I have found that the saying “I never said it would be easy, only that it would be worth it” can be applied to many different periods in my life. This time however, I am finding it true when it comes to being a mom and this especially challenging phase Brooke is in. We’ve been so busy this summer I’ve gotten into the habit of packing little baggies of snack food to take with us in the car and while we are out. Now I feel like that has come back to bite me in a big way. At her 15-month appointment, my doctor warned me that babies can start to become pickier eaters. I never knew how true that was. What happened to my good little eater? Brooke, who used to eat anything and everything we put in front of her, now barely touches anything at all. She wants milk and snacks and that’s it. Her longtime favorites she just throws on the floor or barely takes two bites of and she refuses to touch any veggies altogether. Last night she happily ate up some BBQ chicken we were feeding her and I was so excited. I saved some leftovers for her to eat today and when I tried to get her to eat it, she stuck her nose up at it. She no longer wants water in her sippie cup, just milk or juice. What’s the deal?! I am going crazy trying to figure out what she will eat. Here’s a typical menu:
Breakfast: sippie cup of milk, small handful of dry cereal (maybe) and half a waffle (maybe)
Lunch: ??? Totally depends on the day. Maybe a thing of string cheese or yogurt, some grapes, and a few bites of Vienna sausage if I’m lucky
Dinner: ??? Maybe some pasta or a tiny bit of whatever we’re eating
but some days I feel like she literally eats nothing. Oh, but she’s always up for eating snacks or some dessert. I’ve been trying to be better about not having as many snacky foods during the day so she’ll eat better at meals, but I don’t feel like that is helping. It also doesn’t help when Brooke will come up and sign to me that she is hungry so I’ll put her in the highchair, give her something to eat, and then she won’t want it. So I get her out and she’ll come up to me a few minutes later signing again that she is hungry! I think when she does this, she is expecting snack foods like goldfish or a juicebox and doesn’t want any real food I try to give her. I’m fine with snacks, just not all day long!
It’s so frustrating trying to guess at each meal what Brooke will actually want to eat and having most of it end up on the floor anyway. I’m also going crazy stressing over her getting a balanced diet. What can I do?
8 comments:
I'm going to check your follow-up comments to see what advice you get. Mine is just to be persistent, and that's easier said then done!
When Owen hit 18 months, my good little eater left. His dr just said to continue offering and he'll eat when he gets hungry and to not make him many meals for one meal (if that makes sense). I've found he eats better when I give him choices and he decides what he eats for example pb&j or pb& honey for lunch. This is a very frustrating phase and Owen is just now showing signs that he might just be interested in food again...on some days. Good luck!!
I agree with both Ryanne and Anya. Persistence is the key. Continue to offer, but don't get frustrated if they don't want it. I have done this with both of my girls and it has paid off. The older they get, the less picky they are. They both eat vegetables and love fruits now, but it wasn't always that way. To be quite honest, Kenzi lived off of hot dogs for the longest time because that is all she would eat. For Brooke it was chicken nuggets. I would always give them what they would eat, and then at night offer them what we are eating. Now that they are older I totally bribe them with a treat. Kenzi gets 4 m & m's if she eats all of her dinner. Not a bad trade off if you ask me! Brooke is still pretty picky, but we are getting there. Call me a bad mom, but I think 4 small pieces of candy is a great trade for eating a healthy well balanced meal! It is super frustrating though. Kenzi used to throw up over every little thing. It made me so mad! Hang in there! I promise it gets better.
So here is my small bit of advice because I use to be really concerned about this and talk to my ped about...they said that a toddler will only eat 1 good meal every 5 days. I didn't believe it until I started to count and sure enough it was just about that. When they are that little they dont' need as much as we think at once since their tummies are so small. They also said make sure that you don't force feed them at any one given meal, however just find things to give for snacks that are pretty healthy. And also most kids will not like something until they have tried it at least 10times so don't worry or give up on that.
I'm with Sarah. But I also had a snack spot for Carter. I left raisins, Pb and J bits, crackers, apple chucks, even frozen peas out on a plate for him on a little table with a chair and he would graze for an hour or so, like at lunch. He would take a few bites, go play, then come back and eat some more. That way he was in charge of his eating and I didn't worry about it. But yeah, one meal every 5 days is about right. Even for as old as Olivia is, I don't worry when she doesn't eat. Some days she does, some not so much.
We have this problem, too. This was already mentioned, but Sophie definitely eats better when I give her two choices. Sometimes I have to be tricky about it. For example, I will ask her if she wants her pasta warm or cold. Either way, she is eating pasta, but she feels like she is in control. It doesn't always work, but it has really helped.
I also agree with what was said earlier about not pushing it. I know I have days when I feel like she has hardly eaten at all, but then the next day she eats like a ravenous wolf. Rather than looking at her diet on a day-by-day basis, try looking at it weekly. When I started doing this, I realized she wasn't eating as poorly as I thought.
My comment" "Have seven kids and you don't care what anyone eats. Just get it on and off and start on the next meal. So.....
Just Kidding. I think your friends have it pegged. I really liked the idea of having it available so when she does want to eat she can. These Moms are probably doing just what you are. What great parents these cute little Kiddies have.
I remember we would do the bribe, force, stand on our head act with Paul. Nothing worked and look how tall and healthy he was. The only trouble was when he went to school and they made him eat hot lunch. He hated it. And the hot lunch ladies arms jiggling grossed him out even more. Guess what? His mom now has those dreadful arms. How did I get on all of this? Sorry, I am very old.
Erik is the same way! He refuses to drink water and I actually find him in the fridge trying to pour it himself! Or he is on the counter eating fruit snacks. Breakfast, lunch and dinner don't usually go over very well because he is so full from his snacks that he snuck in!
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