My daughter is on solids and milk but she does not have the amounts she should have. She only has 100ml of milk in a feed and very little solids. I try to give her savory solids but she only eats sweet things like yogurt, rice pudding and custard. She occasionally has sweet potato and other Vegetables but generally wants sweet foods. I am worried that she is not getting the right nutrients that she needs. Another issue is that because she eats very little in the day she still wakes twice at night for milk. This is now becoming very tiring as I have started back at work.

Please could you suggest how I could encourage my baby to eat more varied foods and tips on how to stop the night feeds.


A It is very common for baby’s to still wake for night feeds if they are not feeding well through the day.

Firstly, you could try to offer your daughter water only during the night, not milk, to encourage an appetite through the day.

Secondly, you could try to offer a savoury dish with a small amount of fruit mixed in to persuade your daughter to eat the savoury dishes, then gradually withdraw the amount of added fruit.

You need to introduce protein into her diet now, such as fish, chicken and pulses followed by red meat.

Small amounts of cooked vegetable cut into cubes can be a popular finger food, as long as your daughter is sat upright in a high chair with supervision, she will be safe to try finger feeding herself now.

health visitor