Pulling my hair out...fussy 14 month old. Help.

[Tinks15]

Aaaaaah somebody help me...my DD who is 14 months is sooo fussy! Literally everything i cook for her,she either wont even try, she spits out or throws on the floor. She hardly eats any fruit or veg. I just dont know what to do. I worry incase she isnt getting enough nutrition or will stop gaining weight! She doesnt like pasta, rice, egg, potatoes (sometimes i can just about get away with jacket pot if covered in beans). This is just a handful of things she wont eat! Anyone have any advice or tips or in the same boat as me? Really is sooooo frustrating!!!

[Tinks15]

Bump

[Gillian1980]

Hiya.

Do you feed her, or does she feed herself?

Is it in a bowl / on a plate, or on the high chair tray?

Type of cutlery?

My dd, 13 months, was being quite picky until I started experimenting with the above. If I put the food directly on her tray and let her eat with her hands she's much more easy going. Bowls, plates and cutlery seem too much of a distraction and me feeding her is an absolute no - she hates it.

Also if I put the food down then busy myself with something else (dishes etc) she tends to get on with it much more easily than if I'm hovering or watching her. Obviously I'm still keeping an eye in case of choking but to her I look busy doing something else.

[Tinks15]

I normally tend to put it all on her on her highchair tray and let her get on with it, like you busy myself so she knows i'm not hovering, when it comes to things like cereal/yoghurt i tend to spoon feed though which she doesnt mind and she actually eats!

[GrassIsJewelled]

I would just offer a meal and if she doesn't eat it, then that's the end of it, no substitutes. I also find that sitting down to eat with him helps and just talking about the day / trying to ignore him throwing food about.

I also organise meals so that if I want to try something more adventurous for dinner, I would make sure he has something I know he'll eat at lunch, so that if he doesn't eat dinner, I know he's had a good breakfast/lunch. Then the next day perhaps try something new for lunch (the dinner he didn't eat the day before!) and an old favourite for dinner.

I let him eat himself but also offer occasional spoonfulls and loaded spoons if he's not eating well, but don't make a fuss if he rejects them.

If he has a day where he eats like a bird, i'll give him extra milk at bedtime and a piece of toast. I feel like enough time has passed that he won't associate this with rejecting his dinner (which I serve quite early [4.30/5pm] as if he's tired he eats terribly)

[GrassIsJewelled]

and a blender is a great investment for hiding vegetables in pasta sauces and making smoothies. Some other good ways of hiding fruit and veg - muffins, thick pancakes, pinwheels, omelettes,...