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Food/Recipes

Overnight he's stopped eating!

11 replies

emmabee · 14/10/2002 12:40

13mo ds has always been an astoundingly good eater - it provokes comments wherever he goes. However, seemingly overnight he has turned into nightmare boy & just will not eat his meals. He will sometimes, just about, drink a pint of milk over the course of the day, & will have the odd breadstick or dried apricot or strip of bread, but meals-wise he just plays with the cutlery or tips the plate upside-down, or just chucks everything on the floor, bit-by-bit. I try not to react - I just remove the food & get him down from the chair. If he won't let me feed him, I give him cutlery or encourage him to use his fingers, but to no avail. He now wakes up v early in the morning, starving (but then faffs about with breakfast.)

One thing: he had a bit of a cold last week which meant he threw-up mid-meal on 2 occasions - could he be scared to eat a lot?

Help!

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SoupDragon · 14/10/2002 13:28

He may be associating eating with being sick I guess.

Go for a "little and often" approach and offer him lots of (healthy) snacks throughout the day. Slowly reduce the frequency and up the amounts and, hopefully, he'll soon have forgotten about being sick. Maybe go back to a favourite baby food to tempt him?

He may still be feeling off colour and doesn't fancy eating.

Good luck,

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Queenie · 14/10/2002 13:40

Could he be teething? My dd goes off food when teething with no other signs except for maybe dirtier nappies than usual - she'll drink lots of milk though which could account for nappies!! I noticed that from around 12 mths sometimes she was a great eater and other times she lived on air. She is now 2 and is going through a starvation phase but I think it's molars this time.

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emmabee · 14/10/2002 15:45

He is teething, yes, on & off.

Dh reports that he ate his lunch today, so perhaps it's just a phase. It's also possible that he's getting bored with porrige for breakfast. Does anyone know any cereals that aren't wheat based or too high in sugar?

I was going to change tactics, Soupdragon, & just give him wee snacks, like pieces of cheese or whatever. I just didn't want him to get too much into the habit of eating while wandering around as opposed to at the table.

I presume this is what they mean by the Learning Curve!!

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SoupDragon · 14/10/2002 15:51

And once you get the hang of this stage on the learning curve, they'll throw something new at you!

The snacks were meant as a short term thing only. I agree about the habit of wandering round when eating and I try (and I emphasise the word try) to make my 2 sit down properly for even a snack.

I was about to suggest Weetabix for breakfast but that is clearly wheat based I used to make fruity porridges from rolled oats, water or milk and an assortment of dried fruit.

DS1 liked to eat cereals dry from a bowl with a glass of milk. His favourite was, and still is, Cheerios (yes, I know they're by Nestle...) I'm not sure if they're wheat based.

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Tissy · 14/10/2002 15:58

try this from Lizzie Vann cookery book:

1 apple chopped
4 prunes chopped
1 tbsp porridge oats
5 fluid oz water

boil up for 5 mins and liquidise to consistency desired

I've started to up the amount of oats for my dd as its rather runny otherwise

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emmabee · 14/10/2002 15:58

I think Cheerios are a mixture of grains so i may give those a go. He's not allergic to wheat or anything, it's just that he does eat bread or toast so I don't want it to be the only cereal he has. He always used to have those BabyOrganix cereals, now he's on ReadyBrek.

He's pretty good actually, in that he can lift the spoon, fill it, & get it into his mouth - the right way up! That's when he doesn't just flick it over his shoulder, of course...

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emmabee · 14/10/2002 15:59

& thanks for the recipe, Tissy!

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Tissy · 14/10/2002 15:59

p.s. can be fridged or frozen then re-heated when needed

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SoupDragon · 14/10/2002 16:03

Tissy's sounds similar to the ones I made. I started with the Lizzie Vann recipe (Planet Organic cookbook?) and then improvised when I got the hang of it. I would add banana and use all sorts of dried fruits, soaked in fruit juice overnight. I did freeze it and it works OK but you need to add more liquid to it as it sort of sets. The same happens if you just refridgerate it.

I think Cheerios are rice, oats, probably wheat and maybe one other by the way.

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emmabee · 14/10/2002 16:12

That's brilliant. It may even be a way of getting fruit into the little b**r.

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SoupDragon · 14/10/2002 18:05

Pure fruit smoothies - pureed fruit and fruit juice. It's the only fruit my 2 get now!! Read the labels carefully to make sure you get the ones without added sugar. PJs, Innocent and Tescos Finest do them.

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