Lilah has lately been eating much more variety, and much better than she has for the past year! Over the past year, we have battled terrible table manners (feet on the table, throwing food, throwing tantrums at the table, etc.) as well as minimal eating and very picky food choices (i.e., almost no vegetables, few accepted protein sources, etc.). We just kept going, working to eliminate her terrible table manners by removing her from the table (though it was very hard to dismiss her from the table when she hadn't eaten anything) and just kept offering a variety of foods (especially at dinner time, which is the only time she is always offered what we are having), and now she is starting to eat small amounts of veggies she wouldn't even look at two months ago, and to expand her repertoire of protein foods, too. She doesn't always eat what seems like a full meal, but I do now feel that she's eating a pretty balanced diet and finally starting to become the adventurous eater I always assumed DH and I would produce (as we are adventurous eaters ourselves).
I'm sure we're still in for food fads and other fun toddler eating behavior, but I just wanted to reassure mom who are struggling with poor eating habits in their toddlers that this is a normal phase, and that if you just stick to it, following Tracy's feeding advice for toddlers in the last book, and don't get into the "food Olympics" or try to force food on your toddler, they will come around eventually. It may take a LONG time, but it will come!
