BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Eating For Toddlers => Topic started by: RachelzMommy on November 19, 2006, 22:30:32 pm
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Rachel teethed very late, and has only recently gotten about five upper and five lower teeth. Still no molars. Still I'm not sure this has anything to do with the fact that she will not take a single bite of real fruit. She will eat peas, broccoli, corn, and has tried a few other types of veggies. But not a single piece of fruit crosses her lips. However, she eats babyfood jars of apples, pears, bananas, etc., so I know it's not the taste. She also refuses to eat any meats (which she actually used to eat). Our meals consists of eggs, cereal, yogurt (with oatmeal mixed in), pasta with cheese sauce (I used whole wheat pasta and make the cheese sauce myself so I don't feel that it's junk food) and jars of carrots, peas, etc. or whole veggies. I am not really worried about her not getting the proper nutrition, in fact we had our 18 month visit on Friday and the doc said she's great. Still, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about this refusal of foods. I hate to waste foods, and that's what happens if I offer her slices of fruit and she throws it all over the place. Or make chicken, etc. and that ends up on the ceiling. Am I really just supposed to put something on her plate all the time? Cuz the minute she sees something she doesn't recognize, out it goes and usually this results in her refusal to eat anything at all. It's like she doesn't trust me to feed her anything good cuz I've tried to trick her. Any advice will be helpful though, thanks.
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Hiya,
Our lo also frustrates us by refusing to eat fresh fruit. She'll eat all the puree varieties but its a losing battle to get her to eat a fresh piece of pear or apple. I have no idea why and don't think it's teeth related. She has the same number of teeth as your little one and can gum her way through crackers no problem.
We have also tried sneaky ways to get fresh fruit into her like cutting up pear and stirring it into yoghurt. This never works for us though as she refuses to eat things with lumps in it ARGHHHHHH
What has worked for us is the repeated offering game. We believe that you really do have to offer a food up to a dozen times before they will try some. Can be frustrating and wasteful but we eat all the apples and banana's she rejects and the dog gets all the other nourishing, lovingly prepared casseroles etc that she also refuses.
It is frustrating but seemingly normal.
At the moment Riley will usually only eat meat patties (chicken or beef), vegetable patties, fish fingers and egg with toast fingers. Annoyingly enough she'll eat anything they put in front of her at daycare!
Soph
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Its probably a texture thing with the fruit and meat. Just put one piece on her plate at meal times. She'll either eventually eat it or not.
FYI - Henry ate pureed veggies until he was almost 2. Since I stopped giving him pureed veggies, he eats NO veggies. ::) He's very healthy so I try not to be overly concerned. I also give him a multivitamin every day to help with his nutritional needs.
HTH!
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We also give Riley a multivitamin a day to overcome the lack of fresh fruit and veg....
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DS is just starting to eat chicken, but most meats are completely rejected. I don't know if you've tried mandarin orange segments (in pear juice - we usually just buy the canned/tinned variety), but it was the first kind of fruit that DS actually ate. I think he found it nice and juicy, and it was easy for him to mush in his mouth. He also likes peach pieces, but sometimes they can be kind of hard (same with pears sometimes). I don't know why, but I've had an easier time giving DS canned fruits than fresh fruits. Are the canned/tinned fruits cooked a bit?
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I found ds#2 would rather eat a whole apple than peices, ds#1 & I would be eating apples & he'd want some of mine & so ate it that way... I still find it hard to get him to eat peices or other fruit or veg, but the whole one goes no worry.
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I think I am going to try boiling up some carrots and pureeing (sp?) them then mixing them in with an apple puree. If that works I might try pumpkin next! I will still offer her some un-mushed carrot sticks and one day she might surprise me!
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One of my DS's favorite vegetables is parsnips. If your LO likes carrots, you might want to try parsnips, too. It's really nice and sweet.
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One trick we've tried which works well with apples is to steam them lightly so that they're much softer to eat - they're still in pieces but closer in texture to applesauce. I occasionally sprinkle a bit of cinammon on them too which DD likes!
I also agree with Sophie that repetition pays off. My LO loved avocado when she first started solids but then we went through a phase where she rejected it for weeks. I'd occasionally put it on her plate and if she didn't want it, i'd just add it to my sandwich. One day she just decided it was cool to eat again and we haven't had problems since.
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Aren't our lo's a funny bunch?
Sometimes Riley will not eat things that I give him at mealtimes, but will surprise me if I offer them at different times and in a different situation. For example, he is for somereason more willing to try new things on his snack tray in his stroller while we are out for a walk. Or he will eat from my plate, or from a little snack bowl while he is sitting on the floor or sofa.
And you really do have to keep trying again and again and again.....I have to keep this in mind may days when I am wiping his food off the floor and walls ::)