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D.C. Area Babies
How do I get my 1 year old to eat more?
LO had his 12 month well visit today and while he's still gaining, he dropped down on the growth chart (and he really doesn't have any room to drop as he's been holding steady at 10th percentile since birth - today he was just off the chart, although he's been sick for the last week or so and what he weighed before he got sick would have put him around 3rd or 5th).
The doctor recommended starting him on pediasure rather than WCM and feeding higher calorie foods and we're going back for a weight check in 6 weeks.
LO isn't that interested in food. He eats pretty much anything, but he gets bored easily. He really dislikes being spoon fed (purees or real food) after a few bites, and much prefers to self-feed. But he isn't quite coordinated enough to self-feed enough food to count, and he gets frustrated, but then won't let me feed him either.
I don't know how I am supposed to get him to eat when he refuses to be fed and can't feed himself enough!
He will usually let me squeeze food in his mouth from the pouches more easily than spoon feeding.
He has things he really likes--oatmeal with blueberries, bananas, chicken noodle soup, chicken, but he just doesn't eat big servings. Tonight he eagerly ate scrambled eggs with cheese, but after about 3 or 4 bites, he refused any more, fr example.
So how can I get his calorie intake up? Any ideas?
I am already planning to start adding butter and olive oil to things, and to feed him tons of avocado and other high-fat foods. But I kind of think it doesn't really make a difference how high fat it is if he'll only eat a couple of bites.
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Re: How do I get my 1 year old to eat more?
How did our babies get to be one year old already?!?!
Would he do mini-potions of many foods/flavors that he can self-feed: 1 avocado slice, half a scrambled egg (w. EVOO), a little pile of cheese, 1 cracker, a ramekin of yogurt, a strawberry cut in half, one triangle of spanikopita, etc. Could he just need more time? V can take 45 minutes to eat a meal sometimes. He tastes something, throws it down--goes on to another flavor that he likes better, then plays with his food, then wants a sip of water (and to splash in it), and only then goes back to item 1 and eats it. We do BLW, so he has to self-feed everything--which probably plays into how long a meal takes--but we'll help reload a spoon if needed. I think he likes the experimentation factor of the textures and flavors as well as the taste.
Could/DCP you give him little bites of things all throughout the day while he plays--just kind of pop it in his mouth (or just offer) and let him much while he goes about his day?
If you are nursing, can you add BM to things? Also, if you've been nursing, have you looked at his weight on a chart for BF babies to see if that looks more reassuring?
More Green For Less Green
I didn't want to tell you this 'til now, but J's been stealing food off his plate and eating his snacks.
heheh
In all seriousness, it sounds like you're doing the right things. He doesn't have other tummy problems, does he?
What about yogurt? I know you said no to letting you feed him purees. DD was exactly the same way, but for some reason she let and still lets us feed her yogurt. Yogurt is also a good one to try for self feeding (even though it's messy). The only reason I'm suggesting it is whole milk yogurt is a good way to get in some good calories. The other thing that DD really likes is quiche. I make a full-size quiche (no crust) and then cut it into small pieces and freeze. It's great for self feeding.
Ditto the PP about more small meals/snacks throughout the day.
Otherwise, it sounds like you're doing all the right things.
There's a Nestie (ijack) on the Money Matters board who has a blog about feeding her toddler who was low weight/failure to thrive.
https://chunkymonkeymenus.blogspot.com/
Maybe she has some ideas to help boost your LO's calorie intake.
We've been struggling with similar issues. This is what has been working for us:
1. Offer food/snacks throughout the day, so if he only eats a little bit at a time, at least he's eating more often. We do a morning snack around 7 am, breakfast at 9 am (at school), lunch at noon (school), snack at 3:30 (school), then mini-snack when we get home at 5, and dinner at 6:30. It sounds like a lot, but some of these meals and snacks are only 3-5 bites of food.
2. Will he eat yogurt? We used to give M full-fat yogurt twice a day, because it was something he'd reliably eat, and it has a good amount of fat and calories. (Now we're down to once a day, because he's drinking more milk.) M can also self-feed yogurt with just a little help, because it's so thick. It stays on the spoon.
3. Offer multiple things for every meal, at least 3 different options. If he gets bored with one thing, he can move on to something else.
Other food ideas: Bananas, quickbreads (like banana and pumpkin), smoothies.
DD2 didn't eat solids until she was 11 months old (she only bfed). She did drop percentiles, but it seemed more like she was leveling off versus really a weight loss issue. When she finally decided to eat it took FOREVER for her to eat. Like 30-45 minutes (which is weird because she was always a super fast nurser; 5-7 minutes as a newborn). Now, at 15 months old, we sometimes struggle because she wants to self feed. She is pretty good, but she can't self feed everything. I usually give her a couple things she can self feed (organic meatballs, nuggets, eggs, cheese toast, grapes, blueberries, etc.) and that she can dip in ketchup and then I feed her the rest of her dinner. She is still slow, around 30 minutes, but she eats a fair amount. Recently she has decided that sometimes she wants to get down after 5 minutes. In that case I let her run around (while DH, DD1 and I are still at the table) and periodically she comes over and takes bites. After a few minutes, she usually wants back up to the table.
Could you make milk/yogurt smoothies? Make it with whole milk yogurt and then pack it with other healthy fats and nutrients (wheat germ, EVOO, fruits, veggies). Also, I always give DD2 a utensil to use. At first she didn't know what to do with it, but she felt like she was a part of her feeding because I would help her scoop or spear the food and then guide it to her mouth.
DD1 was an awesome eater, so this is a new experience for me. The one thing I figured out is that there are no rules. With DD1, because it was easy, then I tried to enforce proper table manners (haha), but with DD2, I just want her to eat, so I let her do things like run around, etc.
you can also try distracting him with something that he'll keep his hands busy while you spoon-feed him
Oh yeah, this is a great point. DD will get Cheerios or other finger foods while we give her something else. For a while she loved dropping her Cheerios in her yogurt - it was a game for her.
I know a couple ladies on my BMB have dealt with this and they do a lot of full fat cheese, butter on everything, Greek yogurt which has more fat I think than regular yogurt. Offering more meals/snacks through the day (I think Dr. Sears recommends having a grazing plate that you can leave out all day to help kids who start being picky eaters at age 1, but it might work in this case too!)
I seem to recall one of them also saying if you go the pediasure route there is one that is better than what you can get in the stores. I'll have to try to dig up that post.
Thanks for the suggestions! I will definitely put them into action.
He will eat whole milk yogurt and actually seems to like it, so we're keeping that in the rotation. He also likes cheese. I think really it's about getting him to eat more.
He is higher on the WHO chart than on the CDC chart, but when I mentioned that, the doctor kind of dismissed it. I know there's a difference, though, so it makes me feel better.
I think we just need to get him used to eating a bit more. Last night he ate a whole squeeze pouch of fruit, 3-4 bites of scrambled egg, and some veggies. We tried to give him some pediasure, but he wasn't having it.
He is so active, too, I'm sure he is just burning calories all day long.