1 year old not having breakfast

[Mumtobe202310]

Hi All,

My LO just turned 1 28th of September.

He is refusing his porridge which is ready brekk with mashed bananas. Even when I make blueberry pancakes he will not have it.

Today he had few spoonfuls of porridge and then when I was eating my breakfast which was eggs he came to me and showed interest in eating it so I gave him the yolk part of the egg as the white part was a bit hard cos I made it for myself and was scared it would be hard for him.

After a while he went to sleep.

He has been sleeping nearly an hour and a half and it just makes me worry about him sleeping without eating properly. Wouldn't he be hungry?

Any ideas on recipes for toddlers which they may enjoy would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I breastfeed only since he didn't take bottle for months. So now he is 12 months i tried to give him cows milk to drink with meal. He flat out refused.

I know it's not necessary for me to give him cows milk but the thing is, I don't know how much breast milk of mine he is getting and the guidance is that over 12 months the babies should get I think 300ml of milk!!! how would I know he is getting that from my breast milk?!

Please advice

Mix milk or other dairy into his food. Toddlers can be fussy. Feed him what you have minus salt/sugar if possible. Let them have finger foods eg toast, Veg batons. Give him water or juice with food. Water the rest of time.

egg is not too hard. Give him food he is interested in, porridge is quite boring to be fair

Maybe make yourself both the same breakfast and eat with him.
When DC was 1 she liked:
Smashed avocado on lightly toasted seeded bread
Boiled eggs
Frittata with spinach, mushrooms, cheddar cheese (good to batch cook)
She absolutely never wanted porridge

As a PP said, include cows milk within the meal itself rather than a cup of it "neat". You could try a breakfast smoothie with bananas (I think there's CSR or Joe Wicks recipe).

Why would egg be too hard for a one year old? Avocado is a good option, scrambled egg, toast, greek yoghurt with fruit, overnight oats, do you BF before breakfast?

Is he getting milk at night? Perhaps he’s just not hungry.

Assuming no health issues I wouldn’t worry and invest too much energy in analysing what he does and does not eat. If he’s hungry he’ll let you know. Maybe he’s getting milk at night and isn’t hungry? Maybe he’s finding porridge a bit boring? Perhaps he’s just going through a phase? You’ll never work it out, babies and toddlers are odd and unpredictable.

I’d offer him some different options (eggs, toast, yoghurt, smoothies, fruit, sausages, bagels, muffins) if he eats great. If he doesn’t, don’t sweat it. Don’t make a fuss or food becomes a stress point which will only make everyone unhappy.

I wouldn't worry too much. If he doesn't want to eat I would take it as he is not hungry. My DD has morning she doesn't want anything else than milk and most of the other morning s just something little.

If it's only recently he's not eating his breakfast could he have a tooth coming through?

My LO went off his breakfast for a while so we started making ourselves toast at the same time he eats. He refused to eat his own but wanted to eat our toast, after about a week he was happy to eat his own again.

He eats loads at nursery but doesn't ever want to eat that much at home

Ahhh thanks everyone! I thought the eggs would be hard cos I accidentally burned my eggs a bit on the bottom while was emptying the laundry😭 Yes, I breastfeed him middle of the night as he wake up 2 times at least during nights. Then in morning before breakfast I breastfeed too.So maybe that's why he's not hungry? he never used to do this that's why I was a bit like why is he doing it now.

Oh no please don't worry about him having cows milk! Breastmilk is perfectly good for him. Much better in fact. It is fattier and more nutritious at this age.

Don't worry if he eats a small breakfast. My DD is the same. She just isn't a breakfast person so far even at 1 year old, and I'm the same! If he eats enough at lunch and dinner that's fine.

Kellymom website is a fab resource. kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/ebf-benefits/

My 18 month old regularly declined a meal in favour of boob. I wouldn't worry about amounts as long baby gets a balanced diet over a week. It's normal to go through these fussy periods. Have never given my tots cows milk as they have boob or other dairy or calcium rich foods.

Definitely try Baby Led Weaning. It takes the pressure right off. Just give him whatever you're eating (egg and soldiers is perfect) and let him throw it around/into his mouth. If he is still avoidant then sit him on your knee and let him take food from your plate to eat. He will soon get the hang of it and he's getting everything he needs from your milk.