her to eat.

[

Okay. Our pediatrician liked 23 - 30 oz per day. I think around 7 months due to my sheer laziness, we would give her a bottle in the morning, a puree and two-three bottles at daycare and then another at home before bed. They varied in volume. Some days she’s have two 8 oz; others would be three 5 oz.

I would see how today plays out. Maybe that puree was filling and she’ll pick up more ounces later in the day than she normally does. Maybe she won’t. Solids will change her eating schedule a bit.

Would it be easier to just feed her solids at home at dinner time instead of doing it at daycare for you? That way you can get the most ounces in her early in the day and stress less that solids may interfere. When she seems to want food midday, then you can add a second solid meal at daycare once one has been incorporated.
Or are you doing that already?

[tiki]

joy, yup, that's basically what we had been doing - bottles only at daycare and solids after dinner at home (basically to make sure she'd gotten some formula in first).

[joy]

Mar 15, 2018 13:45:04 GMT -5 tiki said:

joy, yup, that's basically what we had been doing - bottles only at daycare and solids after dinner at home (basically to make sure she'd gotten some formula in first).

Gotcha. Okay. Well, today is a learning experience, I guess! If she doesn’t recover and eat her ounces, I’d probably skip daycare solids for now. I didn’t have my baby eating two solid meals a day until closer to 9 months because lazy.

[tiki]

Mar 15, 2018 13:52:01 GMT -5 ewall said:

Any chance she has an ear infection that is making bottles uncomfortable for her? If her reduced intake continues, talk to your pediatrician for reassurance and advice. Good luck!

My mom is a pediatric nurse and keeps asking about an ear infection, but DD has no other symptoms as far as I can tell (no fever, tugging at ears, or unexplained crying) so I haven't taken her to the doctor. It's my mom we're flying to visit this weekend, so I would not be at all surprised if she "finds" an otoscope in her home and takes a look. 

[knx9211]

DS is starting to drop off, too, at 9 months. I'm overly concerned about it even though he's gaining weight and height really, really well. He's just not as interested in nursing and has been really difficult with his bottles on the days I'm at work.

[brooke77]

tiki - I was going to suggest possibly teething or an ear infection. I wonder if her sleep and eating issues are connected?

[thebreakfastclub]

Mar 15, 2018 13:13:15 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

I might be getting the poster wrong, but someone else here had a kid who dropped bottles super early before turning 1 and just really liked solids. It might have been thebreakfastclub?

I'm sorry you're struggling to get bottles into her, but I probably wouldn't hold back on purees if she likes them. I would always offer the bottle first though.

Yes, me! My son started with daycare lunch around 9m and was down to 1 4oz 6am bottle by the time he turned one. He was pretty average in weight, just took to solids very quickly and had no attachment to his bottle.

[tiki]

So I picked up early from daycare today and brought three different sippy cups to try with her 5pm bottle, as I assumed DD would be starving and miserable on arrival. When I asked about DD not eating, the daycare person in the room (not our normal teacher) just stared at me blankly. I showed her the report with only 3 oz consumed all day, and she said, "oh no, she ate half her morning bottle and all her afternoon bottle". So the daycare report is a random number generator? Which report am I supposed to believe? I guess I have no idea how much my kid is eating or whether it's an actual issue (beyond the fact that she is definitely not sleeping well all of a sudden.)

[pooh8402]

Mar 15, 2018 18:05:21 GMT -5 tiki said:

So I picked up early from daycare today and brought three different sippy cups to try with her 5pm bottle, as I assumed DD would be starving and miserable on arrival. When I asked about DD not eating, the daycare person in the room (not our normal teacher) just stared at me blankly. I showed her the report with only 3 oz consumed all day, and she said, "oh no, she ate half her morning bottle and all her afternoon bottle". So the daycare report is a random number generator? Which report am I supposed to believe? I guess I have no idea how much my kid is eating or whether it's an actual issue (beyond the fact that she is definitely not sleeping well all of a sudden.)

I would definitely talk with the lead teacher in her room about that. I was very particular about how much my kid was eating as an infant, and wanted thorough documentation.

[pooh8402]

Mar 15, 2018 14:09:01 GMT -5 tiki said:

Mar 15, 2018 13:52:01 GMT -5 ewall said:

Any chance she has an ear infection that is making bottles uncomfortable for her? If her reduced intake continues, talk to your pediatrician for reassurance and advice. Good luck!

My mom is a pediatric nurse and keeps asking about an ear infection, but DD has no other symptoms as far as I can tell (no fever, tugging at ears, or unexplained crying) so I haven't taken her to the doctor. It's my mom we're flying to visit this weekend, so I would not be at all surprised if she "finds" an otoscope in her home and takes a look. 

My child never had any signs when he had an ear infection. They were all found incidentally when I took him to the doctor for something else. I would take her just for an ear check, especially before you get on a plane. If she does have an ear infection, the plane will probably be torture for her.

[tiki]

Mar 15, 2018 20:56:17 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Mar 15, 2018 14:09:01 GMT -5 tiki said:

My mom is a pediatric nurse and keeps asking about an ear infection, but DD has no other symptoms as far as I can tell (no fever, tugging at ears, or unexplained crying) so I haven't taken her to the doctor. It's my mom we're flying to visit this weekend, so I would not be at all surprised if she "finds" an otoscope in her home and takes a look. 

My child never had any signs when he had an ear infection. They were all found incidentally when I took him to the doctor for something else. I would take her just for an ear check, especially before you get on a plane. If she does have an ear infection, the plane will probably be torture for her.

Unfortunately it's too late for a pedi visit - we fly in the morning.

[pooh8402]

Mar 15, 2018 21:33:12 GMT -5 tiki said:

Mar 15, 2018 20:56:17 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

My child never had any signs when he had an ear infection. They were all found incidentally when I took him to the doctor for something else. I would take her just for an ear check, especially before you get on a plane. If she does have an ear infection, the plane will probably be torture for her.

Unfortunately it's too late for a pedi visit - we fly in the morning.

Then I would at least premedicate her with Motrin or Tylenol about 30 min before you board. And make sure she has a bottle/boob/paci during the expected pressure changes.

[tiki]

Mar 15, 2018 21:41:21 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Mar 15, 2018 21:33:12 GMT -5 tiki said:

Unfortunately it's too late for a pedi visit - we fly in the morning.

Then I would at least premedicate her with Motrin or Tylenol about 30 min before you board. And make sure she has a bottle/boob/paci during the expected pressure changes.

Thank goodness she likes gripe water. I only got her to take a bottle for one take-off and one landing. For the others it was an occasional eye dropper of gripe water + wubbanub to keep her swallowing and that seemed to work.