13th Month Old - Eating

[martinemorris]

I need some help. My 13th month old DS refuses to eat anything with a lump in. Although saying that he will eat toast, bread, rusks, breadsticks, rice cakes etc, so there isnt a problem with chewing. I mean my DH made him a roast dinner yesterday and he wouldnt eat any of it, he just spat it out and cried. He is currently living on Toast, pasta, yoghurt, jars of Hipp and roast dinners that my aunt gives him (he is there a few days a week). He does however eat the food at nursery which is lumpy. Its beginning to stress me out and cause lots of tension. Please Help!!

[gillhowe]

What helped with my ds was just to leave him to it. He also hates what is basically lumpy mush (I think the lumps come as a surprise) he has what I have and eats mainly with his fingers. Some times he likes things cut up into bite sized peices.

I think probably the best thing you can do is relax and try not to get worked up - easier said than done I know. It doesn't sound like his diet is bad though, toast and pasta and sauce can provide lots of different things!

Maybe just try to build up on the things he will eat and offer things like strips of meat and bits of veg that he can pick up and eat. Sounds like that's whats already happening with his roast dinners at your aunts.

Good luck

[jaz2]

Sounds exactly the same as my 13mo DS. He'd eat anything at nursery, but was living on the same as your DS at home. It was causing me huge frustration and verging on battles at the dinner table.

But at Christmas I started trying a few alternatives AND at the same time he seemed to be happier eating things. Things that worked were finger food:

Pasta tubes - mix in some butter and grated cheese, sausages: chopped up into pieces, omelette (cut up into squares), roast potatoes. Then whilst he is distracted feeding himself these I can normally shovel in spoonfuls of mash.

He still refuses green veg tho - so broccoli (the only one that can be truely hidden!) has to be mushed up and hidden in mash or fromage frais / yogurt (!).

[martinemorris]

Thanks guys, will try tonight. Just had another battle which ended in him crying for a hour because he doesnt want to be fed.... He is currently devouring 2 rusks so he must be hungry.... It is so difficult trying not to get stressed but will persevere!! At least knowing im not alone makes me feel a bit better!!

[bubblagirl]

i never fed my ds at this age i let him use his fingers and make lots of mess and experiment with food

cooked carrots mashed potatoe roasted parsnips and sweet potatoe fish meat just left him to eat it himself never fussed him just good boy and that was it

if he sees your tense or stressed he will feel automatically tense

so just relax put his food on table and find something to do for 5 mins so its just him adn the food pear in and if eating say good boy

kiss on the head and then leave again so that you dont feel anxious and try and get him to eat something when experimenting with the food is fun to them

it is worrying but best thing i would say is to leave him to jsut play with food taste it just enjoy it instead of feeling like a stressful time

one thing i nver did was be anxious about his eating as always left him to do it and he still isnt fussy at 2.7 good luck

also if you can make dinner time fun such as mash put a bit on end of your nose and make him giggle as once he sees your relaxed he will relax around food Also

let him get dirty while feeding myth had it that if you were constantly wiping babies hands when eating they become fussy with the foods they will eat

[gillhowe]

Oh one other thing, when he was about 12-13 months DS went through a phase of not eating if I was watching him! I used to put food in front of him and then do the washing up.

Don't let it turn into a battle, he wont starve. Give him his food if he is hungry he will eat, if he refuses say "oh well you don't seem hungry" and try again later. If you keep going until you are really stressed you will both get upset. So he has toast for a couple of days while he gets used to the idea - so what, it wont hurt him.

Much easier said than done of course!

[HereComeTheGirls]

When my DD is teething she won't eat anything lumpy, but she loves to eat anything crunchy like breadsticks/toast/rice cakes..she has been getting her first molars over about the past 6 weeks (she is 15 months) and has been like this - could this be the case??

[martinemorris]

Thanks ladies. Now you come to mention it his back teeth do seem to be causing a problem. He has 2 already with the other 2 just coming through.

Tonight he ate Spaghetti Bolognaise, 2 youghurts and 2 rice cakes so definately hungry. Think going swimming might have helped build his appetite. ALso think he might just not be that hungry at lunchtime!!

Thanks for all your advice, ill let you know how it all goes.

PS. He has his MMR on Tuesday. Any feedback from that?

[tori32]

It sounds as though he wants to be independent. DD went through this.
I would just put everything onto the highchair tray and leave him to it. If he is hungry then he will eat. Finger foods are the way ahead. Even mushy things like mash can be eaten with fingers! Thats why wet wipes were invented