Having Issues Getting My 12 Month Old to Eat

My DD is 13 mos and goes through ebbs and flows of what she will and will not eat. Last month she wouldn't touch fish...2 days ago she ate every bit I put in front of her...My advice is ...just keep trying!

they all go through phases, as you know. she has a pretty good list of what she is eating, and with the breastmilk she is taking I don't think you have any cause for concern. she will come out of this phase. but for now, i'm noticing that she is really enjoying "white" food (read your list - it's all bland colored stuff). try some navy beans. they're white, and nice and bland. she may not like the earthy taste, but if it's color she's going for, she may at least try them. also try cauliflower. steam it until it is very tender, then put it in the food processor with a little cream or whole milk and some real butter. not much of either of those, but they'll help with the flavor, along with a bit of salt. get her off the fries, or try oven-fried sweet potatoes. my main encouragement would be for you to make the foods she does eat as healthy as possible - whole grains, no hydrogenated oils, no high-fructose corn syrup. go to your local organic grocery store (whole foods, earthfare, etc.), and look for nutrigrain bar look-alikes that don't have the horrible list of chemical ingredients that nutrigrain bars have. try whole-wheat waffles and pancake mix.
i think you're doing fine though - try not to stress too much, and know that she will - slowly - add foods to her diet. :)

Hello, my son (who is now 5 ) was the same way. He would eat anything we gave him until the age 1. Then poof, he didn't want it anymore. He would always eat pasta, but all of a sudden he didn't like pasta anymore. His list I think was smaller then your little girls. I ended up taking away what he wouldn't eat and giving him something he would eat. Boy was that a mistake! I just wanted to make sure he ate, and a first time mom I made the wronge choice. He was very very picky up until he was about 4.5! Him being so picky for so long was my fault, because I let him have what he wanted. I never let him get use to anything else. Finally started trying things again, and basically saying to bad your trying this (for course he's quite older then your little one) and now his food list is much bigger!
So, I guess my advice is to just keep giving her this stuff. Even if you know she don't like it. I once read that you should keep them familure with all the foods, so one day she wont look at it and say "what the heck is this, i'm not eating it" lol. Continue to give it to her, if she is hungry she will eat it. If she don't eat it then she has to wait until the next time you give her something. And it's of your choice, not hers. Eventually she will come around and eat was is giving to her. Atleast try it, and then really know if she don't like it or not. If she truely doesn't like it, thats when I would stop giving her it. Like my son does not like ketchup-lol but we ask him everytime if he wants some, he always says no though.
Anyways, I really hope this helps. I would hate for her to end up being so picky as long as my son did!
It will be hard to keep giving her stuff you know she wont eat. But you have to remember, she will eat it when she gets hungry enough. Keep introducing the stuff to her, like the ham, etc. yanno? Hope this make sense, I'm a little blah this morning! LOL Good luck

M.,

Camdyn sounds like she actually getting a fairly balanced diet. As long as she's growing appropriately (growth chart), I wouldn't worry. Keep introducing foods, her tastes will continue to change, as well, as she will get used to new textures. As for the Danimals, you can mix milk into it. Start with a really ridicuously small amount, and then increase the milk a little bit each time. I usually mixed half milk/halk Danimals for my girls. Still gave them the flavor, less sugar.

There's also the "Sneaky Chef" type books where you can sneak veggies and other good stuff into kids' food. I have the one by Seinfeld's wife, but it's a hassle to me. It is easy to mix veggies into Quesadillas though.

Don't sweat the issue with eating. I have an 11 yr and a 4 year old. Both ate everything in site until they hit their one year mark. I discussed with this with their doctor. She explained to me that their taste buds change as well as likes to texture.

My 4 yr old son will only eat pizza, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and grean beans for dinner. My 11 yr old daughter know likes everything. She used to only eat cheese quesdillias. It will get better. Keep introducing her to things. Try chocolate in her milk to make chocolate milk. Maybe she will like it now.

Good luck.
M.

Hi M.,

I have 4 children and now on my 3rd grandchild and I could honestly say ALL of them when through that. Once children reach a year old until around 3, even 4 slow down in their eating, my 3 y/o grandaughter is going through it now and my daughter tries to force things on her, my reply to her is Dont force it if she's hungry she will eat, my 15 y/o daughter now eats pizza, spegetti, steak and shrimp, and I mean that is it, I think it has been about 5 years and she has NOT touched a vegtable, shes still healthy and the list of things you said yours eats, thats pretty good, the things you had mentioned do contain alot of the nutrients her body needs and hopefully she will grow out of this! I have seen this often, I am also in the medical field. Good luck!

HI M.,

I agree 100% with Sally. Let me add that those things that she said to avoid like the hydrogenated oils and the HFCS can become addictive and your baby won't want anything else until those urges are satsified. Why is it in other cultures, babies eat seaweed and fish? I've seen Japanese children (in Japan, not here, lol)turn up their noses at ice cream. That's because their bodies are used to nutrition and not the processed foods.

Continue to nurse as long as you can and wean her off the list you gave. Add some pureed green vegetables and she'll have to eat them eventually. Also to help your situation, YOU should not be eating processed foods either. The chemicals, the hormones and the preservatives pass through your breast milk.

Hope I helped!

M.

It sounds like you have a very smart, perceptive little girl. She has figured out what tastes good to her and is reluctant to eat anything else. It's possible that at 10.5 months old, she wasn't going through a growth time, and needed less food. This is normal. Go with the flow on this, and try not to let food become a power issue. On the type of food, I would require that she eat something healthy, maybe some soft,fresh fruit like peaches. If you offer grapes, make sure you cut them in little pieces. Little ones can choke on whole grapes. If she'll eat chicken, I'd go with that first. Only then would I offer the foods she likes better (starches), and in limited quantity. There is a saying that "Hunger makes the best cook." If she is hungry, she is more likely to eat the healthy items like fruit and chicken first. If she won't eat any of those items first, I would take her down from her chair and say, "Oh, you're not hungry. That's OK. We'll try later." She has to figure out that you are doing a new thing....offering her the "have to's" first, then her favorite things next. The most important thing in this process is that you stay unemotional. In other words, if she can tell that you care, she can manipulate you emotionally and behaviorally. Let her know that she has some choices, but "this is what we're doing." Be loving and kind, but firm. Right now, she knows that she is the one controling the food choices. I would let her choose, but choose from the options you provide.

I have a two year old who ate anything and everything until she hit her first birthday. It's been a roller coaster since. Just when you figure out exactly what they will eat, all the sudden they won't touch it for a while. Their tastes will change a lot. Just don't give up. I always give my daughter something she likes and something I'd like her to eat. She hasn't eaten meat in over a year but she still gets her protein from eggs and milk, and I still give her veggies even though she turns her nose to them. I wouldn't force it, just keep exposing her. Since your daughter won't drink milk give her plenty of dairy through cheese and yogurt. Keep offering her the milk and one day she'll take to it. Also, I wouldn't stop nursing if you don't really want to.

Sorry to hear your little one is not eating a variety of foods. Before she becomes a very picky eater I would suggest what my pediatrition told me. Set good food before her, if she refuses to eat take it away and offer good food at the next meal (no in between meal eating). He said when your daughter is hungry she will eat what you set before her. He also added he had never seen a child starve when food was set before them. He was correct, I followed his advice and my daughter did eat what was before her because she was hungry. To this day she is a good eater. Not one of those picky eaters.
K. in SC

Hey don't worry about the whole milk thing. Some kids are lactose intolerant. Milk is not essential. She sounds like she's getting a lot of great stuff! All kids go thru this picky stage, you just have to keep trying, make it fun. I have found that if my son turns away with something I give him fruit to pick up and then I sneak whatever it is I'm trying. Usually works and for now he's ok with it. As long as she's eating and growing! Good luck!
Johna

Like everyone here I had the same problem - I thought it was because we moved at the same time. She wouldn't eat any protein but milk. She became she even became slightly anemic.
Luckily my mom's a pediatric feeding therapist so I'll give you the advice she gave me,
1. Kids have to see a food at least a dozen times before you know they don't like it.
2. try one new food at a time. She suggested starting out with fish and sliced deli ham( for the iron) these are easy to eat and the salt in the deli ham is appealing.
2. Eat with your child and show you are eating the same foods.
3. Give small portions and let them ask for more, Then a new food is less overwhelming. Also they won't overeat the "regular" foods
4. Pick your child's "best " mealtime to introduce new (or recently rejected) foods
5. Don't worry to much - all kids go through this and almost all grow out of it - just set a good example in your own eating habits.

Using this advice I gave my daughter two small bite size pieces of deli ham at every meal. I ate one of those pieces in front of her. After a few days she tried it - then she actually liked so much she was addicted and we had to hurry and add another food. Now my daughter is two and she is definitely not a picky eater. She goes through phases but the rule is she has to try one bite. If she doesn't like it she can eat other things on her plate or wait until the next meal. She often helps decide what she wants to eat as well. I sometimes add things to make a more well rounded meal but she gets some choice too. Seriously, her favorite meal is salmon and brussel sprouts - mine too.

My mom also said don't give up during a meal and give your child the safe food when he/she won't eat what your eating. Skipping a few meals really won't hurt and will teach her that she'll need to try new things if she wants to eat. Now my daughter was in the 99% for height and weight so I didn't worry about her missing a few meals. This might not be true for your child so I don't know if I'd do it without asking your docter.

Hope this helps - Beth

I laughed after reading the list of foods your daughter eats :) My daughter eats very similar foods. Like yours, mine was not picky until she turned the corner and changed. Our change was when she caught three colds in a row. For some reason her tastes changed and she gave up a ton of foods she had liked earlier.

I think, even though we want to fix things, you should roll with it for a bit. I also think changing the nursing thing might help although I am a HUGE breastfeeding advocate as I am sure you are as well or you would not be still nursing.

M.,

Please stop trying so hard! There are plenty of nutritious items on the list of things your daughter enjoys! I am afraid you will (or already have) create eating disorders if you obsess about what she is eating! Obviously food is not important to her, so why is it to you? Keep nursing, and let her be! When she wants and needs to change her eating habits, that will happen! In the meantime, take her for a walk in the lovely Spring of Atlanta, and talk with her about flowers, and birds, and clouds, and trees. And plant a (container, if necessary) garden with vegetables, so when they appear, the two of you can pick them, cook them and eat them!

It's a great thing she won't drink milk. Milk really isn't good for your body. Children have more frequent ear infections and it's extremely mucus forming. So, that is a plus!

As far as being picky, I had two children that did that, but only one did it at the age that yours did it. She is now 2yo. There really is nothing you can do about it, but try to eat different foods and hope that she'll want what you are eating. I know with my daughter, if I try and offer it to her, she isn't going to want it, but if I don't offer it to her, she usually is more likely to try it...sometimes. She has a problem with looks and texture. I can't get her to eat fruit either. I'm sure they will grow out of that..I really wouldn't worry about it. Just feed her and try new things as you can that you think she just might try/eat.

I think you should stop worrying so much! There's not a whole lot you can do about the fruits and veggies other than continue to offer them... maybe try some new ones... cut them in a different way etc... As for the milk, maybe that will change when you stop nursing, but I wouldn't necessarily stop nursing to see what happens.