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February 2012 Moms
s/o picky eaters
What are you guys doing about your picky eaters? I feel like I am going to start creating bad habits. DD used to eat ANYTHING, but now, I can't get her to try new things and she often even rejects old favorites. She makes a disgusted face when I hold anything up to her mouth, whether it's a new food or something she previously liked. If I let her pick it up on her own, she will often poke at it like it might still be alive or something. There are a few exceptions (mandarin oranges are always a hit), but I feel like I cannot keep giving her the same 3-4 things. Is that encouraging the behavior if I try a handful of things in one sitting to get her to eat SOMETHING and always end up back at the oranges? When do you just start serving them one thing and say "Ok, if you don't eat that, you don't get anything". Obviously, I feel like DD would not understand me if I said this, but after awhile, would she just get it? This is what I am being offered and that's it? I mean, when they are older, they can tell you when they are hungry, so if they miss a meal because they refuse to eat, they will inevitably tell you when they have a stomach ache from not eating and then that's that. But now, I feel like I have to feed DD SOMETHING because she can't really tell me when she's hungry. Does that make sense? What are you guys doing? Do we just let them be picky for now and keep offering variety and healthy options? But it's okay if she lives off of oranges and animal crackers?? It makes me very nervous with having to wean from formula soon that solids are going to be responsible for all of her nutrients.
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Re: s/o picky eaters
I'm no expert, but I would probably shelf mandarin oranges and animal crackers, for like a month. Right now they should be getting either BM or formula, and if they are hungry they will drink more or eat something else.
For the most part at this point, I work hard on not fighting with Lucia about how much she eats (I used to fight the formula, but we're so close to a year I've stopped). But I don't feed her fruit at every meal (she would much rather eat just that, especially clementines), and I only offer fruit if she has eaten a reasonable amount of food. Except at breakfast where fruit is usually a big part of her main meal (mixed into yogurt or oatmeal and as finger food). If I were you, I would decide what I wanted her to eat, make it a variety, but then let her eat or not eat as she wants to. At this point it's not 'if you don't eat that, you don't get anything' because they get BM or formula(not always right at the meal, but the next time they are hungry or whatever you do). That's one of the bonuses of working on this problem now, instead of waiting until later. Also the longer they have a bad habit, the harder it is to break.
If I find something Lucia specifically doesn't like (peas for example), I don't worry about it or force her to eat them. I offer them every once in awhile just to see, but otherwise they are just off the list (unless mixed into stew or something).
HTH!
BFP 3.8.16 EDD 11.20.16
My ped recommends staying with formula until 18 months. Maybe it would be best not to wean to WCM for a while?
I notice that Eowyn goes through a really picky stage when she is teething. When she feels better she goes back to eating anything and everything. Fingers crossed it stays this way.
My family is a Foreign Service family. Families like mine are posted in every corner of the globe. We live our lives away from family, friends and the conviences and comforts of home. We often live and work in dangerous places among those that misunderstand our intentions and purposes. Sometimes members of our ranks sacrifice our lives to further diplomacy. Please remember that we serve too. And I'm always open to questions.