One year old eats next to nothing

[bluebear19]

Wasn't sure where to post - sorry!

My one year old eats next to nothing. He gets three meals and three snacks a day put in front of him. I would say he eats 10% of this food and the rest ends up on the floor and he cries for a boob.

I breast feed him 4x a day - morning and night and before 2x naps.

He also feeds on and off most of the night too which is another issue we are working on!

Its sooo frustrating. He won't let me spoon feed him and he is 100% baby led.

He will eat spaghetti hoops, blueberries and kiwi in abundance if it's in front of him so I know he has the capability but everything else goes on the floor.

Any tips before we go mad? I hate seeing the food waste and it's incredibly frustrating :-(

He's on the 16th percentile so he's quite little (but very very active and just started walking and is already talking lots so not worried about his development)

Anyone?

I really think they're just all different... Sorry I know that's not helpful. Try not to get stressed out by it as the pressure puts them off. Are you happy with the amount your bf or do you want to reduce it?

I know it's hard but try not to stress. Every single baby in the world eventually gets the hang of food. If he's growing and healthy then he's doing fine.

Just put very small amounts of food in front of him at a time. Don't react to throwing food as he will think it's a game. Try to eat together. Give him a spoon to hold and wave around. Chill.

How old exactly?
Big difference between 12 months and 23 months for example.

Just keep offering lots of different foods, they pick it up eventually.
DS is almost 3 and some days eats a handful of food, others he eats more than me and his dad combined!

That’s so normal - honestly I wouldn’t worry. Parent provides, child decides - he knows how hungry he is

If he's not losing weight, I wouldn't worry too much. He's getting a lot of nutrients from being bf, I didn't manage to bf so I could be talking rubbish. But I wonder if he has less breast milk he might compensate by eating more?

My Dd is 2.5 and eats like a horse some days, honestly she eats more than me! Then the last few days she's picked at things, but not really eaten much at all.

I'd just keep offering him a variety, maybe try putting less on the plate to minimise waste? Or let him eat your food until he finds more he likes.

Do you think bf could be part of the issue, if he's more interested in milk than solid food? !'d probably night wean (unless you're really against it, obviously), gradually cut down on daytime feeds, and see if he starts to eat a bit more. For the food throwing, can you offer just a little at a time to stop it all going on the floor?

As a pp said, they’re all different so this is probably of no help, but I find my 14 month old eats much more when she’s distracted- eg we had a pub lunch with family today and she was busy looking all around her and ate lots. Or if she’s having fun ‘cherltting’ with me and her dad at the table, of watching me tidy the kitchen while she’s in her high chair she often Ileana much more then if I’m just sat down next to her effectively watching her. So pub lunches for the next few months basically.🤣

It must be difficult not to stress about it, but keep offering food. Are you eating with him? My son did much better at that age when I was eating the same thing as him and he'd take my food off me. You could also give him vitamins if you're worried!

My ds was very similar. Night weaning made a big difference.

Do you have older kids? I needed to adjust to the tiny amount of food that could somehow power my first. It still baffles me that the very small portions they can eat and still be healthy and full of energy etc!

At 12 months old my little one hadn't even really started on solids now, at 21 months old there isn't much he won't eat. He's not a huge eater (unless it's cucumber) but I try to remind myself his stomach is probably about the size of his fist and that often reassures me a bit.

Excuse typos-should say ‘chatting.’ And also solidarity on the feeds through the night-mind is awful for it and I’m bloody knackered!

He worn have any room with the milk too, the only way to get them to eat more is to give them less milk . They only have tiny tummies !

Won't

My daughter was the exact same at that age and actually dropped from 60th centile to 25th!! She is now 19 months and back up to 55th centile and lover of ALL food and rarely feeds during the day bar post nap. Hope that reassures you.

My dd just preferred the breast to food. I can remember seeing what bottle fed babies managed to eat and my jaw nearly hit the floor.
I can’t remember how it resolved, but it must have because she is almost 18 and almost 6 feet tall!
Babies all go through weird phases. They also take two steps forward and one back ( or maybe that’s us and how we cope with them. I always found I just managed to wrap my head round their new normal, and they would move on).
So take a deep breath. Know there will be food waste, there just will. Know your boy will one day be a teenager who eats you out of house and home.

I'm pretty sure this is normal, my 18m DD is the same. Some days she eats more solid food than others but she still loves the BF.

Encouraging her to use cutlery by herself (first a spoon and now we are working on learning to use a fork) really helped her eat more food

It might be because breast milk is sweet and comforting. Might your little one be interested in a dippy egg and soldiers, raisins, cubes of cheese?

I agree with the eating out thing. My DS always ate well but when we were out he would eat loads.

If he is having a lot of bm he is probably simply not hungry.

Have you tried swapping the order of things so that are offering food when it's been a while since he has had milk so that he is actually hungry? If he is being bf probably every 3 hours and at night, when you are offering solids it's probably only an hour or 2 since he filled up on milk.

He obviously getting all his calories from milk. I think at a year Ds only fed first and last thing. I night weaned at 8 months and cut out nap feeds at 10ish months. Up to you when to cut feeds but he's obviously just not hungry.

Also I'm not sure 3 snacks are really necessary. 3 meals, 3 snacks and 4 breast feeds during the daytime is a lot. I would cut the snacks out until he starts eating more at mealtimes or only if he's showing hunger signs. I would also avoid junk like spagetti hoops in favour of proper savory food otherwise he'll only want sweet things.