Refusing to eat now....

[waffler]

I've seen a couple of posts on this from other mums but didn't want to "crash!"

Mira used to be quite a good eater. She definitely had her likes and dislikes. But now, it's all changed. First, let me explain that her FIRST tooth (yes... a late starter) is just popping up. And she had a temperature that I think was related to her teething last wk, and that's when her appetite just dwindled. Mind you, about 3 wks ago I think she was going through a growth spurt she just couldn't tuck enough food away!

Basically, i just cannot get a spoon to her. I've tried to give her a spoon with some food on it, but she just either flings it or just doesn't know how to feed herself. So I tried finger foods. The only thing now that keeps her happy is home made fish fingers (at least she's eating fish!!). So i experimented with other stuff to resemble the shape and texture, like potato+minced beef croquttes, and vegie fritters. Nope. On the floor it went.

The ONLY thing I can feed her by spoon is her breakfast , but even so I have to distract her and she won't finish it. I tried to give her food by hand, and for some stuff she'll open her mouth but as soon as she tastes it she makes a face and spits it out. And this is stuff she used to love!

So I'm not sure if I have a fussy picky eater now or is this teething related?? I'm going to persevere with the spoon... see if she'll feed herself....

Oh! Almost forgot! (sorry this is a novel). I think our bottles of milk may be an issue (she wont take it from anything else). Right now, i'm still doing bottles before food. She takes about 18oz a day. I'm just wondering if I should miss out the middle bottle as her appetite for dinner isn't great. This is what her day looks like :

7.00 wake, give bottle 6-7oz
8.00 breakfast : banana+yoghurt, weetabix+milk, toast.
9.20-10.10 - nap
10.10 - try to give a snack of something healthy (used to be fruit now it's rice cakes!)
12.15 Lunch (now it's fishfingers, and some asparagus, and whatever else I can get her to eat, mostly cheerios in the end....)
2-3.30 Nap
3.30 Bottle of milk 6oz (THIS IS THE ONE I'M WORRIED ABOUT, PERHAPS IT'S TOO MUCH AND I SHOULD REDUCE AMOUNT)
Snack may be a rice cake around 4pm
5.15 Dinner - again, whatever I can get her to eat right now
7.00 Bottle of milk with bedtime 7oz

Do you think the milk is an issue? Thanks.

[lisi's mum]

If she was a pretty good eater she will be again, I reckon she's just out of sorts. When my dd isn't feeling so great (usually teeth) she stops eating all together - today's one of those days and my fridge is rapidly filling up with little tupperware boxes of leftovers  At these times she falls back on milk, once she feels better the milk intake goes down again and food up.

I'd say ride it out, if she wants milk give it to her, and if you're worried you could always beef it up a little by adding a bit of baby oatmeal to it or such like. Have you tried smoothies or something like that?

Good luck, it's hard not to worry but she's not going to do herself any harm

[tylersmommy]

How old is she? If she's over 1 yr (I'm guessing she is, didn't see how old she is), then the milk bottles could def be an issue. Appetite decreases big time after 1 yr so large amounts of milk close to mealtime could easily be filling her up. It's pretty normal for LO's to refuse milk from a sippy until the bottles are totally gone, too.

You're doing the right thing by trying different kinds of finger foods. Food jags are pretty common as babies become toddlers. I never fought it. Things that helped:
- Only offering healthy foods. That way when she decides to only eat 1 thing for weeks on end, you can at least be sure it's good for her.
- Keep offering other foods, but don't force the issue. One day, she WILL eat something else. I promise.
- Sneak other foods in wherever you can. Use fruit/veggie puree as a spread on rice cakes or a dip for the fish fingers, for example.

Hang in there...it will pass!