Getting fruit & veg in my 16 month old

[Yarnie]

My still-breastfeeding 16 month old has been slow to wean onto solid foods. He refused purees almost entirely and is much happier with "proper" food and is gradually eating more and more. I'm not worried about the weaning per se, as I can see he's getting there. I am, however, having real trouble getting him to eat any fruit or veg. He is quite fussy about what he eats in general.

He was also a terrible sleeper, but has just recently undergone a dramatic improvement (yaay!) This has also meant that he is taking much less milk at night (with a consequent increase in daytime appetite). The unfortunate result of all these great improvements is that he is constipated :( As well as not taking much fruit or veg (just a tiny bit of banana every now and then), he is also very slow to using a cup. He has a cup available at all times and only takes a few small sips of water.

I offer him a range of fruit and veg prepared in different ways each day. He occasionally has a go at it, but the amount that is going in is negligible.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do about the constipation??

What kind of proper food does he like? Is it something you can hide veg in like bolognese or shepherds/cottage pie? Also, recently when I asked about one of mine who is a fruit refused, another poster pointed out that fruit is unnecessary. It's healthier ultimately to eat veg, from which you can get the same nutrients without the sugar. I think banana can make constipation worse. We've always struggled with it in our house. We ended up asking our GP who prescribed lactulose, which helps keep things moving.

No help with the fruit and veg as that's the one thing my 16 month old will eat, but wrt the beaker this www.amazon.co.uk/Tommee-Tippee-Tip-It-Beaker/dp/B003KVG6UE/ref=sr_1_3?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1366393588&sr=1-3&keywords=tip+it+up+cup has been such a hit with everyone in our NCT group. It has a really soft spout and they'll all drink anything you put in it.

www.amazon.co.uk/Tommee-Tippee-Tip-It-Beaker/dp/B003KVG6UE/ref=sr_1_3?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1366393588&sr=1-3&keywords=tip+it+up+cup

And how about vege muffins or cakes? DS loves brocolli and cheese muffins. and you can easily find recipes for beetroot/carrot/courgette cakes.

Ds was a fruit and veg refuser, I think it was texture reals yes as he would also only try banana.

I would make things out of vegetables, like sweet corn pancakes. And grate courgettes and carrots into Bolognaise.

It was slow progress but he got better when he was old enough to reason with and explain it was healthy etc. he is now just 5 and eats a good selection, still has a few weird habit-wont eat tomatoes but happily has lettuce and cucumber.

And these www.babyledweaning.com/recipes/lunchdinner/bats-sweetcorn-patties/ and these www.babyledweaning.com/recipes/lunchdinner/fionas-vegetable-nuggets/ have both been big hits and don't seem too much like actually eating veg. The patties especially I just chuck in pureed carrot/spinach/whatever in fridge.

19mo ds goes through phases with his veg. One week he'll love carrot, the next it's potato (and not the many carrots now bought) so I'd recommend to keep trying different things, but also I'd try a different vessel for water. Ds has not got the hang of a cup but drinks loads of water from his straw beaker. Totally recommend it, especially for those like my ds who struggle to tip up a cup/beaker.

As for fruit, ds is addicted to fruit pouches...which are at least healthy I guess. Oh, and he hates banana but LOVES banana muffins.

My ds drinks very little too no matter what cup I try. He's also breastfed still and is now 21 months. I've found he drinks far more from a straw tab any baby / toddler cup I've tried. To kill two birds with one stone I now give him and innocent smoothie carton everyday and he gulps it down. Fruit and fluids all in one hit. Also how about ice lollies made from fresh fruit?

My kids don't notice grated courgette in things like scrambled eggs

I mask veg with cheesy sauces and gravy type sauces. DS always woofs them down, even carrots which he point blank refuses on their own.