Extremely picky eater... both tastes and textures

[cbell]

I've been on here before about my very picky almost 1 yr old girl so I thought I would just talk about the latest hurdle I am trying to get over (one of many at the moment). Anyways my lo is almost a year old and I swear if it wasn't for fruit, cheerios, fruit puffs and her formula I don't know what she would live on. I know the motto is to keep trying but I feel like I have been trying forever. Its weird because she will basically eat anything crunchy like cheerios, cereal pieces, mum mums, etc. But put a piece of carrot, potato or any other vegetable or meat (finger food) in front of her, forget it, its on the floor within seconds. I am also having a hard time feeding her pureed stuff these days. My only hope is that she seems to be a late bloomer in everything she does so I can only hope it will one day (soon hopefully) get better. I just feel like I am copping out only giving her what she likes at mealtimes, specifically fruit so that she isn't hungry. I try to be positive during the mealtime but after a couple of mouthfuls and she starts to cry or push my hand away I give up and move on to the next thing, which is usually the fruit. My biggest concern is that at a year you can switch to whole milk but I am afraid she won't get her required nutrient intake anymore. I have been thickening up her pureed stuff with rice cereal to overcome a very sensitive gag reflex which will help but.... I've tried giving her the spoon herself to see what she does and a couple of times it did go in the dish and then in her mouth, not much on it mind you but I applauded the effort nonetheless. But lately she doesn't want to take the spoon. And she doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with her "food" other than put her fingers in it and stare at it, rub it on the tray or on her face (unfortunately no where near the mouth vicinity).

So please tell me there is another mom out there going through something similar. I can only assume she just isn't ready, don't stress, it will all come together at some point. Meanwhile I guess I will just keep feeding her what she likes, hope that the number of times she poops during the day because of all the fruit doesn't giver her diaper rash... sigh.....

[Mom2katiebug]

Oh yeah.  I'm SO there.  I can't tell you the last time my DD actually ate a veggie.  And, she's SO finicky about everything these days.  I quit cooking proper meals cuz they just got tossed on the floor in a fit of tears.  I resorted to Lean Cuisine meals figuring they were reasonably healthy but she wouldn't eat those either and I just can't bring myself to even microwave something that's going to elicit a fit from her.  Now, I offer her whatever I'm eating - sometimes off my plate, sometimes in her own bowl/plate.  I have absolutely no expectation that she'll eat anything so I don't get disappointed when she doesn't. 

What I have found that she will eat is what we call a "milkshake".  I mix whole milk, yogurt, whey protein (you could use soy protein if you want), some "miracle greens" (basically a combo of healthy green stuff that comes in a powder form), a bit of baby cereal oatmeal, some flax oil, sometimes a scoop of formula or two and I've just started adding the baby food fruit combo purees.  She liked them before but with the baby food fruit purees in there, she scarfs them down!  The prune/apple combo has 2 grams of fiber and she LOVES it!  Not sure if your LO will go for the thick-ish consistency of it, but experiment with the ingredients - maybe start with more formula or another flavor that she likes right now and go from there. 

Good luck.  I know it can be incredibly frustrating but it's one of the few things they can control at their age.  Try to be completely neutral when she doesn't eat (even negative attention is attention) and praise, praise, praise when she does eat.  I've found it easier to have no expectations if she's eating when I'm eating (no special meals) and I don't worry about her nutrition with the "power milkshakes" she drinks.  We usually only have them at bedtime cuz I don't want her to have a total liquid diet.  And, this does help put something in her tummy before bed.

[cbell]

That sounds very interesting! Thanks for the tip. Question for you (pardon my stupidity... blame it on lack of sleep).. what exactly and where do you get your "miracle greens"? And typically how much of each ingredient do you combine for the milkshake?

Thanks so much!

[Mom2katiebug]

I buy the miracle greens (that's actually the brand name) at my local coop, but you could probably find them at any health food store.  If you ask them about it, they'll probably show you the section they have.  It's a mixture of all good green things, like spinach, kelp, blue-green algae, and other things that make it a nutritional powerhouse.  I've heard some new age-y types claim that it's the perfect food and you could live off it and nothing else - I think that's a bit extreme.  Here's the claim from their website "Miracle Greens is a non-allergenic nutrient-rich super food supplement that optimizes pH for stimulant-free health and surpasses the nutrition of five servings of fruits and vegetables without the calories or carbohydrates." 

Here's their website:  http://www.miraclegreens.com/home.htm

but there are many similar products out there.  One of the moms in my birth club also makes a mixture that we've lovingly named "swamp mix" where she tosses carrots, spinach, parsley and other veggies/greens in a blender until smooth.  She freezes cubes and then thaws as needed and mixes the swamp mix into almost everything as a way of sneaking veggies into her LO!



An approximation would be:

4 oz. whole milk yogurt (the kind I get is pretty thick) - usually berry flavored
up to 1/4 cup of  whey protein powder (I use the formula scoop and it's about 2-3 scoops depending on how she's eaten that day)
up to 1/4 cup of baby oatmeal cereal (again using a formula scoop, I put 2-3 scoops in)
2 flax oil capsules - if measuring, I'd probably go about 2 teaspoons
1/4 teaspoon of Miracle Greens or so
0-2 scoops of formula depending on how she's eaten
1 tub of baby food fruit puree (the prune/apple one has 2 grams of fiber)
Enough milk to make it drinkable but a bit thick, usually around 4 oz.

I put it in a tupperware gravy mixer (a lidded cup essentially) and shake it up - no need to pull out a blender.  It makes about 6-10 oz depending on what I put in that night and we "serve" it to her in a straw cup versus a sippy cup.

Good luck with it!  On the weekends, I'll sometimes pull the blender out and use fresh fruit in it, but I have to blend it really well to make sure it's not chunky.  If it has chunks, she rejects it - with a tantrum and throwing and all the works!     You can probably relate!

[cbell]

Thank you for that. I will certainly be trying that concoction.

In the meantime I took a new tactic of placing more finger foods on her tray such as peas, carrots, and beans. It was a no go. She would pick it up and drop them. If she did manage to put a carrot in her mouth she would end up crying. So after about 10 minutes of this I gave her some fruit pieces. What should I do in this case? Do you give in and give her what she likes? I know she is hungry but I think she is holding out for the good stuff. Am I creating a bad scenario here? Is this just a phase? I am so scared of her not taking anything other than fruit. She might get scurvy! I tried feeding her pureed squash afterwards but it was a no go either. So I gave her the spoon and the dish and she is basically playing with it on the tray, not eating it. I am sure she will be covered in it in no time.

Its so frustrating... I don't know what else to try.

[legend_018]

believe me I know how you feel. My LO just turned 1. I have so many posts on here it's not even funny. Right before she turned one, I had a bad 2 weeks. I kept track of everything she ate one particular week and created a spreadsheet for the doctor when I went to the 1 year appointment. She said NO wonder she is getting up in the middle of the night or early morning starving for a bottle. It's so frustrating!!!!!!!. My LO actually went COLD turkey on EVERYTHING from about 7 months to 9 1/2 months. Since than, very picky or just doesn't eat. She holds out for her bottles mostly.

I have recently had some luck and have in the past as well. Instead of bottle, breakfast, bottle before nap, lunch, afternoon bottle, and supper I do: some breakfast, bottle, breakfast, bottle before nap, lunch, afternoon bottle, supper, 1/2 bottle maybe, snack, last bottle or 2nd half of the bottle she had last.

She is on three 6OZ bottles a day PLUS one 8 oz bottle before bed. Doctor said at her age, 24 oz is around average. She is currently on 3oz of formula + 3 oz of whole milk. I'm doing a weening process the doctor told me to do. The doctor also recommended trying shakes and also mixing carnation instant breakfast in with her bottle. This is due to the fact that she wasn't eating ANY fruits or veggies.

I have been having luck with the following foods and YES I tend to give them to her every day if that's all she'll eat. Scrambled eggs (I mix some american cheese while cooking), noodles, mac and cheese is a new one, peas sometimes, been eating banana again. I feed her this one little piece at a time with my fingers, turkey sticks from gerber, oatmeal with pears and cinnemon from beechnut. NOW she has never been one for baby food. I think it's level 3. Sometimes she gets into it, the stage usually doesn't last long "lol". Also, Yogurt I've been having luck with. YO baby yogurt either peach or pear flavor.

[Mom2katiebug]

You know...just in the last few days, K has been trying new foods.  And I'm being a bit generous with the word "trying" but at least she's not shreiking "no!" when we put it in front of her.  Much of what goes in still comes out, but I do consider it a victory that some of the foods are at least going it.  It's only been since Friday, so I can't really say if things are changing around here.

I have no advice on what to do because we are in the same boat.  I usually give her what she will eat cuz I don't want a total starvation issue and DD is getting quite thin.  I figure I can make up the nutrition - at least in part - with the shakes.  I would just keep trying the food as much as you can (see my first post about pretty much giving up on cooking) and strike a balance with the limited foods she will eat.

[cbell]

It is so comforting to know that I am not alone in this. I swear I have about 10 friends who have had babies in the last 2 years or so and none of them have had any experience with this. So needless to say I am delighted to know I am not the only one. So I modified her eating schedule a bit and we are starting to do better with the pureed veggies the last two days. The change I made was cutting out the snacks. I happened to just try the afternoon one yesterday and needless to say she was hungry for supper and she ate a whole jar of veggies and chicken. So I did it today and the same thing, she at her squash and other veggies too. Last night I got inspired and tried a baby food recipe from a site (wholesome baby), tried it tonight, no go. She whined and cried so I gave up and gave her jarred stuff. Ate it no problem. I really don't think I am that bad of a cook!  But she is making me question my abilities for sure. So its hard to take the time to give your baby healthy stuff from your kitchen over the premade stuff that she will take.... go figure.