Support thread for moms of picky eaters

[Zoey]

Hi Kina!
My son swore off milk after a bad viral flu thingy - now we do 1tsp carnation in 8oz of whole milk and the world is good again - he sucks it all down!  We did ice cream blended up with milk and or yogurt to get in the dairy.

Good Luck!  It's so hard, and I hear they get even pickier!
Love,
Zoey

[binxyboo]

Here we are again....

We were going good for a while, then teething again, you know how it goes. The reason I wanted to post though is because I recently started Riley on Poly-vi-Sol with iron and his appetite really dropped as soon as I did this. I have stopped it since yesterday and he has eaten quite a lot today.

Has anyone used this vitamin and observed a similar decrease in appetite from it?

[Jimbob]

My dd is 4 in April and has been a picky eater for about 2 years really. Olivia used to eat pretty much anything we offered, although it had to be in the right consistency. She would eat finger food no problem and puree food was not a problem. Olivia eventually started to eat lumpy food and did for a few months. We are now limited to what she will eat.

Here is a list of what she will eat:

Sausages, home made turkey or chicken goujons, carrot sticks, grapes, bananas, apples, raisins, toast, crumpets, soft cheese sandwiches, ham sandwiches, bacon sandwiches, chips(not given more than once a week though), yoghurt, ham and cheese pizza, garlic bread with cheese, ice cream(only given if she has eaten well) and of course she would eat chocolate and sweets if given to her.

Olivia only gets chocolate if she has done really well with her food for more than a few days. I know the list looks quite long but it is really hard to serve what I would consider a decent meal. We do offer other foods with the things we know she likes but Olivia will rarely try them. We have tried letting her prepare meals with us which has worked with the goujons but not really with anything else.

Any ideas of how to progress are welcome.

[UNCMomma]

Just saw that post Binxyboo... haven't experienced that with the vitamin drops but hmmmm, I guess it's always possible!  What time of the day did you give the vitamin drops, could that have had an effect? 

Jimbob you sound like us... there is a pretty good list of things she will eat, it seems, but repeating them gets very old and never makes for a well rounded meal.  No suggestions, just hugs and support!

My big girl has actually had a remarkable increase in appetite in the past month, so I suppose we've hit a growth spurt!  I'm sure it won't last...

[Jenn©]

So any suggestions for a sauce/dressing to help in the veggie department?  I know ranch is popular among slightly older ones.  Other thoughts?

[UNCMomma]

Or cheese sauce???

[binxyboo]

Here's a cool site I found http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/feeding_your_toddler.html

[Lucysmom]

Great site Michelle!  Thanks!!!   

Lucy has expanded her repertoire to include turkey hotdogs and fish fingers.  Most moms would not be thrilled about her eating this "junk", but most moms have kids that eat!!!  She also wants smoothies, but unfortunately the only store that sells soy yogurts is out of them until mid-February.  I am totally bummed!!! 

[Lucysmom]

Hi Stacy -
Thanks for the info.  Lucy cannot have any diary products so cottage cheese is a no-no.  I might try with frozen fruits but I might have a hard time replicating the texture/mouth feel from smoothies with yogurt (she is very particular/picky about those kinds of things, much like Karen's Marisa).  I guess I could try chucking in some soft tofu to increase the protein quotient.  Hmmmm...lots to think about!

Thanks again!

[smileymama]

wow. i belong on this thread! my ds is nearly 14 months and is such a picky eater. most of my friends can bribe their kids with food... totally the opposite situation here. my ds is underweight and i have already written out so many great food suggestions... thanks to all of you! I already went to the store today but as soon as ds wakes from his nap, we are heading back. i feel so excited that he might possibly gain more weight by his next drs. appt!!! hooray. Thank you!!!!
xoxo.

[smileymama]

is the dry milk referred to nonfat dry milk? that is all i could find at the grocery store.

[Mommytotwo]

Okay, I'm going to try to dedicate some time to playing catch up on this thread. New to the boards - but I have two really really picky eaters and I do NOT know what to do with them. They drive me NUTS! I want them to eat healthy and to eat what I make for dinner, but don't know how to break them of this habit!!! Grrr!!!

[Jimbob]

As I have already posted my daughter is a picky eater and whilst when you write down all the foods she likes it seems like quite a long list it does not make what I would consider a good well balanced meal. My daughter is 4 in April and she only weighs 2st 6oz and has hovered around this weight for a while nbow so today I have started her on Minadex Tonic, it is orange in flavour and she seems to really like the taste. Here is what Olivia has eaten so far today

Breakast: 3/4 crumpet with butter, small glass of apple juice. 5ml of minadex tonic given straight after.
9.00am: 1 small bowl of Kellogs coco pops mega munchers with all milk finished from bowl using a straw.
9.30am: 1 small bowl of Kellogs frosties with all milk finished from bowl using straw.
11.00am: 1 small apple

Just about to have lunch so will update later.

[Jenn©]

Dannymom, yup, that's the milk.   

[Jimbob]

quick update

Lunch: half soft cheese sandwich, 6 grapes.
30min later: 1 small bowl of frosties with all milk finished using straw.

I know the sugary cereal is not great but this is the first time she has had cereal in at least 10 months and it means we are actually getting milk into her, she has always refused it before no matter what cereal was offered. The day is not over and she has now had over 1/2 pint of full fat milk which I think is great.