Feeding Issues with my 14 month old DS!!

[Hopeful2]

Hi,

Advice needed -

I breastfed my little boy until he was a yr old, but started weaning him onto solids at about 5 months as he was a hungry bubba. I did a mixture of babyledweaning & making my own blended food for him. I noticed as he was getting older he was becoming quite fussy with his eating habits, but lately he refuses to eat anything unless it's petit filous or baby crisps etc. Proper food he refuses & I don't know what to do. He turns his head away from the spoon. I've tried giving him a spoon also to try & feed himself but it just goes all over the walls instead of in his mouth. Obviously I don't just give him petit filous but the little amounts of proper food I do manage to get him to eat can't be right for a growing boy! It's actually starting to drive me crazy now. Has anyone got any ideas to help with feeding my little one???

[Iggly]

Let him make a mess - he won't learn otherwise. Also give him food which is easy to pick up with hands.

Also have meals with him so he can pick fold from your plate (always more interesting than his own!) and see how you eat.

Also don't make a big deal - try and relax.

I do all of these things with DS, 15 months. He goes through phases where he eats a little, picks etc then makes up for it later. He's starting to feed himself with cutlery and finger feeds most of the time.

It'll be ok, he won't starve himself!

[Iggly]

Pick from not fold!

[Hopeful2]

Iggly I do have meals with him & I let him make a mess. I just worry that he is not eating as much as he should or the right food. I have just cut out a bottle also to see if this helps. Unfortunately when I gave up BF DS would not take from a beaker & the only way I could get him to have milk was to bottle feed, I know he shouldn't be taking from a bottle during the day but I also wanted him to have sufficient milk.
Maybe it is just a phase & he'll start to improve when he wants to, I just need to learn to relax more at feeding times lol

[mindtheagegap]

Hi Hopeful, I share your pain, DD (15 months) has decided she does not want to be fed off a spoon but can't handle cutlery. She will eat finger food - but only fishfingers and peas .. which take ages for her to pick up! She will let me feed her natural yogurt and cereal with yogurt but that's about it. Very frustrating but she is full of beans and drinks milk so am trying to go with the flow. It will improve (or so I keep telling myself!).

[Iggly]

If you're worried about how much food is going in, can you add up a weeks worth?

It is hard not to worry - DS goes through these phases. I found that giving him better spoons meant he'd be able to do it himself a bit more.

I wouldn't worry about a bottle either. DS uses an open cup for water but only recently stopped having his milk from a bottle (he is BF but I'd express for him and he'd have a bottle).

I used to give DS big meals (in hindsight) but looking at him I realise he's only got a little stomach as have all toddlers! So now I give small portions - about two/three tablespoons worth at most and he finds it more manageable. His dietician said he doesn't need that much - their growth slows down a lot after the first year.

Is he happy, thriving and healthy?