19 month old very limited diet

[soontobefour4]

Posted this in weaning but got no replies so reposting here for traffic and hopefully a bit of advice.

I started wearing DS about 12 months ago. Usual stuff - porridge, toast, purées etc, mixture of blw and spoon feeding. He has always been a reluctant eater despite being 98th centile from birth. I've just been patient, kept offering him all sorts but not getting too worked up over it because I figured it would fall into place eventually.

At the beginning of this year he started eating everything I offered him pretty much. He was eating the same as us, just mashed up a bit and you could tell he was really enjoying his food. We had about 6 weeks of this bliss where he was eating fish pie, cottage pie, casseroles, curries etc. Now it's even worse than before, all I can get him to eat is toast, wheetabix, porridge, yogurts, one or two of the Ella's Kitchen meals and the occasional piece of fruit. Of course he'll also eat biscuits, chocolate buttons, crisps etc but obviously these are avoided.

I just don't know what else to try. I try to make mealtimes fun but it just always ends in screaming, tears and the food on the floor. I'm 38 weeks pregnant with number 2 and feeling like a really terrible mum for trying to get him to eat well and causing him stress when he's about to have such a big change in his life. Should I just buy shares in Ella's Kitchen and accept for now that maybe he easy option is better for both of us at the moment?

Any tips really gratefully received by a hormonal pregnant woman feeling like the worst mum in the world 😞

My daughter is a fussy eater and I worry about her too. She's gone off ready meals (frustratingly!) but there are about 3 healthy meals that I batch cook that she will eat and that she has on rotation basically. It's really not ideal and I do want to encourage her to eat a more varied diet but I also think I mustn't panic about it as that will make her worse. I was an awfully fussy child and my parents were relaxed about it and made food for me that I liked. As I grew up I started to experiment more and although I'm still a bit fussy with certain ingredients I eat pretty normally. It's difficult I know. My approach is to just give her the food she likes and keep introducing new food alongside it in the hope that she'll grow to like that too!

Btw healthy little foodies and my kids lick the bowl are good blogs for healthy snacks/lunches for little ones. I always have a selection in the freezer and although some things were frowned upon at first she now eats carrot muffins and quinoa bites etc. Makes me feel better that I'm not just feeding her stuff out of a packet all day (she does have that too though!)

Keep offering everything but make sure there is always one thing he will eat available. Serve the food, eat with him, don’t mention the food at all. He can choose what to eat and how much. Don’t put any pressure on him or yourself over this, just keep offering healthy choices along with what you know he will eat.

Try not to stress too much about it - says someone who stresses about it when DS isn't eating much variety, veg etc!

My son (2.5) is kind of medium-fussy. Things he likes that you could try (if not already):

• Omelettes
• Fish fingers
• Sausages (the good little company ones don't have nasty preservatives in)
• Cheese
• for carbs: rice, couscous, plain pasta
• veg: bit hit and miss but currently likes baby sweetcorn and tenderstem broccoli - used to eat carrots and peas but has gone off them, hopefully temporarily!

Hope that helps and good luck with no. 2!

Thanks everyone for replying. I'll just keep offering and making sure there's something he likes on his tray.

Good idea OP. I'd recommend 'My Fussy Eater" blog. She has some great recipes. We've tried the butternut squash pasta sauce which was a hit!