Getting just sooooo picky.

[koe2moe]

clazzat!  how funny about frozen peas!!!  Perhaps it's like eating ice blocks lol... i shall try some day   thanks

[Gypsymom]

You poor dears! Hugs.

My LO is pretty fussy, but is a robust size. Perhaps I've spoiled him by offering multiple options in one meal? He seems to take after me though (started 'garnishing' his puree with peas or cheerios, bite by bite at a young age!). So I find I get more in total if I offer variety.

In case this can help anyone, here is what we are doing right now:

Meat = zero (except the odd hot dog!!). Vegetables are pretty pathetic too. Right now,  cucumbers I can get him to eat only if dipped in vinegar (then, he gobbles them). Won't do potatoes unless they are fries. Sometimes carrots if really overcooked. Peas very occasionally (heavily buttered!!). Sometimes I can hide very small bits of veggies in his rice. Doesn't like pasta but the other night we were out for chinese and he ate the baby corn, the fat noodles (greasy and spicy!), and some ginger chicken (fat, sugar, and spice!??). I've tried mixing ranch dressing with sour cream and he'll sometimes dip bell pepper strips in there. No guarantees of course!!

I would say at least 50% of DS's meals involve soup. He's picky about which kinds (and generally prefers commercial ones which I give even though they are salty). He too is a bread/crackers guy too but loves the concept of 'dipping' so he ends up getting in a decent amount of the soup.

[alicia+3]

Just wondering, if your little one eventually started eating? this has been a great thread to read!

[*Liz*]

Goodness me - I wrote this when DS was 12 mths old and now he is going on 3!

Jacob is still not a big eater really, but he is better than he was. He is still very small and has a teeny appetite, but that is just him, the way he is  .

Obviously the food flinging and that sort of nonsense ended. These days he eats nicely or tells me he doesn't want it.

There is still a very long list of refused foods, but slowly slowly slowly he adds to it. A key thing with J has been to not fight him over food. If he wants it he will eat it. I always make sure the is a part of every meal that he will eat, and I still do that now.

A typical day now would be cereal and toast for breakfast, maybe a yoghurt, cheese crackers or fruit for a snack, lunch is usually sandwiches and 'buffet food', dinner a bit more substantial.

He even eats 3 types of vegetable now  , carrots, broccoli, and cucumber.

BUt TBH I don't stress very much anymore - essentially his diet is varied even if it is met by limited foods. And a lot of them are childrens favourite foods. But it still does hit all the nutritional boxes  .

[alicia+3]

Thanks for the update! Good to know he eats more now!! Hoping this will just be a phase as my LO used to eat very well but now he has hit one it's a different story! Too busy to sit and eat lol!

[*Liz*]

Jacob never ate well. Personally I think teething triggers a lot of this and most improve when it passes.

[Mom to M&M]

FWIW we are currently doing sleep talk for picky eating and it seems to be helping "some". But otherwise we too are trying to relax and not stress...

[koe2moe]

Liz, actually now J is doing better than mine.  Mine won't eat any veg that he could identify.  Only once in the past months had he eaten broccoli when he used to eat a quarter of a head easily along with starch and lots of meat.  I don't tell him what to eat but he just doesn't and sometimes he takes a bit and makes a very sad face and spits it out.  He will not eat any salad/raw veg. 

[Gypsymom]

Jasper eats very well in general now, but veggies are still tough. Would you believe he'll actually ask for extra helpings of fish?? Not always recommended, but here, he knows that if he doesn't eat his vegetables, he cannot have dessert. Note that it's always a tiny portion like one spoon of mixed peas and carrots, a bit of cauliflower mashed up into his potato, and to my surprise, coleslaw he actually likes. Most of the time it is still cucumber and soups. I always cheer when he manages to choke down itsy bitsy pieces of foods he really doesn't like such as broccoli. He washes it down with milk and tells himself 'healthy stuff makes me big and strong'... I also allow him to 'dip' into ranch dressing, hummus, or even bbq sauce since most meats have more 'dressing' than veggies.

The other tip that helps us to make up unique names for foods such as "lilypad sandwiches" which are small pieces of lettuce with some filling on top such as tuna or hummus. DS1 loves frogs so this helps him. He even helped me grate some "butterflies" (carrot) to decorate the top with and ate those too. Otherwise, he won't touch lettuce with a 3ft pole.

Liz's tip about making sure there is something you know your LO will eat at every meal is a good one.

Hang in there. It will get better!

[Lemonthyme]

I've got some recipes with veg in if anyone wants to sneak more in but did you know that 'supertasters' find foods like brocolli very bitter?  Genetically there will just be some fussy eaters out there whatever you can do.

[alicia+3]

thanks ladies! I checked his mouth and he is definitely cutting molars, 2 have come through but there are lumps everywhere. He has also been grumpy with low temps so hopefully he will improve when those teeth come through.
For now I will continue to give him his pureed/lumpy food. He is happy to have 1-1.5 weetabix for breaksfast, then his lumpy puree of meat/veg/potato combo for lunch. I put some butter in it as well to fatten him up! He is happy to let me feed him and eats quickly as long as he has something in his hand to keep occupied! After lunch I will give him a yogurt which he eats on his own with a spoon and his hands(messy but fun for him!) With that he also has some broccoli he was happy to eat that today. It all goes a bit wrong in the afternoon but I manage to get him to have some mashed banana, he doesn't want it chopped up for some reason even though he was happy to have it before?
And then dinner he will only have f it's pizza or something like that! A lot of it goes on the floor... Shall I look at dinner as an extra? how much are they supposed to be eating now?
Thanks!

[alicia+3]

Also wanted to add, it's the fruit that he won't even try at all, like apple, grapes etc... Is that normal?

[Lemonthyme]

Mine has gone right funny recently and since reading this I'm noticing it more.  He wouldn't feed himself cheese earlier!  He loves cheese!!!

[*Liz*]

My DS took ages to eat pieces of fruit - he didn't like the slimy texture in his hands so would just fling it.

He also refused any spoon feeding at all from about 11 mths.

TBH I think most of your issue here is teething - and as long as you keep offering a full range he will get back to good eating later. If you restrict his range too much to make sure he 'eats a big meal' it will limit his range and textures and make him even more picky iyswim?

Even if finger foods get flung keep offering. They need time to fiddle and practise, and handling them is the first step to eating them.

[Melsy]

Watermelon is great for teething - biting into cold soft fruit helps!

My dd#1 (almost 2) was such a great eater and is turning fussy now - perhaps her 2 yr molars are to blame.  I made a tomato/bacon/vege soup the other week which has a ton of veggies purreed in it and while she only ate half a bowl, I felt relieved to know she had eaten some veggies for the day iykwim?! 

These kids sure keep us on our toes!!!

Mel