Ask:
My DS is 12 months and he has 11 teeth. I can barely get him to eat. I have tried to cut back on his milk intake to make more room in his tummy, but still nothing. He likes dairy products, but his butt has a rash right now that I think is from whole milk. I have switched him to Soy milk and it is getting better.
He eats fruit, green beans, pasta noodles with butter, bread, crackers...occassionally he will eat chicken.
Any suggestions - I am worried about his nutirtion not being balanced.
Answer:
My kids have always gone through their phases of eating hardly anything to eating constantly depending on growth spurts. I'm sure you are doing a good job and he is fine! I would say yogurt b/c my kids live on yogurt but that's dairy and doesn't help you. Maybe try nutrigrain bars for a snack? My son loves them. Applesauce? he probably already eats that. For meals I would try to feed him whatever you are eating cut tiny. Good Luck!
Answer:
yeah, he surprises us on the things he will eat. One night it is good and the next time no way. He does love yogurt - but I have cut it our for now. Loves apples, but not wild about applesauce - texture. He will eat fruit cups, but I don't like all the syrup. He is a snacker - I just need new items with different nutritional content.
Thanks!
Answer:
My oldest son was one of those kids you had to make sure ate something. He could go all day without eating I bet. When I asked his pediatrician about it, and a nutritionist, they both said that you can't make them eat. You can to sneak things into foods they do eat if you feel they aren't getting enough nutrients. But a child will eat when he/she's hungry. You're not starving him, and he's not willfully starving himself, so chances are he's just not a big eater. As long as he remains on the "healthy child" side of the spectrum at his appointments, I wouldn't push him.
To this day, my oldest really isn't a big eater. There are some times when he'll wow me, but usually he sticks to what I make him and doesn't snack. He loves his fruits and some vegetables (raw and cooked) and he likes to eat meat. But he is not a fan of starches like potatoes, pasta, breads, etc. He'll eat them now if I ask him too, but it's always the last thing on his plate. I always say he's naturally on the Atkins diet. He's always been very thin, but still within healthy range at the doctor's.
Answer:
A Ped once told me that a child will not undereat and don't worry about eating from day to day, but take a look at the whole week!
Once I got into this mode, I really relaxed about my dd's eating. This seems to work well and I don't stress when she has a no eating day; I know she'll make up for it in the next few days. It is a good idea to limit the milk and juice though. If I remember right, they only need about 16-20 oz of milk a day. (I'll have to confirm that now that ds is transitioning to table food and milk.) I tried to wait untill she had eaten a little before I gave her milk so that she didn't fill up on it.
She still has her phases and now that she is 2 if she won't eat something, all I have to do is add ketchup or ranch dressing!
Answer:
Thank you for those reminders about not starving themselves and to look at the week as a whole. It is true. He is just now starting to eat a little bit of chicken (2-4 bites). He loves breads and pizza. My DH jokes that he is not his son because he doesn't eat.
Answer:
We were suspicious about my 12 month old being lactose intolerant and my doctor actually said that some people are able to digest yogurt and some of the more aged cheeses. I hope this helps a little with more possibilities. We aren't for sure on my son yet but I don't think he is just teething. Good Luck.
Answer:
My daughter turned 3 in July and she still doesn't eat very much. She isn't really a picky eater but only eats a few bites at a time. We just try to keep her snacks healthy. She is continuing to grow so the ped told us not to worry. Milk has always been her drink of choice so we do try to limit it in hopes that she will eat more. Some days she does surprise us.
My son on the other hand has no problem eating us out of house and home.
Answer:
Originally Posted by lhbocean
We were suspicious about my 12 month old being lactose intolerant and my doctor actually said that some people are able to digest yogurt and some of the more aged cheeses. I hope this helps a little with more possibilities. We aren't for sure on my son yet but I don't think he is just teething. Good Luck.
The baby was on soy formula andd seemed to transition ok to whole milk, but he poops right after every bottle (thus our suspicion). His butt gets red when a food doesn't sit well with him (just like his big brother's used to do). Now he has a spot on his butt that is firey red and blistered - so we stopped all dairy, put him on soy milk cold turkey (than goodness he liked it and no reaction) and he butt is clearing up. It has been less than a week.
Answer:
Originally Posted by mommytosa
A Ped once told me that a child will not undereat and don't worry about eating from day to day, but take a look at the whole week!
Absolutely; this is La Leche League's suggestion for pickiness too.
I'm going to repeat myself from another post, but take a look at Ruth Yaron's book "Super Baby Foods". It has a million and one suggestions for healthy snacks, for all levels of eating skills.