HELP!!! MAJOR FOOD CRISIS!!!!

[tryingtobemarypoppins]

Since Christmas and an illness my DS now 16 months has been eating very little. He has lost 0.75kg and is seeing a dietition.

He eats a good breakfast, cerial and yogart.

Lunch and Tea consist of throwing the savory and crying but eating the yogart etc that follows. Hence I only offer healthy desserts as I feel I need to give him two opportunities to eat, as its only a small amount, however nursrey once a week have rather yummy desserts and he always refuses his savory but eats some of their dessert. ARHHHH

At 16 months what can I do??? Nursery always make him wait until everyone is ready for dessert. They asked if I would be happy to say NO PUDDING IF YOU DON'T HAVE 1 SPOONFUL OF DINNER. This would mean though he would have to watch everyone else eat pudding and sit for 15 + minutes hungry until everyone has finished......I just won't do that. AIBU?

What can I do!!!??

i once read some very good advice on mn - don't get into a battle with food you will always lose.

it won't last forever, just keep offering food and he will start eating.

i found it helped to think about ds's intake in terms of a week rather than a day, he would often eat say only protein one day, veg another, bread another etc and it did sort of balance out.

I spent ages trying to get ds to eat his meals when all he wanted was his yoghurt... turns out that he just prefers having yoghurt first. I usually leave his main course near him on the table,let him have his yoghurt or whatever, then I get on with something else, washing up or whatever and often I'll turn round and find him eating his main course too.He might not eat the whole lot, but a few mouthfuls is good enough for me.

As fishie said, don't get in to food battles, he will win. I find the hands off approach to food much better. When I hovered over ds he would eat hardly anything, as soon as I got on with other things he'd start eating again.

Are there any particular savoury meals that your DS enjoys eating? My DS was also quite awkward eater at this age but liked things like breadsticks and carrot with philly cheese dip, and little pieces of pizza. He also liked fruit and yogurt.

Therefore as he liked these things which were healthy even though it was only a couple of foods I mainly gave him very small meals of the things he liked to eat, occasionally offering him a small bite of something new, perhaps what I was eating.

How often does he go to nursery, is it every day? Do they give exactly the same meal to each child?

I also found that by putting very small amounts on DS's plate he was more likely to eat this, than if he had a big plate full which he found off putting.

Agree with the above, also do you eat with him? DD is also 16mths and generally a good eater but can be sporadic - I always find she eats more when eating with DH and I - we chat and it seems to take the pressure off her iyswim. When DH is not here I make sure I eat something with her too, even just a tiny portion of what she is having.
I honestly don't think at 16mths he'd understand the 1 spoonful of dinner thing.

We always eat with him. He is only at nursery once a week. All children eat the same.
I agree, I think the nursery's suggestion is a bit cruel and at 16 months he won't understand. Do you think its ok to just rid this phase, offering healthy options and just hope he gets over it (Christmas this started) even though he has lost so much weight? It would help if the nursery didn't offer rather yummy desserts!

I agree with the other advice, especially about not making mealtimes into a battle.

How about trying savoury meals that are a bit sweet? like raisins mised in with the meal, or apple, lots of fruit goes well with savoury meals.
I'm sure DS only likes tomato soup because it is quite sweet, and am pretty sure that's why he's such a fan of ketchup.
I used to drizzle a bit of honey over broccoli and carrots for DS when he was little (I also occasionally served him vegetables dipped in melted dark chocolate just to get him to eat them )

Think little and often. Give him savoury snacks in between mealtimes, things he likes

Yep, just ride this phase and hopefully it will pass. Keep offering healthy varied food to him, and eventually he might eat it.

tryingtobe marypoppins

My DS aged 16 months ate:

Raisins
Porridge
Honey
Ketchup
COrnflakes
Bananas

and nothing else for about 2 months (usually mixed together)

Everyday I would offer him other things throughout the day and he would refuse them/chuck them on the floor. Scream for raisins and frigging ketchup.

I would give him some raisin and ketchup. Then on the side add some cordon bleu I had whisked up! which would be ignored ...

I never looked annoyed/cross/interested in the slightest in him eating or not eating.

We ate with him.

One day he ate the one thing from the other plate (which we pretty much ignored) and the next day two things....

he now is 23 months and eats almost anything (including a snail today )

My sister has a ds the same age and she admits she gets v het up when he doesnt eat and he is getting increasingly fussy.

SO I reackon don't make a fuss and it will pass.

It is very annoying (just dont let them know )

I started cooking with ds by this stage - and at this sort of age he did seem to realise that the thing that came out of the oven was something that he had cooked - we did pizza (from scratch, dough to be pushed out over slab etc) and he loved it - and would then eat more than usual. Might be worth trying?

If hes only at nursery once a week I'd let him eat the pudding. AT least hes eating something. took our lad 10 weeks before he would eat a main course at nursery... he ate puddings- if he liked them- from week one.

we eat at home on the floor watching thomas the tank engine. DS has had an awful time with teething so need all the distraction possible. this worked for us. i also found that DS would only eat soft food when teething was at its worst. he does drink lots of milk tho and this helps with weight as well.

Re moocowme - my DS also drunk loads and loads of milk still at that age - probably too much as I think this affected his ability to eat his meals - however if your DS is losing weight then drinking extra milk would help.