Help me with my picky eater!

OH1008 · October 2013

A normal lurker here, but I need some advice before I pull my hair out. (Sorry in advance for the long post.)

My 16 month old is the most picky eater. I am constantly worrying about the nutrition that he is getting. He has gained weight (at least he had gained almost 2 pounds between is 12 mo. and 15 mo. checkup) and he doesn't look unhealthy by any means...but I just don't think he eats what he should. Everyone, family and friends, tells me not to worry about it and that he will eat when he is hungry. But, as a first time mom, it is hard to take that advice.

He barely eats any meat. No beef - I've tried everything (even hiding it in food). He will eat chicken on occasion - but only if it is either hidden in something or he has ranch dressing to dip it in. He will not eat sausage, pork chops, pork loin, etc. He will eat ham and once in a while he will eat a hot dog.

He barely eats any veggies - No green beans, no squash, no broccoli, no cauliflower, no carrots, no peas, no peppers. He will eat a little bit of corn, and he will eat sweet potatoes. He likes tomatoes and avacados (which are technically fruit.) He will eat potatoes fixed various ways. I have tried doing mashed cauliflower - no go. I have tried making the carrots glazed with a little brown sugar thinking the sweetness would help. Nope - not happening. Everything either gets spit out of flung onto the floor. I absolutely dread mealtime.

He will eat most fruit - which I am thankful for. And, for the most part he likes pasta/noodles with sauce (as long as the sauce doesn't have meat or veggies in it.)

Meal planning is a nightmare because I am trying to think of different things he would be willing/able to eat. I definitely do not want to become one of those people that have to fix an entirely different meal for their children. Breakfast is a nightmare - he hates eggs, hates pancakes, won't touch waffles, don't even think about trying to serve French toast. He will eat cereal, and he will eat yogurt.

The last month has been even more awful than normal. He is barely wanting to eat anything at all. He doesn't even want his tried and true favorites, but I honestly think he is probably getting burnt out on them. But he won't eat anything else! He still only has 2 teeth. He is good about drinking liquids. I would say he drinks about 10 - 15 oz. of whole milk a day and he loves water.

Anyone else dealing with this or has crossed this hurdle? This momma is ready to scream! Thank you!

greyt00 · October 2013

Dealing with this. My 14 month old (my siggy WILL NOT UPDATE!) has gotten very picky and it's worrying me. He used to eat broccoli and sometimes green beans, zucchini, and peas, but he dropped everything except broccoli for 2-3 weeks and now for the last several days won't even eat broccoli. He used to eat apple and banana but hasn't in weeks. He's now getting constipated because he won't eat any fruit or veggies. Well, he ate the prune puree I gave him a couple days ago -- I need to get more. The only meat he eats is scrambled eggs. I'm thankful he eats that, but sometimes he won't eat much of it. He wants carbs, bread, but won't even eat mashed potatoes. I tried adding butter to the veggies and he still wouldn't eat it.

He will sometimes put stuff in his mouth and then spit it out. And then put the same food back in and spit it out again. He ate 2 bites of fish stick a couple days ago. The rest of the pieces he put in his mouth were spit out.

At daycare they say he usually TRIES stuff. But he keeps rejecting foods he used to eat and not adding any new ones. Pretty soon he won't be eating anything. If I keep stuffing him with carbs he will get more constipated (not to mention he needs nutrients....) Day care wants to give him baby cereal at lunch if he won't eat their food. More carbs. They think I'm starving him. If he was starving wouldn't he eat something? (barring some severe issue like autism or SPD -- please do not even go there)

FWIW my son has 10 teeth. I think the cuspids are trying to come in, as he's drooling a lot again. He started to get really picky at around 11 months old. Prior to that, he'd eat LOTS of things.

MNmama7112 · October 2013

I haven't dealt with this personally but have several friends who have very picky eaters and are struggling a lot like you. What they aren't doing but it seems you are is continuing to offer a variety of foods. Rather than offer foods they know their kids won't eat, they've stopped in favor of giving them things they know they'll eat. To me (and I'm sure it's easy for me to say since I am not personally dealing with this), I think all you can do is continue to offer a wide variety of foods. Continue giving your DS what you're eating. I'd include at least one food you know he'll eat. For example, if you are having pot roast for dinner, offer that to him. But also offer him oranges or a fruit you know he likes. I think continued exposure, at some point, at least has to have some impact.

Some kids might just be pickier eaters than others. That's OK, IMO. But what you're trying to avoid, I think, is catering to his pickiness and I would completely agree you're doing the right thing. Also, since he seems to be gaining weight appropriately, I'd just try to reassure myself with that. If there aren't weight concerns and he seems like a typical kid otherwise, I would try to not worry. You're doing a great job, just stay strong in not making him his own meal. My friend gives her kid toast with nutella or mac 'n cheese every night because that's all he'll eat. But she doesn't even offer him anything else, so he doesn't have much of a chance to even try something he's previously dismissed.

Good luck, mama!

traveltheworld · October 2013

Do you eat with him? We find that if DS sees us eating something, he wants to try it. Most of the time he spits it back out, but we have gotten him to accept a few new foods that way. Also, LOs are very capricious. DS used to hate eggs, lettuce, zuchini and beef and now he likes it. I just keep offering.

DS also went through a "no meat, no veggie" stage. I gave him a lot of ravioli stuffed with chicken/beef, cheese and veggies. Sometimes he'd pick out the fillings and just eat the shell of the ravioli, but sometimes he ate the whole thing.

Just keep trying. I know it's super frustrating.

dcb101010 · October 2013

Have you tried the pureed food pouches that Gerber and other companies make? My son is a pretty good eater (knock on wood) but when he's going through a picky day where he suddenly doesn't like anything, I'll offer him a pouch with his meal, and at least I know he's getting some veggies. They usually do fruit-vegetable blends, like broccoli apple, apple carrot, pear and pea, etc. And he absolutely loves those.

I'm not sure, but this might make you feel a little better. It's actually biologically appropriate to reject vegetables. In nature, sweetness identifies what is safe to eat. That's why fruit is so popular. Plus, the whole point of fruit is for an animal to eat it and poop out the seed some distance away from the parent plant, so it's definitely meant to be eaten and naturally as appealing as possible to eat. Vegetables, on the other hand, though full of nutrients, do not benefit from being eaten. That is, the plant itself gains nothing by being eaten (whereas it does gain from its fruit being eaten). So vegetables lack the sweetness that indicates their safety for consumption. The reason many adults will eat them anyway is because we know they are good for us, and in many cases we learn to enjoy them. Most toddlers could care less that something is good for them. It's probably a phase and will most likely pass. Keep offering him what you are eating, plus a couple of healthy standbys that he likes. Eventually he'll get the idea that if he wants a full belly, he'd better eat what you're offering!

preggersin2011 · October 2013

Does your kid like beans? LO loves them- easy protein

My kid will dip anything into hummus, applesauce, salsa, or peanut butter. I would say 9/10 times LO eats anything I give her, on the odd day she'll survive on yogurt, apples, and peanut butter on graham crackers. I just try to make sure the other 9/10 times are well balanced. I do a lot of vegetarian dishes with LO since they need protein in the diet, but shouldn't really have more than a serving of meat/chicken/fish per day. LO won't eat ground beef but will eat steak. Sometimes it is silly things like that. I made a cod chowder that i portion out and serve as a hot soup on the weekends.

Easy dinner for me to get dinner on the table in 20min is saute onion/garlic some veggies, make a pan sauce and toss in some pasta.

Have you tried cinnamon? LO won't eat any squash unless it has cinnamon on it...

As far as the day care food goes- is it healthy? does it look like cafeteria food? LO wont eat a lot of the meals at school and i don't blame her. I wouldn't want to eat it either. I keep a jar of sunbutter in her cabinet for the teachers to always have a back up option for her.

LO started solids by eating dinner off of my plate. Most nights when we get home I bring my plate to the table & a plate for LO, then serve her off of my plate. I guess i'm fairly strict about table manners. If LO throws her food she is done and is excused from the table while I finish my meal. I usually will wait about 20 mins before i let her try again, long enough for me to finish/clean up and for LO to recover from the tantrum

She does go through "i dont like that" phases but i keep putting it on her plate. Until 18-24m they aren't in the area where is might take 15 times to see something & try it before they will like it.

greyt00 · October 2013

And now he won't eat scrambled eggs anymore. The last "good" food he ate is gone, replaced with no new ones. Ugh.

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