Hello everyone, i've been reading your posts and so glad to know I am not alone!
Until the last 3 weeks or so my 14 month old son Oscar was a very good eater. Mealtimes as follows: breakfast at nursery 7.30am, lunch at nursery 11am, afternoon tea at nursery (toast, sandwiches etc) 3pm and then supper at home around 6pm. At weekends we stick to the same sort of mealtimes, just a bit later and the afternoon snack at home is usually just some fruit.
I felt like things were working out very well (pride comes before a fall hey?) especially as his suppers typically consisted of mashed root veg with some chopped/grated green veg and grated cheese followed by a yoghurt. I felt this was important as the nursery lunches are often lacking in "real" veg, baked beans are typical for example and the breakfast/tea is mainly carbohydrate. but I felt he made up for that in the evenings.
Well, not any more. He refuses to eat from the spoon, shouts "No!" and bats it away. I put small amounts on his tray and sometimes he will put some in his mouth but will quickly start playing with it and throwing it which is infuriating. Some days he does not even taste it. He will usually accept and eat a rice cracker, and dried fruit. Sometimes I will offer his yoghurt just to get something in his tummy before bed. Sometimes he eats it, sometimes not. He has been known to throw that too.
Does anyone have any idea what is wrong so suddenly? i'm racking my brains over whether it could be his teeth (he has front teeth and I think side molars are trying to come too), sore throat (he's had a cold), lost appetite due to hot weather, asserting independence (i.e. would prefer things he can feed himself)
Nursery say he is eating less in general but that is typical once they are over one year. I also considered is he eating too much at teatime but we have cut his teatime snack right down at weekends and still have same problem. Someone has also suggested I am feeding him too late when he is already tired but 6 is the earliest I can pick him up after work and the nursery tea is too early for im to last until 7.30 next morning. Besides he always ate well at 6 until recently.
He never liked formula milk and had to be coaxed into drinking, now he is on cow's milk (from a cup) he drinks plenty... but is this why he has gone off solids? Should I restrict his milk and give him water instead?
Some other clues he likes us to sit at the table with him and he is keen to try what we are eating, so I pretnd to eat from his bowl, but this does not work all the time, sometimes he eats better - or at least has a few tastes - if i actually go out of the room and leave him to it. He seems cross about being fed and prefers finger food (though sometimes he just squashes that and throws it). I work full time and really look forward to seeing him at the end of the day but now I'm starting to dread it knowing I will prepare a meal, try and fail to stop it being rejected and thrown across the room and then have to clean the floor!!!!
What do i do? Should I persist with the 6pm supper even though this is getting stressful ? (the one time I gave up and sent him to bed with no supper he was awake and hungry at 4am - he never usually wakes - no joke when i have to be up for work at 6am). Should i allow his just yoghurt and fruit as he's more likely to eat it? (I'm worried about encouraging faddy eating). Should I make this meal finger food only? How can I get some veg down him considering I don't have a say in what he eats at nursery? Does anyone have any ideas for finger food veg that can be prepared in advance, or quickly?
Heeeeellllpppp!!!!!!! Sorry for writing a whole novel here but I feel desparate to crack this problem and have my vegetable-loving boy back!
