Not a good eater

SparkySharky

I don't know why I haven't come to this board sooner! It's great to read about where everyone else is with their LOs.

My issue: DS started out as a great eater and now he's horrible. Sometimes he'll have a few bites, sometimes he won't even try a food, sometimes he eats everything and seems to want seconds, but then will refuse the next time. We'll do 8-9 courses sometimes just to try to get enough food in him. At night it can be really frustrating bc he'll wake up 1-3 times a night if he didn't eat a full dinner. He's in the 75% for weight so, overall, he's getting enough, but the days he doesn't are rough and bothersome.

We've tried chicken nuggets, hotdogs, fish sticks, goldfish, fruits of all kinda, veggies (which he rarely eats), pasta, rice, potatoes, yogurt, cheese, apple sauce, oatmeal, cereal, peanut butter, waffles, eggs, etc. etc. We try giving him some of our meals (which he rarely eats), but mostly stick to fixing separate meals.

Sometimes it seems like he just wants to feed himself, so we'll give him the spoon or let him use his hands or let him play w the food, but sometimes even this doesn't get it done. Is anyone else having trouble like this?

Kmartinrvt13

My DD is like this. She's more of a snacker than anything. She usually eats a great breakfast, then it's hit or miss with lunch and rarely eats dinner. So I found that if I can give her what I offered for dinner only not in her highchair, she's more apt to eat. So she usually eats some fruits and goldfish before bed and that seems to help us.

LBStewart

DD is similar to this sometimes.  She's really inconsistent with her eating.  We were at the pedi last week and he said that it's really common at this age for LOs to become picky, even if they were really good eaters before.  I just keep trying different things and eventually DD will eat something.  She definitely lets me know when she either doesn't like something or she's done.  I don't try to force things.  DD is the same way with the spoon too.  Cottage cheese is one of our go to foods and she'll usually take a bite or two, but then wants to "feed" herself.  I just let her try and don't worry about the mess.

billybumbler

I think at this age they also start picking up on the fact that we really want them to eat so they start to test boundaries by not eating. I also don't cook a separate meal for DD and let her feed herself if she wants. I try to be as nonchalant as possible about her eating - here's the food, oh you don't want it, fine. Usually if she doesn't wanna eat I'll let her down from her highchair, then a couple of minutes later she will come back and ask to eat. I find it helps a lot if you don't make a big deal of it.

kerrigrooves

what the PP said!  If we walk away and let her eat alone, we'll come back and she'll have eaten more than if we stayed and talked her into it.  I also have been putting the main protein on a spoon and handing it to her and that seems to help too.

but some nights she wont eat dinner at all and its very frustrating...

credcat7

Sammie is all about her fork.  if you stick a mite on it she will eat it 90%  of the time... and she can now usually pierce her own food .. wlikePP we try to not fuss over her during meals .. and of a sudden her food is disappearing... but on the occasions she doe't want anything we have for her...I make sure she drinks water and figure she just isn't hungry.  The one difference for me is we don't do lots of snack between meals... maybe some raisins for the parks or something... mainly because I want her to genuinely be hungry at meal time.

tngrl3

N has become more picky lately but he still eats decent most days. He feeds himself and always has since we did baby led weaning. Sometimes I still feed him yogurt but usually I just preload the spoon and hand it over. He is getting quite good with forks and spoons and likes eating off of them. Kids go through phases. I just keep offering a variety and try not to stress too much. I try and included at least one thing I know he will eat without fail but he basically just eats what we do.

fusionbride

how long has the picky phase been?  teething?

LO does have occasional meals where she won't eat much-- I try to offer at least 3 different foods at each meal, at least one of which I know she likes.  And sometimes she just doesn't eat that much, and I think it is OK to stop the meal and offer again at the next meal.  I do offer milk in a cup after most meals, especially dinner.  But I don't let her take more than 16 or 20 oz in a day.  And we don't do snacks.

It's not always practical, but I do find she eats better if she's eating at the same time as us, and we are sort of in our own conversation and she's just chowing down on the side.  If we are staring at her during the meal, she wants to play with and engage us which distracts her from actually eating.

But, I think picky eating comes with this age-- just keep offering a variety of foods and don't worry if he skips a meal here or there.  If he skips dinner, he should make up for it at breakfast.

SparkySharky

Thanks for the help. All of this is so similar to DS's eating habits.

I'll be trying and doing more of everything above.