I have the pickiest eater ever...help!!

[Sabine]

My 16 1/2 mo lo is extremely picky and I am soooo frustrated.  I don't know what else to do.  I refuse to become a short order cook.  His last weight 1/12 ago was 24 1/2 lbs (50%) and 90 cm (95%).  He has always been this for wt so following curve. He is getting over gastro (8d and still runny poop) but eating slightly better.  I am guessing his weight has gone down b/c of illness.

I am just dreading each meal and I wish I could make it better.  I try different foods along with favs but now he will refuse favs too.  He eats the same thing and doesn't even attempt to try other things.  He self feeds finger foods, yoghurt/applesauce and occ mashed potato with spoon and fork. 

Please help as I am at my wits end here....what should I do

This is what he eats everyday although I offer other new foods he usually won't eat them

breakfast-  1/2 Eggo waffle, or wheetabix flakes/Nutrios, 1 lg yoghurt and apple/banana
snack--either apple/banana and cheddar crackers/breadsticks/MumMum
lunch-- used to eat sandwich (grilled cheese) now won't touch bread--pita crisps (Imade), turkey/ham, few pieces of cheese, apple
snack--breadsticks, dried corn, crackers, raisins
supper--chicken fingers (homemade), peas (sometimes), carrotts (sometimes), mashed potato sometimes, yoghurt/applesauce, arrowroot cookie

He has 16-20 oz milk per day.  I haven't tried getting rid of am/pm bottle.  He has his bottle first thing usu 8oz and milk at lunch 2-4oz and bed 6-7oz.
He doesn't drink juice only water.

Any suggestions on what i can try?
Should I be taking him to see the ped?
Should  I offer one thing and not give him anything else and i fhungry later give the same thing??

Please help!!

[woopster]

He looks ok to me!  He's having 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, that's not bad.  They only have very tiny tummies at this age. Just keep doing what you're doing.  Offering new foods and old favourites.  I think all toddlers go through this stage.  You're not alone by any means.
If he's getting over gastro that will affect his eating too, his tummy will have shrunk if he didn't eat.
Don't stress out over it - easier said than done! He will pick up on your stress and won't eat.
My 16 month olds have 3 x 6oz bottles a day too at the moment.  I am planning to cut down the lunchtime one by a couple of oz, so we will see how that goes.
Do you eat with him? If he sees you eating the same foods eg chicken fingers, he will be more likely to copy you.

[binxyboo]

Sabine, have I seen you around the picky eaters thread?

[Kate A]

I think toddlers are the worst eaters    But this is totally normal.  And he looks like he gets a great amount each day.  I keep my dd on the same foods from day to day and offer her some of my food which makes it a little more intriguing. 

check out wholesometoddlerfood.com  they have some good suggestions.

[Sabine]

i have been on the picky eaters forum but TBH it depresses me b/c all the lo's there all seem to eat more variety and way more than my lo.

i do eat with him and so does DH.

if I put out a plate of food for him and he doesnt' want any do I take it away and get him down or give him stuff he will eat...this is the dilemma.

Sabine

[Deb_in_oz]

Sabine - when Liv had gastro (almost a week) she lost quite a bit of weight and it took about 2 weeks before her eating quantities improved - i did not realize for a few days that her stomach obviously had shrunk like Wendy mentioned.

the amounts he is eating look great to me and i think he has a good variety of all food groups so you have the opportunity to offer (as you said) something he likes + a new food and see how he does. It takes an average of a dozen offerings before a child will try a new food (yes some try everything, but many kids take 10-20 offerings before they eat something, and then may not like it)

I thought Liv was extremely picky and you know what? afetr that gastro bug cleared her out she became a new person and now will try more things and has recently added at least 4-5 new foods this past month (as varied as olives and raw red pepper strips  ) and tried but rejected a few others - i think they all get there in their own time and we just have to be patient.  The picky eaters support thread is full of good ideas andi think it is important to let go of the pressure we put on ourselves and trust their preferences and appetites. You are doing a great job and he sounds ok .

now my 3yo is pickier than my 20 mo old so i do think they all go through phases of pickiness. 

[binxyboo]

What I try to do is offer something new along with a favorite. That way he still has something to eat even if he doesn't like the new food, and it doesn't turn mealtime into a battleground. The key is to keep offering new foods, around 20 times, my paed said. But I can empathise with your feelings. It's hard when day after day the food I have prepared is flung to the floor or pushed away. And your lo is eating quite a good variety in my book!

[woopster]

if I put out a plate of food for him and he doesnt' want any do I take it away and get him down or give him stuff he will eat...this is the dilemma.

Sabine

It may be that he is just not hungry!  He really is eating a fair amount during the day.  Let him take what he wants and if he doesn't want to eat then, wait until the next snack/meal time.  He won't starve himself.  Toddlers are a lot better at listening to their bodies than we are. They eat when they are hungry, we eat because the clock tells us it's lunchtime or dinnertime!!

[Sabine]

thanks for all your support....I'll just keep plugging away and keep you all posted.  he actually had 6 loose bm's today and his bum is so raw and he cries everytime i try and wipe.  he was getting better mid week and then seemed to get worse again.  he hasn't pooped since 6pm so i am hoping it is getting better.

this is what he ate today:(in b/w meals he gets water, no juice)

breakfast: 8oz milk and 1/2 Eggomultigrain waffle, few flakes wheetabix, yoghurt (adult size) apple pieces
snack: 1/2 banana and water
lunch: offerred turkey breast sandwich with peas/corn, apple pieces he actually ate few pieces toasted pita with few 1/4 slice turkey breast and few pieces of cheese and 3T apple pieces and 2oz milk
snack: 5 rice crackers, 1 breadstick, 3T dried corn, 1/2 banana, 2oz milk
supper: 1/2 chicken finger, 1 spoon mashed potatoes, refused sweet potatoes-peas-corn, few pita chips (homemade and toasted), yoghurt and arrowroot cookie
snack: 1 Mum Mum and few Nutrios with 7oz milk

Thanks for the support mommies:)
Sabine

[binxyboo]

Have you talked to your paed about what to feed when ill? I know some say a bland diet and others will let you feed everything. Hope his bum-bum feels better soon.

[Sabine]

apparently makes no difference...they used to say BRAT diet and avoid milk but now they say give whatever they want.  he woke with 1 loose BM this am and had one more mid morning hopefully will end soon.

sabine

[gemmah]

Wat you feeding him looks good to me.

My LO is awful with Solids as well, she just never seems that hungry!  I saw that someone else had a LO called LIV, mine to it must be the name for picky eaters.

Sorry to here about sore bottom, its horrible when they get that.

Luck. 

[Mom2X&F&V]

He eats way more than dd and she is still growing ok.
I would not worry at all and keep on trying new foods over and over.
Seems fine to me what he eats.

[Sabine]

Okay, now he is starting to refuse favourite foods!!  We sit him in his highchair, he is hungry and points to the apples and bananas.  This is all he wants to eat right now.  He will also eat crackers and rice mum mum;'s and yoghurt but is refusing all else.  This is all he wants to eat.  How do I put up with this?  I don't want to give in b/c then this is all he will be eating and forget trying new things. 

For lunch today I gave him toast he ate 1/4, few bites of ham one cheese stick and then pointed to apples and ate 1/2 apple then asked for yoghurt and banana which I didn't give him.  It was nap time so I just put him down and when he wakes I'll give him his snack.

I so hate this!!  WHy are some kids so difficult?  I want my little baby back.

Sabine

[woopster]

Yep, I'd agree with Stacy. Go with it, Sabine.  Let him have an apple or a banana if he wants it.  My 3yo is currently mad on warm bread from the toaster!  He has been known to go a whole day on 2 slices of toast and a handful of grapes.

[Mom to M&M]

My DD is the same - currently refusing even grilled cheese and the like and only having 1-2 bites of something if lucky and then asking (well demanding) "fafa" which means English muffin or waffle. Luckily both are whole grain - she has been living on those toasted with butter and not even much of that. It's frustrating but I'm trying to go with it and hope it passes soon.

[Sabine]

thanks to you all....any way to get OT's or dieticians to help out with picky eaters? can you pay for their services b/c at this point I'll do anything for more help.

sabine

[Sabine]

So this is what he ate yesterday....I wish he had more variety besides lunchmeat and chicken.  any ideas for meats to serve finger food wise and how to serve?

breakfast: 8oz milk and 1/2 waffle, few Wheetabix flakes dry, Nutrios few, 1/4 apple fresh and 1.5 Mingo's
snack: few cheddar bunny crackers and 1/4 banana
lunch: 1 slice oven roasted turkey lunch meat, 1/4 slice toast with butter, few bites cheese, tried carrot (refused), 1/2 apple
snack: few rice crackers, 1/2 banana, milk 40z, fewbites cheddar
supper: 3 homemade chicken fingers, 3 pita crisps (homemade baked pita brushed with oil and seasonings), 3 peas, tried corn/carrots refused, refused mashed potato, 1 motts unsweetened peach applesauce and 1 minigo
snack: 1 mum mum, nutrios and 7oz milk in cup before bed

How can I get more variety in him?  any suggestions on variety finger meats (ie. pork, fish, beef) and finger veggies besides frozen peas and corn and carrot which I am trying now?

Sabine

[Sabine]

p.s stacy...he does hate textures, he won't even pick up grapes/watermelon and forget pasta.  i may have to contact an OT about this issue.  how do they even deal with that?

sabine

[woopster]

Sabine, he really is eating well.  He is doing the right thing for him - he is eating little and often.  You can't MAKE him eat.
As for things like watermelon - well, it is a little slippery to pick up. I have problems picking it up!  Pasta too is a strange texture - maybe he just doesn't like it?
The menu you posted above - there is quite a wide variety of foods there.  He is eating fruits, carbs, proteins, meats.
Just keep giving him old favourites with some new stuff alongside them.  He will try it eventually!
It can take at least 15 - 20 attempts to get a toddler to try something new.  If he doesn't like a food, leave it a few days then offer it again.
The only veg my 3yo will eat is raw carrot, every dinner time I put veg on his plate, broccoli and cauliflower one day, cooked carrots and sugar snaps another day, blah, blah, blah...every dinner time he leaves it! 
.

[woopster]

Well, look at that!  I posted more or less the same thing as Stacy at the same time!! Great minds, eh Stacy?!? 

[Mom to M&M]

I agree with Stacy and woopster. I wish Marisa ate as well as your DS. She won't eat lunchmeat, no finger veggies, only dried fruit (no fresh), no pieces of cheese, etc. And yes, when she does eat a chicken nugget (which she's starting to refuse lately), one nugget is a lot for her. We may actually be contacting an OT - but IMHO, Sabine, your DS is doing quite well.

[Mom to M&M]

Well I guess at least Kaleb used to eat more foods and try things. Marisa never did and it's only gone downhill from there...

[Mom to M&M]

LOL I know Stacy, thanks! Yes, I think I'm going to call this OT that was highly recommended by someone else with similar problems. She's never warmed up to variety - regardless of teething...

[Sabine]

Thanks guys!!  I guess I will just have to keep presenting healthy options and hope for the best.
I appreciate the support !!

Sabine