desperate to sort out eating AP 15month old

[Vicku]

Hi Lis and thanks!

We've actually also stopped giving the morning milk on occasion as she doesn't eat breakfast til quite late if she has milk and same here throws the day off. Sometimes she asks for it though and then we'll give it, but aiming to get rid of it by the time she turns two.

Today she didn't want milk, refused breakfast completely, wanted to watch Peppa Pig 0) and then had milk at 10...hardly any lunch either so a weird day. Will give only a small snack still and hope she'll try some salmon for dinner.

[Mama2boys]

Don't jinx it Lis..
with every passing day I feel I have screwed up this kid with sleeping and eating 'issues', and a few temper tantrums to add to the mix...ahh the good life when you could get away with it all

[shivi]

Hi girls....sorry it took me so long to get back here...have no computer at home apart from DHs laptop, which only comes home when he does...so here goes with finger food type recipes first:

1. cheese and courgette sausages:

6 oz breadcrumbs, 1oz butter, 1 medium onion finely chopped or even grated, 6 oz courgette (about half the avg sized one) grated, 5 oz cheddar cheese grated, an egg separated, salt pepper and veg oil for frying later.

fry the onion in the butter till soft, then add the courgette and let it cook for about 3 mins till also soft, mix in half the breadcrumbs (other half for coating), the cheese, egg yolk, a little salt and pepper. shape the mix into sausages or nuggets or balls whatever your lo will prefer, dip in egg white then roll in remaining breadcrumbs, the put in fridge if you have time to let them firm up and fry later. they don't fzeeze too well...

2.salmon rissoles...a fave of oscars and mine (so easy peesy ;-)

can red salmon (about 200g or 7oz)
1 medium onion finely chopped or grated
2 tbsp good quality tomato ketchup
1 tbsp breadcrumbs and another for coating
2 tbsp veg oil

flake the salmon then combine it with onion, ketchup and 1 tbsp breadcrumbs, make small balls/nuggets/rissoles with the mixture and coat it in remaining breadcrumbs, heat the oil and then saute the rissoles until golden. these can be frozen and reheated as needed...

3.
vegetable croquettes

10oz potatoes peeled
5 oz broccoli
1 medium onion peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
3 oz grated carrots
1/2 oz butter
4 oz cheddar cheese grated
1 egg beaten
flour
7 oz (you guessed it, my absolutley necessary ingredient) breadcrumbs.

cook potatoes till soft, steam the broccoli till soft, on pan saute the onion and garlic in butter then add carrot till soft. mash the potatoes, then mix in the cheese and then add the other cooked ingredients and season with salt and pepper. form into burgers/nuggets etc and coat with flour then dip in the beaten egg and then coat in breadcrumbs...then saute till golden....again these do very well frozen....

can add more later if you need...

as for the whole posting so far....I also got into the trap like I say of AP around 15 or 16 mths when Oscar wanted to self feed and I wanted it to be less messy, quicker etc...
I think at some stage you have to let go and then trust that LO will tell you when hungry...

3 hrs between meals is a minimum for them to be hungry at next sitting and just like Lis has said lots of activity is a must for a good eating day here...we don't do milk during the day and haven't since I can't remember when, I think when Oscar refused his welcome home mummy bfeed at around 10mths.... here we have milk in the early am and going to bed only....

will write more tomorrow night....DH is a workaholic and wants laptop back!!!!

Siobhain x

[Mama2boys]

ooohhh those sound so yummy! Thanks Shiv. I am so going to try these out hopefully DS will love them!

[Lissybits]

Mukta

Don't jinx it Lis..
with every passing day I feel I have screwed up this kid with sleeping and eating 'issues', and a few temper tantrums to add to the mix...ahh the good life when you could get away with it all

What are you talking about?!! I hardy call a few NWs and minor eating stumbles screwing up Get a grip!  You are a fab mum and we all strive to be better parents - that's why we use BW and chat to each other!

We all make mistakes with #1 (and some with #2,3 and 4...) but we learn by our mistakes and know that if we have a #2 it will be a piece of pi$$

And just as you are nearly there with the sleeping, you will fix it with the eating too - everything is about consistency with kids - that much I have learnt.

I read somewhere that you have to give a new food 15 times before some LOs will accept it. This was certainly true of us with the summer fruits. At the beginning of last summer DS refused to eat peaches, nectarines and melon etc, that he had eaten in abundance the previous summer But I knew it wasn't that he didn't like them, rather that he had forgotten about their taste and  that their texture was totally different from the winter fruit - apples, pears and bananas.
I didn't give up (fruit is seasonal here so I couldn't have carried on giving apples and pears anyway) but offered the summer fruit every few days without making a fuss if he spat it out. After about 2 weeks, he started eating it ALL So it just goes to show that consistency is the key.

Decide how you want him to eat and make a plan - he will soon get used to it. Is it possible for you and/or DH to sit down and eat with him. We always sit and eat with DS and chat about the day and what we will do tomorrow etc. This keeps his attention during the meal.

Don't beat yourself up so much Mukta - being a mum isn't problem free -you are doing a great job!

Lots of hugs and kisses
Lis
 

[Vicku]

Thanks Shiv! I'll also have to try them, they sound so yummy I'll eat them myself if she doesn't

Agree with Lis Mukta, you've not screwed him up... don't be so hard on yourself hun! Great advice Lis! I'll definitely need to be more consistent.

Well, we got a reason to open a bottle and celebrate at dinner last night. I made butter steamed salmon, rice, broccoli and a lemon and dill sauce. she loves rice and likes broccoli, so had two things she ate, then put a bit of fish and a tiny bit sauce on the side for DD. She ate all the rice and asked for more and I just casually said 'if you try some fish you can have more rice' and she did!!! Very unusual and me and DH just looked at each other in amazement not wanting to say anything that might disturb her and get her to change her mind. She ate quite a bit of it

Just a thought... I'm unsure wheather or not to praise her for trying new things or just act as everything is in order when she does and let her get on with it. Feel like if eating gets connected to being good then she might rebell against it (as she does with many other things at the moment) I mean she shouldn't eat to please us, but because she needs it and wants to.
But would also like to be able to praise her as it makes me happy... What do you all think?

Back later, off to play group...  x

[Mama2boys]

Vicku and Lis, you ladies are absolutely fantastic, I love how you brighten up my day and constantly reassure me...funny how much reassurance i need as a mom, but at work I am a confident monster

Vicku, with Uday when he tries something new I sort of give encouragement and excitement rather than praise..if that makes sens, so I wont Say 'good boy' and 'well done' I say stuff like yummy isn't it, or that was yumm or something.

Not sure if its right or wrong but that's what I do.

Good point Lis about continuing to push the new food, I will keep that in mind and try and be patient and

Vicku yesterday must have been a fish day as DS had a whole fish finger for the first time

hugs to you and your LO's

[Vicku]

That sounds good Mukta, I'll try that too.
Fishfingers have been Lois' favourite food for ages and she can eat 3! Feel like I'm always feeding her them, at least 4 times a week as she won't have any other meat/fish apart from hotdogs and slices of ham.
I also feel I need a lot of reassurance a lot of the time, and this place is great for that!

[Lissybits]

Hi girls,

Well, today we have a perfect example of how eating in between meals affects DS's appetite
DH and DS went to BILs this morning complete with tupper of strawberries and apple for DS's 10.30 snack.

The tupper came back full  - so he hadn't eaten any fruit he had eaten a biggish biscuit (homemade) instead.
Now I have no problems him eating this AFTER his lunch or supper, but not before
So, consequently he didn't eat any of the home made tuna and courgette (from the garden!) lasagne that I had slaved over a hot stove cooking this morning in his absence
His lunch was 3 pieces of cucumber and 2 bits of chopped tomato So he'll get lasagne again for tea
But imagine if DH's family lived next door to us - DS wouldn't eat properly at all
Sigh,
Lis
 

[Lissybits]

Yeh - it's only common sense as you say

Thank goodness it is only once in a while with the family. They think by giving DS cake and sweets they are treating him and being kind In actual fact, it would be more of a treat  (and kinder to his health) if they took him to the park And Greeks are the worst for this kind of hospitality - we can't even pass our neighbours gate without being invited to share their lunch or dinner

Actually,when we were waiting for the boat back to Aegina after DS's hospital appointment, there was a Greek lady with a shop bought filled sandwich. Nicholas spied the bread and started pointing at the sandwich and saying, "look mummy....!"  I delved into my bag for an apple for him - but I was too late! The lady promptly gave me the un-opened sandwich and told me to break off as much as I liked and she wouldn't take no for an answer. What a sweet lady! No bugger would do that in England!!

Anyway, DH said he ate all the lasagne for his tea
Even before I had DS, I would always ask the mum or carer before I gave any kind of snack to a child - that's common sense too!

How's the Grobag Stacy? We ordered the 0.5 tog for the summer too
Lis
 

[Vicku]

Hi ladies!

I have definitely noticed an am snack is a no no. Pm snack ok if only offer fruit, but same as you, if she has a biscuit or sandwich she won't eat dinner.

Sorry to go off topic, but couldn't help noticing you're talking about Grobags. Are you guys still using them? DD learned to open all 3 of hers (all with different fastenings) a month and a half ago, so we stopped using them. Really wanted to continue with them to stop her from learning how to climb out of her cot. How do you get DS to keep it on?

Otherwise on the eating front nothing much has happened. We've tried a few new things but not enough. I have tried to be a little tougher on her re excusing her from table if she doesn' want what's offered, but so much else has gone on that I haven't had time to plan new meals etc.

How are you getting on Mukta? Any luck with him eating without as much distraction? Did you try more fingerfoods?

[Vicku]

Is he still in a cot Stacy? And if so did the grobag stop him from climbing out?
Brilliant idea about the shoe string!!!

[Lissybits]

Hi Vicku,
The one Kaleb and Nicholas have (they have the same exact one ) zips downwards so it's a bit more difficult for N to undo - for now....
Lis
xx

[Mama2boys]

a little bit of improvement at our end.

We now have a 3 hour ish gap between all meals/snacks and feeding is a bit better, we still have our days but its getting better, I am suing chatting as a distraction rather then toys/balls play things and thats going ok. lets see how long it lasts.

DS just learnt that he can now 'no' and that's a bit of a pain, and now ta ht he can sign more..he says no to chicken/meats/egg etc but more for veggies and fruit..not that I am complaining

Thanks ladies!

btw we never used  a grobag...but sound like they are good. DS will sleep barelegged i.e. t-shirt and nappy and refuse seven a sheet on his legs!

[shivi]

hi girls...

sorry I've been a bit quiet....finding it hard to cope with nausea, work, exhaustion etc....anyway, good things are a bit better....

I decided to stop snacks with Oscar too....and he's an even better eater now and is doing about 90% independently compared to about 50 to 75 before, prob due to hunger....

as for grobags....he still sleeps in his in his BBB! really regret the BBB though, though of course, as some of you know (Vicku for sure) Oscar broke his cot by bouncing in it...it would have taken 8 weeks for the replacement parts to arrive so we went with the transition which took about that long....but it's been EW ever since even though now there are no other probs....he goes down fine both for night and nap....but we rarely make it to anything beyond 6am at the moment....getting better though as about a month ago it was 5am....
have cut his nap to 1 hr and still making no diff in wake up time....maybe he's just going to be an early riser like me! this morning he literally woke up and ran to the door as my alarm was waking me up...I get up at 6am anyway but on the weekends it would be nice for that extra hour! especially now!!!

anyway, may try to jig around with it a little more!

good things are improving Mutka!

kisses

Siobhain x