My One-Year-Olds Diet

Try finger foods, all three of my kids were just too busy to eat. There was so much to see and do, and learn... You can make finger foods out of just about any type of food. Pampered chef sells these mini cookie cutters (shapes) and my kids used to think helping (even at 1) make their food was fun with those cutters. Good luck. Hope this helps ;)!

I think he is drinking too much milk. When I went to my WIC appointment when my son turned 1, they told me a 1 yr old should be drinking 16 oz of milk a day, and they have some parents come in and say well my kid drinks more than that thinking it is good, but it actually doesn't help them, and instead can mess up their appetite. What I do with my son, is the first 16 oz. he drinks a day are milk (about 2 sippy cups) to make sure he gets his milk in, and then I will allow up to 4 oz of juice (I always dilute with water though, and after that he only gets water if he is thirsty. That way I know he is getting what he needs, but also not drinking so much milk that he isn't hungry for food. For his meals, to get him to eat better, I will first give him the vegetables (he is less likely to eat it if he has other options), and when he eats what he wants from there, I will give him the actual meal, when he seems done with that, then he gets fruit. He loves fruit, so I use that as dessert. Otherwise, he will fill up on that right away, and not want to eat anything else. When he is still hungry, he is more likely to want to eat the other things. He gets stubborn sometimes, and doesn't want to eat, but all toddlers do that. They go through phases of eating a lot and then nothing for a while, and then a lot again. That is normal for a toddler. It is hard to watch them not eat and worry that they will starve, but I agree with my dr that if they are hungry they will eat what they are given, and will not starve themselves. Don't get too worried about it, but at the same time, you want to encourage him to eat healthier and get what he needs. My son is now 2 1/2, and sometimes the refusing to eat gets worse now than it did at that age, but his growth has also slowed down, and he still has the phases of not eating for a while, and then eating everything. My dr says he is fine, his weight is perfect for his height, and I try to only offer him the healthier things when he doesn't want to eat, so at least what he does is healthy. Also, if he refuses to eat a meal, he doesn't get a snack later when he is hungry. I have read that some kids won't eat their meal, because they like the snacks better, but if they don't get snacks later without eating, they learn to eat first. Otherwise, sometimes they can go to bed hungry, and learn the next night that they should eat dinner so they can have a snack. Usually our snacks at night are cookies, my son gets one if he ate his dinner good, but gets to watch everyone else eat it if he didn't eat. We remind him of that during dinner when he doesn't eat, and he has learned that if he wants something later, he has to eat dinner first. Good luck with your son, and don't get too stressed out over it! He will be fine!

J.

A.,

My son is a few months older than your son but I was having similiar eating issues. The dietian we saw (we saw her for food allergy reasons) told me not to give him more than 24 oz of milk a day. So now he only gets milk with meals and he is eating more. Good luck!

-Jo

It's probably too much milk. I would only give him milk with his meals and make him drink the majority of it after eating his food. I give my kids snacks when they are done eating lunch and supper and then a healthy snack around 3 pm.
Good luck,
J.

At our 1 year old's well visit our doctor had him wean off the formula. She emphasized that he should not drink more than 16 ounces of milk. Otherwise they substitute it for the formula or breast milk and fill up on it too much rather than other foods. Since she's not a fan of juice either, we mainly give our son water.

We also went through some challenges switching from baby food to regular food at that time. He was a normally healthy eater, but got pretty picky. Now at 15 months he's gotten better again. But from what I understand, we can expect more of these phases.

It can be very frustrating, worrisome, and trying. Keep hanging in there and you'll all make it just fine!

We had that problem too. Our doctor made us cut our son's milk down to 15 oz a day (sounds mean but he was drinking atleast 30oz) and really, he became an awesome eater again. He was filling up with liquid and not hungary. We still make our kids (5,4) eat most of their dinner (or whatever) before they are allowed to have their milk to drink. Otherwise they chug it and don't want to finish their meal.
Good luck.
A.

we had the same issue with our daughter (now 15 mos) she would drink as much milk as i would let her and hardly pick at foods that weren't sweet or snacky, so we stopped letting her have so much milk and she eats really well now- she still gets three 8oz cups of milk, but i don't give them at meal times so she won't fill up on milk instead of her food

I got the same information about milk that the other moms did from my pediatrician, and I also notice our son goes through phases of eating everything in sight and eating very little. We just pay attention to how long the "not eating" phase goes on. It usually doesn't last more than a week or so.

30 oz of milk is a lot, try giving him less to drink. Kids eat as much as their body needs. I had to learn this the hard way with my first and shes now over weight. If you can imagine that his stomach is the size of his fist just think about how much food he can get in there at a sitting. If your concerned about nutrition maybe try adding pediasure or something like that. It is best for your kids to get the nutrients they need from the food they eat though. I also give my kids a multi vitamin although its not 100% necessary, I buy the gummy bears because theyre easier to chew. Good luck... this too shall pass!
B.

From experience of having 3, dont be alarmed. kids that age will usually drink more then they eat. dont let that bother you. My kids were the same way and they are doing fine. Some kids just get picky to. they might not like that way something looks or feels. It does change just keep offering things to him. really they pretty much only pick at their food not always but sometimes. if he's eating in the morning thats awesome he will get what he needs from that. Your doing fine. dont worry.
J. in Proctor

Hi A.-
I'm going through a difficult period with my son as well--he relies too much on the milk he's given twice a day to do any real eating. My suggestion would be to give him less milk, so that his nutritional needs have to be met through other foods. This is the advice my sister-in-law gave me, and she is a pediatric nurse. Like any creature, your child will eat when he gets hungry!!
A.

Here's an article I came across from Dr. Sears. (Cut and paste the link below into your browser.) The biggest takeaway I got from the article was that I shouldn't be concerned about my one-year-olds picky eating and that I should aim for a balanced weekly diet rather than a balanced daily diet. Hope this helps!

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp

We have this problem on and off again. Our doctor siad that kids go through phases where they will eat great and then the next day they wont. You shouldnt be too concerned unless he is losing a lot of weight. My daughter loved veggies and now wont eat them unless they have a ton of cheese on them or she is starving. I usually give a snack after naptime because my daughter doesnt eat a big lunch either and that is where I try to fit in a fruit or veggie. My daughter also decided that what we're eating is what she wants even if it is the same thing that she is eating so a lot of times we end up feeding her off our plate and then she seems to eat better. She is a little older though so Im not sure if that makes a difference.

i have the same problem! my twenty month old son used to love to eat. couldn't get enough food. then his doctor told us he was drinking too much juice so for the past four months he has been on only whole milk all the time to drink. since then his appetite has decreased hugely. he is a fruit and vegtable lover and even those are a fight some days. my mom (who had seven very healthy kids) says that if he is gaining weight not to worry. and he is. he shot from twenty one pounds to a now thirty one. i have found that he likes pistachios, hot dogs, cheese, and broasted chicken. and corn. sometimes peas and mashed potatos. if he doesn't want to eat at all sometimes i give him pediasure becasue it has all the nutrients he needs. and i give him a new fruit every week, bananas one week, blueberries the next, grapes, apples. i don't know if this helps at all, but i know what you are going thru. i'm just not brave enough to cut his milk consumption down. bravo to you for trying it.

My daughter is 13 months and tiny (10th percentile).We had the same issue.The doctor told us she will eat when she is hungry as long as the choices are there.As long as your son is healthy and growing I would not worry too much about it.He will go through phases of eating a ton and then eating like a mouse.I noticed my daughter will eat on the run.So I offer her heathly snacks all day.And she seems to want whatever I have.So I am sure to eat stuff she can "steal" from me.When they are getting teeth, they don't have much interest in food.Or while being sick,even after being sick they won't really want food.Also you might try the "Just Tomatoes" brand of dehydrated snacks.That is a really good way to substitute crackers.CHeese has always worked for us.Veggie Booty (in the health food section) is a healthy snack too.
Best of luck!