Can my 15 month old eat anything now?

[annary]

I cant believe my boy is already 15 months....I havnt posted for a while, in fact the last one was when i need help in weaning off bottles and getting him to eat more!! Well, months have passed and he went from eating like a horse to become quite a picky eater. He seens to have gone back to not wanting any lumps in his purreed food, yet he gets stuck into lots of finger foods- crunchy lumpy stuck!
He will front load canned spag bol. but not my purees (which used to be the only thing he WOULD eat). He is determined to feed himself, at least start himself off, which I find very sweet (although I hope O wont be having any health and safety officers visiting to inspect my kitchen floor). I am now thinking of giving him our food and just see how he gets on, because I am a working mum and cant justify spending the hours in kitchen I have been doing, to then have the stuff chucked on the floor. He has had no allergy problem so far, and is a big boy- keen on food in general although picky. Can I just go for it now? Thanx in advance

[¤ Efka ¤]

I cant see any wrong , given  like you said he has no allergies, not to give him food what you are having. Of course if it is completely new food, I would give him a tiny bit at first.

[KathrynK]

dd is almost 15 months and has pretty much what we have. I try to avoid cooking with sauces which are high in salt- before dd I would use ready made sauces, now I try to make my own (I guess it's better for all of us  ).
She has the same breakfast as us- cereal or toast, and fruit; we always have lunch together when dh is at work, perhaps a sandwich, beans on toast, some soup or an omelette etc. She has dinner at 5pm and I have mine with dh at 7pm once dd is in bed, but she still tends to eat the same food- I will prepare double the amount for me & dh, and split the leftovers into dd-size portions and freeze.
The only things I always buy just for her tend to be yoghurts- I buy low-fat for me so buy special kids ones for her- and her snacks. There are some great toddler snacks in the supermarkets which are sugar and salt free so I don't mind spending a bit more on those. Organix have a good selection. Also at the moment she loves Humzingers- they are a "stick" made from a mixture of dried and fresh fruit.
I have been slow to introduce berries due to allergies in our family- strawberries can be potential allergen. She has had strawberry yohgurt made with real fruit but not the actual fruit itself yet. She's had all other kinds of berries now though. The only thing I am still avoiding is nuts, we have been advised to avoid them until age 3 just in case.
I think it's natural to be cautious about what they eat but I keep telling myself the more variety of tastes and textures she has now, the less likely she is to be a fussy eater later. And it's bizarre what they decide they like the best- her current favourites are garlic bread and broccoli!
hope this helps
kathryn

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

Theo was 15 months yesterday and has been eating the same meals as us for since 12 months. We do cut up the foods for him but he feeds himself for every meal and loves to eat the same foods as us. I could b=never get away with him not having the same food as us or his brother, but then he is and always has been a boy who loves his food and eats anything and everything you put infront of him (except eggs). lol

He quit BF'ing @ 10.5 months and has been on cows milk since.  The only thing he hasn't tried yet are the berries (with the exception to strawberries).

[annary]

Thank you all! I wish I could say Thomas is adventurous with his eating, but perhaps I havnt been adventurous enough myself with what I give him. If he refuses what I give him, should I just throw that lot away and try again the next day, or move on? And should I give him something else which I know he will eat instead. Instincts tell me no, but what do you think? Also, one more question- I still give him a small bottle at 9 am, he has brekky at 6.45-7 am, and another small one at 12.30 when he goes down for his nap? Something tells me I should not be doing that either? Any tips? Many thanks in advance.

[KathrynK]

hi again anna
Sophie loves her food but on the rare occasion she has refused something I have taken it away, and replaced it with something else (usually something I know she will eat but not necessarily a favourite)- if she then refuses that as well I will give up and try again later, depending on the circumstances.
Thomas may be having too much milk and it's affecting his appetite. Sophie now has 8oz milk on waking at 6.30am, breakfast at 8, snack at 10.30, lunch at 12.30, dinner at 5 and 8oz milk at 7pm before bed. During the day I offer water in a beaker with & between meals. Many offer milk in a beaker with meals but Sophie won't have it that way so it works for us to stick to first thing & bedtime. If you want him to have milk during the day I would try it in a beaker with meals so as a supplement to the meal rather than replacing food. It is good for them to have lots of milk but cheese & yoghurt are just as good.

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

We have been pretty lucky with both boys as Harvey only disliked the texture of broccoli and Theo egg.  Harvey did refuse foods sometimes but would take to them when i tried him about a week later or if i mashed it up. 
Saying that. they are vegetarians and have never tried meet but do eat quorn and other substitutes.

Maybe you could keep the bottle for his nap and start by removing the morning bottle.  Harvey still had a bottle up until a couple of months before his 3rd birthday when the bottle fairy came and left a present in its place. But he was old enough to understand this and he only had water in a bootle for naps and night time but nothing else.

[annary]

Thank you both for replying so quickly. I think I will start by taking away the lunchtime bottle. Sometimes, when properly tired he has his lovely long nap without the bottle.
I tried pasta in a tomata passata today at dinner time and he didnt seem to to mind it. I have to let him feed himself now though, as if I get in the way he just gets frustrated and fed up!, but thsis mean I have no way of knowing how much he actually eats, as there is always a delightful smear of food everywhere.
Do you have any thouhts on the differences between the baby porridge and adult porridge? Thomas fronts loads the baby stuff which I make with real milk, and always gets a few mouthfuls of mine. I was thinking that maybe the adult stuff may be more filling?     thankx again.

[KathrynK]

as long as the adult porridge is sugar free and additive free I would guess the only difference is the baby stuff costs 10x more! my lo has adult cereals now including porridge so go for it. LO always wants what we are eating now, even if it's the same as what she has, she will want to eat daddy's, lol.

[annary]

Brill! I will finish the box of expensive stuff and then its rolled oats for Thomas! Many thanks. I supplemented his morning bottle today with a yoghurt and a biscuit. He lasted out the monring ok. Unfortunately I had to leave him with my child minder for the late morning and she let him snack Grrrrrrrrrr....so he he didnt eat his lunch- fell asleep on the bottle and is still napping. So tomorrow is military operation for successful lunch! Thanks again for your help.

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

GGGGRRR at childminders. I would've gone up the wall

[holdenlouis]

My ds eats anything except eggs but he likes french toast with fruit spread. We also have a bottle before nap and bed. I was thinking I should probably start taking that away. Also I always give him finger foods to feed himself while I spoon feed purees or gerber graduate for toddlers. He loves the spaghetti and meatballs and spaghetti rings. Then I know how much he is getting but he usually eats so well. I usually give him grilled cheese and or veggies. He loves diced peas and carrots.