Picky Eater Need Help!

Try a cup with her favorite character on it. Take her bottle and break them then show it to her. as for nt eating give her something different. hope this helps

She is still a little bit little, but I love the book "Bread and Jam for Francis." Francis is picky and won't eat the food her family eats. Her Mother responds by only fixing her what she will eat...bread and jam. By the end, Francis is sick of bread and jam and wants to eat what the rest of the family eats. By that same token, kids this age revel in exerting their independence. I am sure some Mothers out there will be horrified, and some Doctors too, but I would always just say the opposite to make my kid eat. For example, fix her pancakes for dinner some night while you have somthing else and say, "no, you can't have any of this, you can only have pancakes." If you make a big deal telling her not to eat it, or that she can't have it, she may just decide she "needs" it after all. Another great book is "Green Eggs and Ham" and we all know the lesson there. As my kids got older, I make them have a "try it bite" of whatever I make. They don't have to have seconds if they don't like it, but they have to eat a tablespoon sized portion to "try it." It is amazing now how well my kids eat different squashes and spinach and even broccoli now that they have tried it. Good luck. A lot of creativity and patience will get you through this stage too!

I, too, have a very picky eater, but she'll drink almost anything! We had the same problem w/ her drinking milk only from a bottle, and we finally figured out that she was afraid it was going to be something "yucky." So, we have three different styles of sippy cups: one for juice, one for milk, and one for water. Once she got used to drinking different things, we can now interchange the styles of cup, b/c she understands when we tell her this is juice, etc, and she's not unpleasantly surprised. We have also determined which juice she likes (V-8 Mango or Blueberry is great, and has so many vitamins!), so it will never really be something "yucky." Still haven't figured out food variety, though.

On the flip side, if you are desperate to get her to stop drinking breastmilk, a girlfriend of mine swears by strawberry syrup in cow's milk. Breastmilk, after all, is sweet. Just gradually reduce the amount of syrup until your kiddo is drinking straight milk. And to stop the breastmilk? Go out and get a nice, really intense workout (but don't hurt yourself, please). A few hours later (I think up to 24) the lactic acid buildup (the same stuff that makes your muscles really sore) will make your milk taste a little off. It won't be bad for your daughter, it just won't taste quite the same.

Hang in there, mama!

Hi, E.,
My daughter is also 20 months. She eats a variety of foods, but I too, cannot get her to drink milk of any kind. When I first started her on solids, I went through the whole "why wont she it" anxiety. I just let it go. It seems that when I stopped fighting with her on it, everything got better. If you daughter likes pancakes, give her pancakes. There is no law out there that says she cant eat them at 5 in the evening. It seems to me, that in my circle of friends with toddlers, they are all the same. They have a handful of things they eat and thats about it. As long as your child is thriving, who cares? The best advice I ever recieved was from my own mother. It seems that my brother all but grew up on peanut butter and jelly. He is an adult now and still eats pb&j's. So, I think my point is you dont know what is going through their little minds. Continue to give them what they will eat and hope that it expands to a bigger menu. I certainly can feel your frustration. I have to constantly remind myself that she will be 7 one day and eat with the rest of us. Another thing that has helped me is "acting" like she cant have what I'm eating. The ol' reverse psycology thing. "oh, but you cant have any apple", sure enough she will eat apple.(especially if Daddys eating it!!)

Good luck in your venture!!!
Margaret :)

Don't give in. Only offer good foods. My doctor told me that a child who is offered food will not starve to death. She will eventually eat. She's evidentally not that hungry and very stubborn. Milk is a very filling food.

My kids will eat anything if they can dip it in something else. Ranch dressing, yogurt, sweet and sour sauce, apple sauce, syrup, bbq sauce, any other gooey liquid you can think of. Yes, it can be messy, but it does the trick for us. I give them several choices and sometimes thier combinations are odd, but they eat. Also, I am having a devil of a time weening my 22 month old. I swear I will have her off the breast by the time she is two, but at this point it is looking grim. I have found she dislikes sippy cups, but drinks well from regular cups (once again, a mess, but it is getting fluid into her.) Good Luck!

What about modifying the things she likes. ie. veggie sausage, soy sausage, whole wheat pancakes, sweet potato pancakes(HEB, my daughter's favorite and a great way to get her to eat her veggies)
Personally, I don't see the point in feeding them strawberry or chocolate flavored Pediasure just to get adequate nutrition in them, I would think that it just being chocolate flavor or such would make them more choosy, but that's just me.
We also do games with our food, yeah, I know, we don't play with our food, but broccoli trees (the really small ones) and green bean people. My kids (4 & 2) love meatloaf BUT ONLY if it is "potato bug meatloaf". I make a round top meatloaf, after it is baked, I make some mashed potatoes and add some food coloring (I let them pick the color) and make the "shell" for the potato bug, then use green beans for legs! They eat that poor thing right up.
My DD just recently started eating broccoli and I disguised it by mashing it and puting it into her mac and cheese with some extra veleta cheese. She ate it all up. I did this a couple times, and now she eats the broccoli with almost nothing on it (it only took a couple weeks).
Honestly, sometimes you just have to out wait them!! It's a constant struggle! Good luck.

My neice who is 6, still likes the baby cereal (at their home, they call it mush). The pedi said it was fine since it has vitamins and nutrients in the cereal.

So with that said, maybe mixing some of your breastmilk with the baby ceareal or intermixing... a little breastmilk in a sippy cup and baby cereal to be feed. Also someone suggestion yogurt.

Good luck!
S.

My dd eats on the run. That's how I got her to eat. I often leave cut up apples, bananas or other fruit/veggies. Also crackers, cheese chunks, lunch meat and other "finger" foods. I have also cut up food w/ a cookie cutter and make funny faces with her food. gl

OK, I just gotta say, it is totally untrue that your breastmilk is only as good as your diet. TOTALLY UNTRUE. Sure, if you're drinking or smoking and eating fish full of mercury you've got some problems with your breastmilk and should NOT be BFing, but I doubt that is your situation! Breastmilk is a miraculous thing, and it is the perfect balance of nutrients no matter what you eat. Of course, it's a good idea to have the best possible diet, but you don't have to eat perfectly. This is from kellymom.com:

Do I need to maintain a perfect diet while breastfeeding?
The short answer to this question is NO – you do not need to maintain a perfect diet in order to provide quality milk for your baby. In fact, research tells us that the quality of a mother’s diet has little influence on her milk. Nature is very forgiving – mother’s milk is designed to provide for and protect baby even in times of hardship and famine. A poor diet is more likely to affect the mother than her breastfed baby." here is the link to that page: http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/mom-diet.html

She is getting great nutrients from your breastmilk, though if you're wanting to wean it won't be that way for long!

I agree with the poster that mentioned dipping. My son is a great eater, but he will dip anything into anything!!! When you're comfortable with giving it (some people give it earlier than others), peanut butter is a great source of protein, and it's fun to dip apples in it. I used to blanch fresh veggies (barely boil or steam them so that they maintain all their nutrients and color, but aren't QUITE so hard for a LO to chew) and give them to my son with Ranch (especially the kind I made myself). Fruit in yogurt is wonderful too.

If she wants pancakes all the time, have you tried to make different kinds, like sweet potato pancakes? This would give her an extra bit of nutrition, and they're yummy. Blueberries are a super-food, so full of antioxidants, and my kids love blueberry pancakes.

I also agree about not stressing right now. The more you stress about it the worse it will be.
Good luck!

I know it's rough, I used to work in early child care and all of the children had different eating patterns. First as a mother, I DO NOT reccommend make "special" meals just for her. Then you'll soon be feeling more like a short order cook than like a mother preparing a family meal. Second, your first instincts with waiting her out are exactly what I would have done. Our body's are designed to be able to with stand much more than we give them credit for (even babies and toddlers). She had plenty of fats, proteins, and simple carbs from all of the milk that she was receiving which is why she wasn't exactly dying after 2 days of not eating. From your entry, it seems that she is still on breastmilk, just remember that the nutrients she receives from the breastmilk are only as good as your diet. I would actually stick it out with her, tell her that "We don't have to finish all of our food, but we do have to taste all of our food before we are allowed to leave the table." It maybe just a power struggle for her and a compromise like that might work for the two of you.
As for the weening, she won't really have much of a choice in having "anything to do with" it if you goo cold turkey. The weening didn't work, then cut them out all together. "Only big girl cups are allowed in the house, because we a big girl now".
These are really just suggestions that have worked for us in the a couple of classes that I worked in where there were a few picky-eaters/non-eaters. It can be rough when it's your own child and you're worried that your every decision could do future harm or good. I hope she comes around soon for.

P.S. I am a mom of a soon to be 5 year old girl.

My son is picky too. I don not make special meals for him. HE is expected to eat what we do, and if he doesn't, then he doesn't eat. it takes a while at mealtimes for him to even try food.
I give him a vitamin and just wait for when he is hungry.
When I am desperate for him to eat something, i make him a quesadilla.
flour tortilla, cheese (i sneak chicken inside for a little protein)i also do a super thin layer of butter on the outside of the tortilla so they get nice and crispy. Never fails, he eats it every time.She might like em.
Good luck and i know how you feel. it is a VERY frustrating problem and causes a lot of worry.

I suggested this a couple weeks ago, so I will here too. My son LOVES smoothies that i make him. He has no food allergies, so this is my recipe (adjust as you see fit):
1 cup chocolate milk or pediasure
1 banana (freeze it for a bit so it will serve as a thickener)
1 TBSP peanut butter
2 TBSP oatmeal (optional-as a thickener)
Blend until smooth and serve on ice (or add a little ice into the blender-I find this makes it more watered down)

You can do this with many flavors (use vanilla pediasure with strawberries and almond butter, etc-I am sure you get it)just use about 1/2 cup of fruit.

If I can't get my son to eat, this is a 100% successful sustitute-he has NEVER refused a smoothie. If you have to intice her a bit more to first try it, maybe you could call it a milkshake if she is into ice cream.
Good Luck!

Wow E., I thought my daughter was something else too about eating:) How about if you invite over a friend with a kiddo around her age for lunch and/or dinner? Perhaps if she saw another little one eating the foods she has in front of her, it will encourage her to eat the same things. Also, if she does not want to eat foods, try cutting up some apples or peaches and letting her eat that. It's healthy and although its not giving her the protien she needs, its keeping that belly full. Also, another thing you can try is telling her you want to make her a delicious chocolate smoothy. Get her help to throw some ice in the blender and toss in her pediasure with some fruit. Maybe giving you some help and letting her know that she made it will give her a boost to want to eat her own concoctions:) Good luck!

I know it's nerve-wracking. My son is the same age, and sometimes he won't eat for days either. They WILL eventually eat when they are hungry. As long as your daughter is not losing weight in large amounts, she'll be fine - especially since she's drinking milk or breastmilk.

Every family is different and has their own style. For whatever it's worth, I try not to make a big deal out of food. If he doesn't want to eat, I don't force him and I don't make him "try one bite." For my part, I limit food to meal times and don't let him fill up on snacks between meals.

He'll sometimes go several days without eating much of anything. Then he'll eat like a pig one day, before going back to eating nothing. This behavior is very typical of 1-2 year olds.