Doesn't want to eat

[Baby Marena]

Hi, my DD just turned 1 a few days ago and like 5 days before her birthday, her appetite dropped a lot, she went from eating at least 4 oz of whatever I gave her, cereal, pasta, rice and beans, etc; to just having a few bites or nothing at all (she spits what I give her most of the time, she tastes it with her fingers and shakes her head saying no).  She doesn't want veggies or fruit (which she would eat happily before, like mango and cantaloupe she used to love it and now she doesn't like it anymore).
At this moment she is living on Cheerios, yogurt, cottage cheese, a few bites of pasta, fish fingers, mashed potatoes, and that's pretty much it.  Is this normal at 1?  Is she just going through a phase, will she go back to the way she was before? How can I encourage her to eat more veggies and fruit?

[tylersmommy]

Welcome to the world of toddler eating! It's normal...there's a huge drop in appetite around 1 yr of age, and usually food preferences come into play around then too. She knows when she's hungry and when she's not, so if she doesn't feel like eating, don't push it. Weight gain will slow down now and that's fine, but losing weight isn't...if that happens, you might call the dr. Healthy kids don't starve themselves!

What we've done for as long as I can remember is only offer healthy choices. Sometimes letting her choose can help. Even before my DS was verbal, I could hold up a banana and an apple and he could point to which one he wanted. If he didn't choose or wasn't old enough to pick, I'd put something in front of him that I knew he liked and put a non-favorite out there too. To this day, he'll want to eat the same thing for days on end, and that's fine with me because he only eats healthy food. Then, out of the blue, he'll refuse what he's been eating and move on to something else.

So yes, it's totally normal! Oh, and I got reeeeally good at hiding fruit and veggie puree in favorite foods, too...

[Baby Marena]

Thank you very much for getting back to me, at least now I know that its normal, and I´m prepared for this new stage.  Thanks for the great advice, just one more question how much milk from now on?

[aisling]

Also just to mention that teething could be a BIG factor in this entry to toddlerdom. That was the case for us.  He went back to a fab eater once the last 8 teeth were through.  He still has picky toddler moments and I hide all kinds of healthy choices and offer one thing one day with a NO and the next day with a YUMMY, but all in all it is much better than at 11-14 months. 

Aisling x

[aisling]

Sorry just saw the milk question.  "They" say min 16 oz to max 24oz.  Of course you can count other sources of calcium and fat from cheese, yogurt etc...for a part of the daily req. We were still at 24 oz at that age and now we are at 16 oz of just milk not including all the other dairy he has at almost 17 months.

A x

[becky1969]

This thread makes me feel SO much better. Stacy, we have the same dinner! Yogurt, fruit and bread. ACCCCCKK!!! It's so frustrating because a month ago, he was joyously trying new foods and textures. Now he will barely eat his favorites. I'm glad you mentioned teething is a factor, aisling, because he's getting his 4th molar, and I'm sure that affects things too. Thankfully, I read the BW toddler book so I haven't been making a fight of it - I offer him good food, allow him to eat as much as he wants, but as soon as we get playing or yelling, he's done. But it does make me worry!