[_rori]

dd will be a year on sunday and will be going off of formula once we use all that we have. she drinks two bottles of formula (around like 9oz, use the expandable drop ins so i really have no idea exactly how much she drinks .. at least 8oz) and a bottle of whole milk a day. she also eats what we eat for all meals.. We have recently ran into having a huge problem getting her to eat food, she takes a couple bites and then refuses it afterwards. this is everything, even pudding/yogurt, the good stuff. she has defiently lost weight within the last two weeks ... of course she just started walking, so she is so much more mobile then before..and i know that will cause her to lose some of her chunkyness..but i also know it's because she isn't eating as much as she used to. she used to eat EVERYTHING in her sight .. but she also doesn't see food as something that will fill her up when she is hungry. when she is hungry, she wants nothing to do with real food...she wants a bottle of milk. what do i do to get her to enjoy eating again and to see food as something that will cure her hunger?

ANYWAY - i was just reading an email that pampers sent me stating that a toddler should eat 6 small meals a day. - right now i give her just her bottles, and 3 meals (well..try to at least) ... what do you feed your little ones 6 times a day? i would think it would mean 3 meals and 3 decent size snacks .. but even then, what should i give her? i also don't want to be in the kitchen all day,

i'm scared she isn't getting enough to eat. since she has been refusing food for no reason, i really have no idea whether she leaves the table well-fed/full. even more worried that she wont have that formula in a couple of weeks to at least give her something in her belly..

any help/advice is apperciated.

[bette]

First of all, don't worry! At a year old she will be fine with the little she eats and the milk or formula. They tend to go through phases and refuse anything that's given to them about this time. Or she may only want one particular food every day for awhile. All mine have gone through all of this. I have always given mine 3 meals with us and several snacks throughout the day. We do alot of bananas, pineapple, avocado, peaches, graham crackers, and stuff like that. Just try different things and see if something appeals to her. But as long as she is getting something in her belly, milk included, she'll be fine!

[schatz]

Originally Posted by bette

First of all, don't worry! At a year old she will be fine with the little she eats and the milk or formula. They tend to go through phases and refuse anything that's given to them about this time. Or she may only want one particular food every day for awhile. All mine have gone through all of this. I have always given mine 3 meals with us and several snacks throughout the day. We do alot of bananas, pineapple, avocado, peaches, graham crackers, and stuff like that. Just try different things and see if something appeals to her. But as long as she is getting something in her belly, milk included, she'll be fine!

yup totally agree! just keep trying no need to go overboard in the kitchen for her snacks etc hang in there!! It does get easier with foods!

[linz152]

My DS (2 1/2) is tough in the eating department. He was such a good eater at one time and now he doesn't seem to eat much of anything.

My pediatrician gave me some excellent advise. He said look at (or track it if it makes you feel better) what he is eating over the course of a week. Not over the course of a day. If you look at a week generally they've had close to what they "should" be having. Yesterday he was just not hungry at all. He ate a Nutri-grain bar for breakfast, 2 Goldfish crackers at snack time, refused lunch all together (did drink some milk), yogurt when he got up from his nap, and refused dinner all together. That is definitely a worrisome day. But taken with the week, it's not a big deal. Today he woke up very hungry (of course) and ate a really big, good breakfast.

So I think it all evens out for the most part. As Bette said, don't worry! They don't really tend to overeat and they do always end up eating when they're hungry. The trick is just to make sure what ever you are offering is reasonably healthy when they do finally get hungry.

Good Luck!
Linz

[pemerson]

I have the same issues with DD. She is 13 months old and for a few months would oly eat peaches, yogurt, animal crackers, puffs, and other small snack like foods. Just recently did she start eating tater tots. She still wants bottles for most of her nutrition. Sometimes I get to the point where I don't want to feed her .... drag out all the stuff, try to feed her for 10 minutes, wash everything and then start all over again for the next meal. But of course, I still do it anyways but I just want to let you know that you are not alone. I am right there with you!!! She wont even eat baby food anymore.

[_rori]

Originally Posted by pemerson

I have the same issues with DD. She is 13 months old and for a few months would oly eat peaches, yogurt, animal crackers, puffs, and other small snack like foods. Just recently did she start eating tater tots. She still wants bottles for most of her nutrition. Sometimes I get to the point where I don't want to feed her .... drag out all the stuff, try to feed her for 10 minutes, wash everything and then start all over again for the next meal. But of course, I still do it anyways but I just want to let you know that you are not alone. I am right there with you!!! She wont even eat baby food anymore.

dd started refusing baby food at 10 months ... ate table food since (and some before stopping the baby food) and now all of sudden these past few weeks...wants nothing to do with it.

i know exactly how it feels. i will look at the clock and see it's lunch time..and really dread having to go into the kitchen to prepare something knowing she isn't going to eat it.

i fight with her for a bit, to get something in her belly...and then after a while, i give up and put the food in front of her. so right now, she is in her highchair..with nothing in front of her, and all the food on the floor. she really finds pleasure in throwing her food on the floor, too. i watched her while she didn't know i was, and she had this smirk on her face the entire time.

i really hope this is a stage. it's very stressful, and even causes arguments between dh and i. he is dead set on her eating her entire plate of food, and will make her eat until she is in tears....and i get so angry, at both of them..

[_rori]

when do you guys say that it's enough .. that you give up trying to feed them for that meal?

when they refuse is, take it out of their mouth.... or do you keep putting in their mouth and making them eat for a while?

[FreebieMama]

When DS starts throwing his food, mealtime is over. At that point, I know he's not hungry anymore, just playing. We never fight or force-feed - that can cause feeding issues. Your job as a parent is to put healthy food in front of your child. It is then the child's job to put the food in their own mouth. They will not starve themselves!

At one year, a child's growth really slows down and they don't need they amount of calories as they did when they were babies. Also, they are really mobile at this age. Sitting and eating is not as fun if you can get up and walk around! Try giving the food before giving the bottle. If they fill up on milk, they won't want to eat.

My DS is 15 months old. This is a list of some favorite foods in our house:
meatloaf, cut in small cubes
white meat chicken
cheese, cubed or shredded
soft canned beans, rinsed well - especially baked beans, even rinsed, they retain the flavor of the sauce
fresh fruit - watermelon, cantaloupe, pears, cherries, blueberries, strawberries
canned fruit, rinsed well - mandarin oranges, peaches, cherry mixed fruit
broccoli/cheese/rice casserole
scrambled eggs, sometimes with cubed ham
corn-on-the-cob
veggies - string beans, peas
yogurt, pudding, applesauce
tuna fish sanwiches made on melba thin bread
noodles, especially shapes
mac & cheese
tortellini & ravioli - cheese filled
popsicles - great for teething and mouth injuries(bumped lip, bit tongue)

This is all I can think of right now.

[pemerson]

Originally Posted by _rori

dd started refusing baby food at 10 months ... ate table food since (and some before stopping the baby food) and now all of sudden these past few weeks...wants nothing to do with it.

i know exactly how it feels. i will look at the clock and see it's lunch time..and really dread having to go into the kitchen to prepare something knowing she isn't going to eat it.

i fight with her for a bit, to get something in her belly...and then after a while, i give up and put the food in front of her. so right now, she is in her highchair..with nothing in front of her, and all the food on the floor. she really finds pleasure in throwing her food on the floor, too. i watched her while she didn't know i was, and she had this smirk on her face the entire time.

i really hope this is a stage. it's very stressful, and even causes arguments between dh and i. he is dead set on her eating her entire plate of food, and will make her eat until she is in tears....and i get so angry, at both of them..

This has been going on since DD was 9 months old. She has never had any "real" food other than the few things I mentioned above. No chicken, pizza, hamburer, hotdog, veggies, potatoes ... yeah pretty much nothing!! On her first birthday she wanted nothing to do with her cake. We put her hands in it and she cried. I was so upset.

Just the other day I was thinking I would go see the doctor and tell her whats going on. Maybe we can see some sort of specialist. This has been going on for 4 months! But when she tried tater tots I thought that was a good sign. She is trying other foods but will spit them out. Before she would look at it and then throw it on the floor. At least it makes it in her mouth for a few seconds this time.

[pemerson]

Originally Posted by FreebieMama

When DS starts throwing his food, mealtime is over. At that point, I know he's not hungry anymore, just playing. We never fight or force-feed - that can cause feeding issues. Your job as a parent is to put healthy food in front of your child. It is then the child's job to put the food in their own mouth. They will not starve themselves!

At one year, a child's growth really slows down and they don't need they amount of calories as they did when they were babies. Also, they are really mobile at this age. Sitting and eating is not as fun if you can get up and walk around! Try giving the food before giving the bottle. If they fill up on milk, they won't want to eat.

My DS is 15 months old. This is a list of some favorite foods in our house:
meatloaf, cut in small cubes
white meat chicken
cheese, cubed or shredded
soft canned beans, rinsed well - especially baked beans, even rinsed, they retain the flavor of the sauce
fresh fruit - watermelon, cantaloupe, pears, cherries, blueberries, strawberries
canned fruit, rinsed well - mandarin oranges, peaches, cherry mixed fruit
broccoli/cheese/rice casserole
scrambled eggs, sometimes with cubed ham
corn-on-the-cob
veggies - string beans, peas
yogurt, pudding, applesauce
tuna fish sanwiches made on melba thin bread
noodles, especially shapes
mac & cheese
tortellini & ravioli - cheese filled
popsicles - great for teething and mouth injuries(bumped lip, bit tongue)

This is all I can think of right now.

Can we trade kids for a while. I wish DD would eat regular food like that.

[genosgirl]

[quote=

i really hope this is a stage. it's very stressful, and even causes arguments between dh and i. he is dead set on her eating her entire plate of food, and will make her eat until she is in tears....and i get so angry, at both of them..[/QUOTE]

ugh my dh has the same philosophy. I can't stand it. I dread mealtimes around here.

[FreebieMama]

Originally Posted by pemerson

Can we trade kids for a while. I wish DD would eat regular food like that.

Sure, does your child EVER sit still?? Mine don't!

One of the biggest things, I think, is sitting down and eating with your children. They see you using utensils and putting all this yummy food in your mouth. This had my children begging for tastes of what was on my plate. Then you put some on their plate.

One of the most important ways children learn how to do things is by modeling the behaviors of their parents. For example, my 3 year old DD loves ketchup because daddy eats it with almost every dinner! That is an eating habit I could do without, but a little bit of dipping sauce can get toddlers to try out new foods. Ketchup, ranch dressing and sour cream are fun to dip! There is also a fruity dip made with Jell-o and cream cheese, but we haven't tried this one yet.

My DD was so good with utensils. She ate her first birthday cake with a spoon, and can cut with a knife and use a vegetable peeler now. She likes to peel carrots for herself. My DS, on the other hand, just started poking his foods with a fork and most of the time he holds a utensil in one hand and eats with the other hand! He can make finger foods messy!

Every child is different!

[pemerson]

FreebieMama, thanks for the advice. I will have to try some of that. I am willing to try anything at this point.

[FreebieMama]

Originally Posted by pemerson

FreebieMama, thanks for the advice. I will have to try some of that. I am willing to try anything at this point.

You're welcome! I hope something works for you!

[tootsie roll]

My dd is almost 13 months old, and can be a picky eater. She does not like to be fed, and she will only eat food that she feeds to herself. If I try to give her something new, she will throw it on the floor. But if I leave a little on her tray for her, after about 5 mins, she is eating all of it. I don't prepare anything complicated for her - instead I stick to individual items. For instance, I try to give one fruit, 2 or 3 veggies and one grain at each meal. At every other meal, she gets some protein. She loves Boca burger chicken nuggets, and eats all fruits and veggies. For breakfast, she eats 1 banana, some cheerios, and cow's milk. (She is still nursing 3 times a day). Then for lunch or dinner, she might have peas, tomatoes, peaches, and toast.

It really frustrates me when she doesn't eat what I give to her - especially since she loves to throw it on the floor to watch the dogs eat her food. But, I try to give her a little at a time and see what happens.

I am sure your little one will be just fine. My pedi suggested that as long as we offer healthy food, she will regulate herself as to what her body needs. Some days she eats more than others. Who knew it would be so fun to be a mom?

[twilcn]

The only advice I can offer is ..Keep trying different foods...When ds was that age..He barely ate anything,but keep trying. I had a little kiddie table set up just for him and put cherrios and yogart on his table....He'd snack here and there. To me that was fine as long as he has something to snack on that's healthy. Ds loved Watermelon,Canteloupe on his table he would have it all over,but it was so worthwhile to know my baby was eating some healthy foods.
Just keep in mind they do go thru this stage and they will eat evently. Just make sure they're hydrated at all times.

[schatz]

With DD it was a total control issue with foods..at 12 months she stopped eating anthing that was mushed up or pureed...she went straight to table food! Ds on the other hand....ate baby foods til 2! DD didn't like me to feed her..she wanted to do it herself...ok whatever works..be prepared for a little mess at first but now she feeds herself adn does a great job! Teething can also be a food problem..when Ella was getting her molars she would be really gaggy adn not want to eat a lot..which is what we are going through with her canines anyway just keep trying all kinds of different foods! Its really frustrating I know but it'll all work out

[_rori]

thank you SO much to all you ladies for responding with such helpful advice. it's great to know i can come here and know someone will understand.

Originally Posted by FreebieMama

When DS starts throwing his food, mealtime is over. At that point, I know he's not hungry anymore, just playing. We never fight or force-feed - that can cause feeding issues. Your job as a parent is to put healthy food in front of your child. It is then the child's job to put the food in their own mouth. They will not starve themselves!

i wish i could quote this to dh and he believe me. he has always had to force his son to eat...and to this day, his son dreads sitting down at the table to eat. i really believe if dss doesn't want to eat, let him leave the table..and go hungry, he will eventually learn that he needs to eat or he will be hungry. but dh insists that dss sit there and finish his entire meal, and if not..he gets punished. he is doing the same thing with my dd, and i always tell him...she is going to hate eating, just like dss if he keeps it up. but no, he wants a 'chunky baby' (mind you, dss is SKINNY...so obviously his idea hasn't quite worked with one child). - problem is, dd throws food the second it hits her plate .. so what do i do then?

Originally Posted by genosgirl

ugh my dh has the same philosophy. I can't stand it. I dread mealtimes around here.

thankfully i am at work when he feeds the kids breakfast...he is at work at lunch time and dinner time. the only time i have to put up with it is on the weekends...but those meals on the weekends are the worst. he cooks on the weekends and gives me this bowl to feed dd, thinking she is going to eat that much .. and i try to explain to him that she isn't going to eat all that, but he refuses to listen.

Originally Posted by tootsie roll

My dd is almost 13 months old, and can be a picky eater. She does not like to be fed, and she will only eat food that she feeds to herself. If I try to give her something new, she will throw it on the floor. But if I leave a little on her tray for her, after about 5 mins, she is eating all of it. I don't prepare anything complicated for her - instead I stick to individual items. For instance, I try to give one fruit, 2 or 3 veggies and one grain at each meal. At every other meal, she gets some protein. She loves Boca burger chicken nuggets, and eats all fruits and veggies. For breakfast, she eats 1 banana, some cheerios, and cow's milk. (She is still nursing 3 times a day). Then for lunch or dinner, she might have peas, tomatoes, peaches, and toast.

i really like this idea. i try to go all out, giving her the meals that we eat...but really i don't need to. dd loves to feed herself (well, she did when she actually ate) .. but i have noticed that if i put TOO much food on her tray...she just throws it on the floor and isn't interested...maybe it's discouraging to her to see so much food, because i can put a little and she would actually eat it. i'm going to try some simple meals like you mentioned above and see what happens.

Originally Posted by twilcn

The only advice I can offer is ..Keep trying different foods...When ds was that age..He barely ate anything,but keep trying. I had a little kiddie table set up just for him and put cherrios and yogart on his table....He'd snack here and there. To me that was fine as long as he has something to snack on that's healthy. Ds loved Watermelon,Canteloupe on his table he would have it all over,but it was so worthwhile to know my baby was eating some healthy foods.
Just keep in mind they do go thru this stage and they will eat evently. Just make sure they're hydrated at all times.

i don't think my dd will ever be dehydrated. her sippy cup to her is like a blankie to another child. if she sees juice, water, anything...she just has to have it.

Originally Posted by schatz

With DD it was a total control issue with foods..at 12 months she stopped eating anthing that was mushed up or pureed...she went straight to table food! Ds on the other hand....ate baby foods til 2! DD didn't like me to feed her..she wanted to do it herself...ok whatever works..be prepared for a little mess at first but now she feeds herself adn does a great job! Teething can also be a food problem..when Ella was getting her molars she would be really gaggy adn not want to eat a lot..which is what we are going through with her canines anyway just keep trying all kinds of different foods! Its really frustrating I know but it'll all work out

i never thought of teething (she has never had any symptoms when teething)...but she just recently cut 4 teeth back to back..within the last 3 weeks. so this may have some play in it. i hope so, therefore at least it will be over a lot more quickly.

- okay, i'm done. got motor mouth today, . thanks again ladies.

[philomena83]

My Ds is going through the same thing right now too. Some days he will eat only a couple bites of food, and others he will chow down. A lot of his eating habits depend on whether or not he is grumpy too...if he is upset about something or mad at me he won't eat anything at all. I am not a very patient person so this gets really frustrating for me, especially since my DD is a fabulous eater!

One thing to keep in mind. My sister would not eat anything when she was little, it was very frustrating for my parents. The pediatrician told them that children under the age of five need about a tablespoon of food from each food group to survive. Think about how little that is, and also that their tummies are about the size of their fists. That always helps me when my DS isn't eating much.

[_rori]

Originally Posted by philomena83

My Ds is going through the same thing right now too. Some days he will eat only a couple bites of food, and others he will chow down. A lot of his eating habits depend on whether or not he is grumpy too...if he is upset about something or mad at me he won't eat anything at all. I am not a very patient person so this gets really frustrating for me, especially since my DD is a fabulous eater!

One thing to keep in mind. My sister would not eat anything when she was little, it was very frustrating for my parents. The pediatrician told them that children under the age of five need about a tablespoon of food from each food group to survive. Think about how little that is, and also that their tummies are about the size of their fists. That always helps me when my DS isn't eating much.

yep. that's why i just so shocked when dh hands me this bowl/plate full of food, and thinks she is going to eat it.. he believes when her stomach is hard, she is full. he fed her so much a couple months back that she couldn't even sit down! we had to put her in her saucer for a good hour. argh men.

[schatz]

keep in mind too that when they are too tired they just can't eat..if Ella is too tired she will take a couple of bites and then start to whine and say ba ba so mealtimes gotta be timed just right at this age

[spellbinded2004]

my DD will be 2 on Sunday and she has been a picky eater since she was 1!!! She will eat okay one day and then the next day close to nothing!! I have brought it up to our ped. every time she has a dr's appt and he always says the same thing "she fine, continue offering her nutritious food"!!!

The one thing I know helps us... is if she on the go (ie, walking, watching tv) she NEEDS to be entertained/distracted and then I can put food in her mouth and she will eat it!! I know that's not the best way to handle it but I get happy when she eats!!

[marchfree]

My DD is 14 months, whenever teeth are getting ready to come out 1-2 weeks prior she stops eating. We do offer her the 6 small meals a day and she usually eats some of each when her hunger "strikes" occur. HTH!!!

[lhart24]

Ok I dont have kids so I dont know the day to day struggles.. however I have babysitted for my moms friend.. I babysat her daughter from ages 1 to 3... Lunchtime was always served while I was babysitting.. Here were some rules she did...

~Once she starts playing with her food, I (or mom if it was dinner time).... would say are you finished... if she went to play again.. food was removed .. I know this sounds harsh.. but this was the way ti was from the beginning.. and if you said are you finished.. and she really wasnt.. that was enough to get her eating again. Now mind you this wasnt in a harsh tone or anything. It was said like any other question..
~also instead of giving a full serving of something ... she would just start out with like one of everything ...then as she ate, she could get more. It cut down on waste if something didnt seem appetizing
~she had to come to the table and try to eat... if nothing looked good and she just didnt want to eat.. that was fine and she could get down... but she couldnt immediately have a snack either... once again sounds harsh... but trust me she wasnt starving...

Typical lunch time meals included some of the following...
~Lunch meat sliced up - just let them pick it up and eat it
~cheese - cubed shredded
~pickles - cut them up in like smaller spears
~fruit and veggies- cut up
~Sometimes chicken diced up.. most of the time though lunch was a lunch meat
~yogurt
~olives

The good thing about most of the items above.. if you fix it and they dont touch something... you can always put it back in the refrig for later.

Snacks
~crackers
~veggies

[BStroh]

My Ds has been super picky and eating very little lately too. I don't know if it's due to his molars coming in or what. I always feed him his veggies at lunch/dinner time first. That way I at least know he got his veggies in, since he's been picky about veggies lately. I also found some apple-carrot juice at the store he seems to like also, so there's another veggie serving too. He's been eating maybe 2-4 bites at mealtimes this week, I'm right there with you! Not really sure what to do!!!