I'm so fed up and uninspired!

[Vicku]

Dear BWs!

I'm in need of some ideas, inspiration and support. I feel like my DD will never start joining in our family dinners, and I'm fed up of trying her on new things that she'll just reject. I feel like she eats the same thing every day...
She won't try anything new and if we against all odds manage to get her to taste something, she never likes it and just spits it out. She has always been a very fussy eater. Eats lots, amount wise, but is just very picky in what she'll actually eat. I know it's common for toddlers to get picky and suspicious of new things, but most normal things (like meat, chicken, potatoes) are still 'new' to her as she's always been like this.

The thing that gets me most down about this at the moment is I don't know how to tackle it    Should I let her have what she wants, or should we start serving new things and not give anything else if she refuses to eat it? So far I've tried introducing new things alongside food I know she'll eat, but then she only eats that and doesn't touch the rest. I also can't help but thinking I did something wrong when introducing solid food to make her like this, or to at least enforce it...

If anyone has any experience of this/strategies that's worked for them, I'm grateful for your advice!

[motherof3]

I can totally sympathize with you!  Abby is MSPI so she has always been on a special diet.  Well now that she can have things that have hidden milk and soy she isn't wanting to try many new things.  I swear she eats the same things every day!  Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, corn etc....She will eat other veggies but they have to be mixed in with other things like meat, pasta or rice.  She used to want to try what we were eating but I never could let her.  Now that she can have it she won't taste it.   I keep trying to give her new things but then also give her the other stuff that I know she will eat.

Sorry I am not much help but you aren't alone in your frustration.

Andrea

[Vicku]

Thanks Andrea! Always helps to know you're not alone...

Actually Lois was very sensitive to lots of foods and we have allergies in the family, so I had to restrict some things when started solids. Wonder if that could have contributed? She's been able to have anything since 7-8 months though.

The only protein I can get in her is fishfingers, which she loves, but no meat, no chicken, no other fish, no eggs... well sometimes she'll accept hot dogs but not always. She'll eat baby carrotts, broccoli and cauliflower (which I know is good) but she basically lives on this and fishfingers.

[motherof3]

Abby could live on hot dogs!!  Tonight she was eating some homemade soup.  She had at least 5 bites then all of a sudden spit the next one out and refused to eat anymore!   So I just put her down and tried again an hour later.  Still no luck so we went for the old fav of hot dog.   She scarfed that down.

I have tried the fish sticks with Abby and she won't eat them.  I have also tried different sandwiches and a def no go.  We were trying to intro cow's milk as she is on goat's milk.  Well she won't eat yogurt or cheese.   And she refuses to drink milk out of a sippy.  Oh she is so stubborn!   I have even tried the chocolate and strawberry in the milk and she won't drink it.  I am going to just have to ditch the bottle her one day.

Another mom on here gave me a good recipe for a meat, veggie and pasta casserole and this is the main way that Abby gets in her veggies.  She will only eat them when mixed in with things.  I make other variations of it with chicken, turkey, rice and veggies.

Andrea

Andrea

[Vicku]

Lois won't drink cow's milk at all, still has 2 bottles of formula a day. The only thing she'll drink out of a sippy is water. No juice, no milk, no squash... strange, isn't it? It just shows how she doesn't like new things even if they're sweet, like Abby with the chocolate and strawberry milk...
I wish I could mix things in so won't know it's there, but one of the things she hates is when food is mixed  everything has to be separate, doesn't like sauces either... She does love fruit though...would probably live on fruit and her favourite veggies if I allowed her. Healthy YES, but not very good fat/protein/calories. I might scan through recipies here though just to get some ideas to try when I feel I can handle the possible and likely rejection 

Oh btw I checked on the package of hot dogs we have and there was only 31% meat in them  Are yours the same?

[trisharushbrook]

Without knowing you personally I feel confident in saying this is not a result of something you did.  I have two girls and have never done anything different with them but I couldn't have two more different people on my hands (which I suppose is a good thing).  I have a good sleeper and a bad sleeper and the bad sleeper will eat anything and everything and the good sleeper is very much like your LO - very very picky.  She hates anything lumpy so I sometimes have to resort to jars of babyfood for 4mth olds if she just flat out refuses.  She will play with food and maybe put it in her mouth but will rarely swallow.   Then one day, for some unknown reason, she will eat the lumpy stuff but by next day she is back to her old ways.  She does eat yoghurt though so thats a good thing.

I am in the process of converting from formula to cows milk and just as I suspected my good eater devours it and my bad eater refuses it....she did take some yesterday but flat out refused it today. 

The only advice I have is to always start out the meal with something you want her to eat so you catch her when she is most hungry.  Dont give her the stuff she likes at the same time as she'll just go for that.  I've done that with my LO and now and again she will take a few bites but once the initial hunger is satisified she will spit it out and I  revert back to the old reliable "mush".   I'm not overly worried about it.  She's gaining weight and is doing well so I think she'll eventually take it...just dont' know when.  I was a very picky eater as a child and now I eat almost everything so I think it is just something that will come with time.

Only other thing is maybe mention it to your doc. If you are worried about nutrition you might want to supplement with daily vitamins.  My girls were preemie and v. low birth weight so they've been on "Polyvisol with Iron" since birth and it seems to have worked well as they haven't had any major issues !

Hang in there. 
Trisha.

[Vicku]

Thanks for your advice and information Trisha!
It just goes to show, how you are bringing up two girls the same but they're both different, that they're all different. Made me feel a lot better actually as I've worried I've done something wrong. I think you're right about not offering new stuff with usual stuff as she'll only eat that then. I'll try that more. Don't know where I got the other idea from, I'm sure I read it somewhere in a book or something...
As your fussy little one, mine's a great sleeper usually, and I'm very pleased about that. You must be soo busy with two! They're gorgeous btw!

[trisharushbrook]

Thank you - Lois is a little cutie too !
Personally I'd take a good sleeper over a good eater any day.  At least I only have one to deal with for NW's and EW's.  I dont' think I've had a full nights sleep since they were born....hence my discovery of BW and my many posts on the multiples board.  If your Doc is happy with her physical progress then I would just take a deep breath and ride the wave but continue offering new stuff.  She will take it eventually. 
My mother still laughs when she hears me talking about all the strange food we sometimes eat here and she'll say "and the trouble you gave me when you were small, you were the pickiest eater on the planet" !!

While I think of it - I'm going to try and start giving my girls milk in a sippy cup soon but I think I'm going to buy another one in a different colour and use that for milk and use the current one for water....I think the novelty of the new cup might get them past what's in it and they might take to it.  Of course you dont' want to hvae to leave the house with 2 (or in my case 4) cups everytime you go out so it would just be the first step in a gradual change.....no idea if it will work yet but you mentioned about her not taking anything except water in her sippy cup so you might want to try a different cup and see if that works.
Take care.

[trisharushbrook]

Vicky,
I just saw this thread - didn't get to read any of it yet but looks like there are a bunch of people out there in the same boat as you so you might find something interesting in it....

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=71906.0

Trisha.

[motherof3]

We use the Ball Park Beef Franks.  I don't see where is says the % of meat.  But beef is first on the list.

Andrea

[Vicku]

Trisha, I would also choose a good sleeper over a bad eater. We've got a doc's app in a couple of weeks, so they'll check her thoroughly then, and I'll ask what they think. I tried buying a special cup for milk ( a cow patterned one even  but we've had no luck with milk in that either... she now has water in that one too, but it's worth a try with your girls.

Andrea, I'll look for one with more meat content. Here it has to state how much it has. Hope you're getting on well with your LO! x

[maisy]

you are not alone, even toddlers who will eat anything sometimes go through times where they get fussy and dont want to eat or try new things

what my toddler ate today    this is a link to a thread where people write what thyeir toddler ate. It is fantastic may give you some ideas of things you wouldnt think of but also make you feel a little better as lots of toddlers are limited in what they will try

x x x x

[J & J's Mum]

Hi,

I am having the same problem with my DS.  He will be 3 in April and is such a picky eater.  I try and put new veg on his plate with food he normally eats, but he just takes it off his plate and puts it on the table and says " I don't like that Mummy".  He won't even try it!!!

I can't remember the last time he actually finished everything on his plate.  His favourites are cottage or shepherds pie (great, because you can hide he veggies and they are still whole and not pureed - he will actually eat them when they're hidden in this), fish fingers and mashed potato, chicken nuggets and mashed potato, sausages (sometimes), spaghetti bol.  He's a bit of a mashed potato lover!!  Saying that though, he's gone off fish fingers now.  He will not eat veg or fruit.  I've tried smoothies, cutting fruit up small...everything.  He'll sometimes eat a banana.

It's a nightmare!  I worry so much that he's not getting the proper goodness from food.

So, you're not on your own!!!

Rachel x

[Vicku]

Thanks girls!

Lee Ann, I'll check that link out. It does make it easier when realising you're not alone and others go through the same thing as you.

I need to somehow get her to eat more meat, pasta, potatoes those kind of things as she basically lives on fruit & veg. She'll eat a little bit of rice, bread and crackers (oh, and biscuits  but try and avoid them) The thing I'm most concerned about it her iron intake as she doesn't eat any meat. Any suggestions on other good iron sources? Have heard dried fruit, but it's also very high in sugar, so would be good to know something else.

I'm going to check that link now!
  to all!

[trisharushbrook]

Eggs !!   You can boil/scramble etc - just make sure it's cooked through fully.  Most of the iron is actually in the yolk so given that she is a bit picky you could boil the egg, take out the yolk and then just mash it into whatever she does take....even mash it with a banana.  You would hardly know it was there once it's mashed up well.   I did this for the girls a few mths ago and I used to mash a boiled yolk into their morning porridge.  After a year they can eat the white of the egg too although my two are not really big fans.
The fact that she likes veggies is good - spinach, broccoli and all the really green veg is loaded with Iron so she's prob getting more than you think.  If she's not eating meat it might meant that protein is the issue more so than iron.....  do you think she would try smooth peanut butter....of course you have to be careful if she's never had it before but off the top of my head, if there really is no meat that she will take, she might take that on toast or just lick it off a spoon......