18 months and still weaning

[Elly88]

Hi all, looking for some advice for my LO who is 18 months old now. We started weaning at 3 months as he wasn't taking enough milk to get the calories he needed - advised by the HV. He loved food, especially fruit puree, but really struggled with any form of texture or lump, it was a very slow process. We've come a long way and eats normal meals cut up. However he has always refused to eat any fruit other than banana and Raspberries?! He used to eat Blueberries now randomly won't touch them, along with any other type of fruit. He will eat Carrots, peas and sweetcorn, occasionally cauliflower cheese, but won't touch other vegetables either. He's also rather behind on the teeth front, got 2 molars with 2 more just broken through, 4 front teeth and 2 top side ones. He can't handle anything crunchy like raw carrot/cucumber/apple etc, will still just choke on it - always had a very sensitive gag reflex! I've kind of been waiting for at least 2 top and 2 bottom molars for him to be able to crunch and chew cucumber etc but not sure if I'm just pandering to him? He will happily drink smoothies which at least gets him the nutrients but I do not want a fussy eater! I've tried eating it with and in front of him, offering only fruit as his snack etc, hell still just refuse it and go hungry. Any ideas? Is this normal for his age? Is it just a slow process of keep offering?

How much exposure had he had to crunchy foods? My girls could both can cucumber before they had any teeth. They did many to eat the skins but were fine with the flesh.

As long he is getting and otherwise varied diet with lots of veg then fruit it’s a problem. What does an average day of food look like?

Do you mean choking or gagging? they are two very different things and babies do have a more sensitive gag reflex

At 18 months I'd just give him the food and he either eats it or doesn't. Try not to turn it in to a battle. He'll not starve and a missed meal will do no harm.

And I'd recommend cutting out the smoothies for now. The downsides of the sugar and empty calories outweigh the benefits of the vitamins. For me anyway, everyone is different.

I'd be pleased with 4 vegetables - mine likes tomatoes and occasionally tolerates sweetcorn and that's it! I think periods of fussiness are normal and most of my friends babies have gone through periods of refusing certain foods. Have you tried other crunchy things like breadsticks, rice cakes etc?

Outside of the fruit and vegetables, what is he actually eating? Will he pick up foods/self feed with a spoon? Babies jaws are really strong/hard so I doubt the lack of teeth is the thing holding him back.

My DD was a very late teether but it actually didn't impact her ability to eat too much, so I wouldn't worry about that. Babies have strong gums! Definitely she was fine with cucumber, as a PP also said.

How about raw cauliflower or broccoli? I'd also focus more on veg than fruit at this age.

Hi all, yes he eats breadsticks, rice cakes and crackers etc but they melt down don't they unlike raw veg?
Yes I know smoothies seem to be a hit and miss item, but the ones he has are just our blitz fruit so no different than giving him a banana and some strawberry in regards to calories and sugar? But if people think this may be putting him off whole fruit I could try cutting them out for a bit, I did try thag before though tbf and ust meant he was getting a lot less goodness.
I don't just mean he gags, he coughs and brings back out whatever bit was at the back of his mouth.
Yes I had been going along the lines of all I can do is offer it and hell eat it if he's hungry enough surely. I was force fed as a child if I hadn't eaten enough brocoli for example and I never want to do that (tho I do like most fruit and veg so clearly hasn't scarred me for life!) but I work on the basis of he doesn't have to eat it but there's nothing else on offer. Afters is a tricky one though isn't it, how do you get your toddler to understand he gets a pudding if he eats enough dinner, but not if he doesn't... Maybe we should cut out any treats for a while and see if that helps!
Typical day might look like Cereal or toast for breakfast with milk, mid morning snack of a smoothie/whole fruit/breadstick, lunch he has whatever we've had for dinner night before with sometimes a Yoghurt after. Afternoon snack could be any combination of rice cakes/crackers/cheese/raisins/biscuit/Yoghurt. Tea could be omelette/fishfingers/spaghetti hoops/soup etc with some veg (often peas/sweetcorn).
Yes he picks up foods and can use a spoon/fork though often refers to his hands still.
Thanks!

Have you tried offering crunchy foods mixed with something smoother and softer?mFor example, diced apple mixed in with a yogurt or carrot batons smothered with humous/ketchup.
Also take him shopping and let him choose out the fruit and veg. One success I've had is with broccoli. My son wouldn't touch it with a barge pole until I got him to pick the one he wanted at the supermarket. Then we came home and he washed it and broke it into pieces and popped it into a saucepan. He made a lot of mess and water went everywhere, but he also had great fun and has eaten broccoli ever since.
Use exciting names for foods e.g. we call chicken in sauce 'sticky chicken' or soup 'surprise soup' or green beans 'squeaky beans' (can you hear them?) and ham up the name ...
Playing with food doesn't have to be a bad thing. Make it into fun shapes or hide it. We used to pretend we're dinosaurs eating trees when we eat broccoli – adds a bit of fun to the meal!
We've explained about vitamins and minerals and how they help your body grow and stay healthy. My DD will now eat mushrooms because she is desperate to be a big girl. And DS will flex his muscles when he's eaten a lot of veg!
If you know another child who’s an adventurous eater, invite them round for tea – watching them eat different food might just encourage your ds to join in. If you can’t at the current time, get teddy to join in – one for teddy – one for him.

Forgot he will eat parsnips too. But won't touch anything like peppers, green beans or brocolli or cucumber or tomato etc. I think he just prefers smoother carbier foods as they mush and dissolve more easily, which probably stems from his earlier weaning problems. But I don't want a fussy child!!

Yes I have tried bits of pear or Yoghurts with soft fruit pieces in - won't touch it. And he loves Yoghurt! Like the idea about the helping with the prep and cooking of the veg, though he's possibly too young to fully understand. I do get my shopping delivered though so no choosing there I'm afraid. We did when he was younger. Good shout re Teddy too. And lots of ideas for when he's able to converse more, not sure he's quite there yet though unfortunately xx

Have you tried giving him a fork for soft fruit so he doesn't have to touch it? My 19mo Gags at the sight of things that look sticky like philly cheese on bread, nectarines, strawberries (the latter 2 with a tiny bit of sugar) but give him a fork and he'll eat like a horse. No fork no eating.
That seems like quite a good variety of food though,
Have you tried giving him food just to play with rather than expecting he'll eat it?

To be honest the meals you've written sound fine to me!

What do you mean by cutting out treats? That definitely is something to consider but I wasn't sure what you meant.

Is he gaining weight and growing ok? Or is it more the fussiness you are worried about?

I would give him not a huge amount of carbs and keep giving veg with no pressure.

Thank you, all sounds good. By treats I mean pudding after lunch or tea (not all the time) but it may be a bit of cake or ice cream or rice pudding etc