1 year old very "behind" in solid food

[lokloktang]

My 1 year old DD is still eating like a 8 month old. I follow Ruth Yaron’s Super Baby Food to prepare food.  She has 3 meals a day but snacks/milk btw meals:

Breakfast – oatmeal + 2 ice cube of fruits
Lunch – oatmeal + 2 ice cube of veggies + 1 ice cube protein or alternatives
Dinner – same as lunch

All the food are puree and frozen (‘cos I don’t have time to prepare fresh food for her... poor thing...)

She is not a big eater, probably because she’s been eating the same thing over and over again since she started solid food. For lunch and dinner, I would say she eats a small bowl of everything combined on a good day. Sometimes she takes several spoons and refuses the rest.

Up until recently, I still BF her 4-5 times a day (probably another reason why she is refusing solid...) since last week I returned to work, I BF her only morning and before bed.

During the weekend, I try not to use frozen food cubes, but instead chop up fresh veggies for her. But still, it’s the same combination of food.

We tried alphabet pasta last night cooked in egg+veggie+broth, she liked it.  Today my parents fed her pasta again (but in broth and veggie only) and she absolutely refused it.

I find alot of recipe online, but most of the recipes are made before meal time. I need some ideas to be able to prepare 1 week worth of food during the weekend.

Also, she hates chewing... if I add minced pork, she will take only several spoons and then swallow the porridge and leave the pork in her mouth. But if I puree everything (porridge+veggie+minced pork) then she’ll eat it.  I also tried giving her steamed zucchini mini cubes, she LOVES it.. and kept on asking for more, except she leaves everything in her mouth and refuses to swallow. Also I tried giving her pear (something soft) she will swallow, but if I give her plum, she likes it, but again she leaves it in her mouth....

Is what I’m feeding my DD normal?  She should be moving on to chewing more food, right? How do I do that?

Thanks!!!

[Lolly]

Why not start by mashing her food so the texture is coarser rather than pureeing, this will give her more opportunity to learn to chew. You can also give her finger foods so she can feed herself.

You said you don't have time to prepare fresh foods, but things like toast or sandwiches don't take long to prepare. Pasta is always a hit here, I just cook ordinary pasta like fusili and she has it with a little sauce or even just grated cheese on top. Pasta sauces can be made in advance and frozen, I do cheese sauce, veg & tomato and meat based bolognaise sauces and freeze portions. What sort of foods do you eat for your main meal - you could keep a portion of what you have for her and give it the next day. The only thing to watch is that you don't add salt etc.

What do you think?

Laura

[~*Nicole*~]

I'd use foods she already likes and add slightly more textured things to it. So if she likes pureed peas, add some really tiny soft pastas to that and use it like a sauce. Meats are harder to get the hang of so I'd hold off on leaving them as "pieces" until she's more successful with pastas, egg, grains, soft veggies and fruits first.

Also, intro the new foods the way you would have done it when she first started any solids. Meaning, if you do a soft pasta, repeat it for a few days, in the same manner so she can get used to it and really "taste" it and decide how she feels about it.

Eat when she eats....offer to let her try things off of your plate. Put what you're having on her tray and let her play with it and make a mess. If she tastes it during play, that's great.

Gerber makes those puffs that dissolve easily in your mouth. They are a great transitional food to more textured foods and help teach how to chew and mash which is def. a learned skill. You could also use one of those food net thingies where you put solid food into the mesh container and she gnaws on it and sucks on it and gets the flavor but doesn't gag or have to chew the food. Then you could gradually intro that same food in it's true form once she already likes the flavor.

When you do try meats, try to prepare them so they are moist and very soft/easy to chew. Cut them into TINY pieces at first so she gets the hang of chewing. Meats are much tougher to chew and when they feel dry in your mouth it's even more unappealing. Adding broth and sauces tend to help.


She'll get the hang of it with practice!

Oh, easily prepared ahead meals or fast meals:

Meatloaves--of course you'll have to work up to this!
Quiches and other egg based dishes, you can add veggies, meats, and cheeses to this as finely chopped or chunky as she needs
Frozen veggies-I just buy bagged frozen veggies and micro with some water for 4 mins and give them to DD plain. I often also added this to pasta and sauces for a whole "meal" around that age
Pancakes, which you can add fruits and veggies to (again, you may need to work up to this)
Muffins (same as above)
French toast (Provides egg so there is protein)


HTH!

[lokloktang]

I actually just returned to work and have absolutely no time to cook. So what I did was I cooked alot (Chinese food) over the weekend and freeze it for ourselves. The food is probably not appropriate for babies (well.. a one year old)... as it contains alot of flavour (salt, spice...) the ideal is I cook every night, save a bit (without salt) for her. But I am really tired after a 15 hour day (including play time with her after work...)

I’ll definitely start giving her more soft food to chew.. I guess I just have to be patient...

Thanks for your suggestions!!

[anna*]

Another thing you can do - maybe on the weekends - is eat as a family and let her watch how you chew - they really do learn by watching and doing lots of exaggerated chewing motions will help her to understand.