not eating, not sleeping

Hi all,

I'm sure its nothing to worry about, but being a first time mum...

Our 7 month old has stopped her interest in solids. She used to eat whatever we offered, a couple of tbsp twice a day and often seemed to be asking for more. She is still BF mainly with solids as extras. Now, for nearly a week, she has shown little or no interest in her solid food. Its not like she tastes it and decides she doesnt like it, she wont even taste something. She clamps her mouth shut and turns her head away. She will play and nibble at bread, fruit pieces, cheese etc, but still not eat a lot.

I thought maybe she was teething and that had dulled her appetite, she also has real problems getting to sleep during the day and wakes more at night. She now has a slight sniffle so I moved onto her maybe having a cold.

Is it 'normal' for babies to go right off their food? She still feeds from me just fine, but I am starting to feel drained from all the feeding, the waking at night and the battles for daytime sleeps.

I also need some tips for weaning DD off me and onto formula ready for day care and tips for getting her sleep better during the day. I cant keep rocking and/or feeding her to sleep, and day care staff certainly wont.

We were ok a few months ago, then we had an awesome 3 month trip campervanning round the South Island, and this has totally messed up all routines and good (better?!) practices and now I just cant get her to do anything! While frustrating, the trip was so worth it, all the extra and different stimulation DD got, all the new experiences etc. But now I'm stuck with a baby who wont eat or sleep, will only feed from me and wont go to bed very early. Unfortunately I'm not one of those mums who are happy to keep BF for as long as necessary and who dont mind how their kids get to sleep. I admire those who are, but its just not me. Sorry for the long ramble! All help is much appreciated!

I can't offer any advice either, as DS is much the same. But, for us going off his food is a regular occurance. Some days he'll eat heaps, others he won't touch a bite and will only breastfeed. Rest assured she won't starve herself, some days I'm starving, others I'm not hunhry at all, I guess babies are the same.

DS did it too a few times when he was unwell. When he was ready he started solids again. And we didnt start until he was about 9 months due to allergies so as long as she is getting food from BM/formula she should be OK.

DS was a pretty horrific day sleeper when he was younger! I used tough love and put him in his cot when he was tired. He protested, but then got used to the idea that he needed 1 or 2 sleeps a day. When he started daycare I was so worried that he wouldnt sleep but he got so tuckered out there that he slept like an angel and if needed they did rock him or other bubbas to sleep.

Weaning onto formula - this was a long and slow process for us and again happened mainly due to his allergies. We just cut one feed a day for a week, then kept going until he was only BF in the evenings.

Do not worry about her sleeping at daycare the routine of it all, daycare have magic tricks to get babies to sleep, really do not worry, I  have been amazed every day since he started that he sleeps and in a room full of others, but he does.

As for you getting her to sleep, I would pick a settling method and stick to that one method for every settle now on, babies/kids need consistency, I learnt this recently, was trying so many things think I was confusing him. I am currently loving the baby whisper (you can google her settling methods on the tvnz website)

If you had good methods before the trip then try starting them up again, if she has been good before she can be again.

As for the food, its really normal for them to fluctuate, although its hard if it means they wake in the night, not sure I can offer much help on that, normally its just a phase and will pass again.

Thanks everyone. We'll keep trying with the food, at least she is feeding from me and nibbling on finger food so its not like she isnt getting anything. we have her sat in her highchair at the table when we eat dinner and share bits with her.

Getting her down for naps has always been hard, she is far too inquisitive to want to sleep! I'll have a look at the baby whisperer and hunt around for something that sounds good and hopefully doesnt involve leaving her to cry, that I dont like the sound of.

Thanks again for your help and reassurance, this is a fantastic community here and I cant wait to be able to help someone else instead of always having the questions!