I think I just need to moan!

[lisi's mum]

I'm fed up to the back teeth with dd and food. I know she's 2, she's learning manipulation nicely but I've just had enough - I can't remember the last time she ate a decent meal.

A couple weeks ago she was only on raw veg and milk, that's still the favourite. Today she had milk and a bite of bread for breakfast, lunch was half an egg and cucumber, more milk after her nap and dinner a whole 3tsp of risotto with ham and veggies. Oh, and then milk before bed - so over a pint in total, but she has to get calories from SOMEWHERE!

I know she likes everything I tried giving her today, anything suspicious or new is being flatly refused. She used to like almost all fruit and veg, now the list of no nos is growing fast. Ugh.

I try to eat breakfast and lunch with her, dh doesn't get home til late, so I eat with him - about the only "quality" time he and I get right now before I collapse exhausted on the sofa. However, eating with her doesn't seem to make any difference. I'm just so fed up of throwing away food, cooking things I know she normally likes to have them be refused. Tempted to resort to just opening baby food jars, but she never liked them either.

Sorry for the rambling moan, does anybody have a magic wand?

[aisling]

Sorry, no wand, just hugs.

A x

[Mum to cool dude]

I am still looking for the answer to your question myself, but I understand. On the plus point, what your DD ate today was pretty healthy.

I do the same thing you do - eating with my LO - because I believe that if they see a food often enough, they may eventually be willing to try it. It worked here with boiled eggs and porridge, which I have every morning.

You have the additional problem of the milk. I can see why you want her to have it but it probably doesn't help with her appetite and I would personally try to cut it down progressively

[em_here]

}}}}hugs{{{{{{{{ we go through this on and off, very frustrating  Going thru it again atm, DS had 4 teaspoons of frosties this morn, cheese sandwich some of this aft, and one bite of potato for dinner  We also make sure he has the pint of milk, makes me feel better about the crappy eating

[Duckie]

Well, I think Jacob is currently living on a diet of 24ozs of milk and watermelon cubes.  Though he did eat 3 bites of toast and part of a banana today.  And french fries.  I can get him to eat his weight in french fries and Mac 'n cheese.

And yet, he's 30lbs.  HOW??

[Deb_in_oz]

this is totally normal although frustrating - i always say "if it weren't for having to feed my kids"... i would be happy.  I have posted before about this that the only thing that helps me is reminding myself "it is my job to provide good, healthy food and then it is up to them to eat it". i tel myself this and then try to "let it go" as i feel so guilty like "I" am failing at this apparently simple thing called feeding children, but it is really up to them and as long as they ARE healthy and growing i believe the right thing to do is let it go.  i will never be that mom who forces my kids to eat their meal or they can't leave the table - i don't even do the "just take one more bite" even though it takes all my willpower to bite my tongue. they somehow survive from the food they eat on big eating days. (and they have SO MUCH energy which really floors me - if i ate that little i would be laying on the sofa weak and loopy)

all in all the most frustrating part of each day for me so i feel for you.

[RachelC]

{{{hugs}}}} Katie 

[Layla]

{{{{{HUGS}}}}

My girls alternate... one will eat really well while the other will live on breakfast & morning snack alone & the next day they switch roles, lol.

I am the same as Deb... I give her food & if she wants she eats... if she doesn't let her be! I have NO idea how she manages to run around as much as she does & then do 14-15hrs w/o food all night .

[lisi's mum]

Thanks for all your hugs and tips!

After talking with dh we've decided that as often as possible I'll make the same for her at dinner as we're going to have too, and leave dh to eat heated up for a while. At least this way I'm not cooking a whole meal for dd just to have to throw it away.

We also decided that she'll just have to have what we eat, and if she doens't like it, well tough as it makes no difference when I cook Lisi friendly food anyhow. Don't know how she'll take to sauerkraut tonight, but maybe I'll get a surprise.

I'm very guilty of that "just one more bite, and then..." Think I'm going to have to get myself a muzzle 

Wish us luck!

xxx

[mcruari]

Oh Katie - I sympathize with you.
Clarissa has never been a great eater and anything new is totally refused so I just gave up and I give her what she wants. I often bribe with a sweet or a chocolate or a cartoon which I know is totally wrong *wrists already slapped* but hey if it gets us through the day/evening, to heck with it I say. Her typical diet is as follows (just so you see how boring I/we are):

Breakfast: 2 slices of 5 cereal bread with strawberry jams with a cup of juice
Lunch: Chicken or ham with either smiley faces or foccaccia and maybe raw carrots
Snack: yogurt or banana or a few biscuits with juice
Dinner: 50/60gr Rice or pasta with a drop of ex-virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese and a fruit mousse

That is her diet 365 days of the year there are a few varieties at school where she apparently eats everything and at the w/e when I cook a little more.

It is a tedious journey and I am hoping that my next child will have a healthy appetite and not be picky like Clarissa.

One thing for sure - our kids will never become obese

[Tamara]

Same problem here 

Elin is incredibly picky + the older she gets, the less foods she seems willing to eat, even ones I know she likes because she's eaten them when younger.

Elin's typical foods that are rotted day-in, day-out:-

Anything breaded (eg, chicken goujons/nuggets, fish goujons/fingers)
Ham
Chicken
Toast (either with just butter or with honey)
tomato soup
cereal - practically any cereal
raw carrot
a good variety of fruit (luckily)
bread + butter (white bread @ that!)
Lunch-box for school - invariably a ham/salmon/honey sandwich, pineapple juice or fruit smoothie, fruit (under duress at times) some healthy Organixs crisps (chips)
any chocolate/sweets 
LOTS of milk and tea (weak, sugarless + milky)
she eats no pasta or rice, and barely any poatato, not even in chip (fries) form
she's stopped eating eggs recently

and of the things she does eat, she eats the teensiest amounts ever!!!

We tend to go with it tbh, she's old enough at over 4.5 yo to decide when she's full/hungry + what she does/doesn't like.

She eats a good breakfast each day before school, has fruit + milk at school, her lunchbox at school, a snack on coming home (usually toast + tea, or  gingerbread man) and then an evening meal with us where we try and give her the same as us and encourage her to at least try things.  If she doesn't want it - fine, she's allowed nothing else but fruit and her usual cup of milk before bed.

It can be frustrating at times - but she's growing, healthy + like I said before, IMO old enough to know when she's hungry or not.

Not much help I know Katie - but just wanted to share with you 

[lisi's mum]

I starved her today  no snacks, no milk after her nap - she didn't ask so she didn't get 

it worked though - a decent amount of soup at lunch time, she started asking for lunch at around 5.30, got staved off with sticks of pepper and a half a cucumber, then ate a WHOLE sausage - these sausages are the size that even I only eat one! And - get this - sauerkraut  only a bite of potato, but a bite's a bite. And yogurt, and cheerios.

So, if I can even things out a bit, that at a meal time she's hungry, but not absolutely starving I might get somewhere. Knowing so many other kids who just shovel food in, and loving food myself I have such a hard time accepting that her appetite is as small as it is!

To paraphrase you, Sinead - they may get all sorts of other issues, but obesity probably won't be one of them!

[jusbethw]

well done, Katie!  Keep up the good work!  I love Deb's idea that it is our job to provide, and the child's job to eat it.  It goes along with the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

[Mom2katiebug]

I'm right there with you Katie.  The Bug is a terrible eater (except aparently at daycare).  She must have had a growth spurt recently cuz she was scarfing down 2 eggs or 2 waffle or an egg and waffle at her meals.  Now I'm lucky if she has 3 bites before calling it quits.  SO FRUSTRATING!!!!