13 month old and food worries

[Jkrowlingsarmy]

Hi everyone,

This might be a long one as I’m overthinking and fretting! My daughter is 13 months old and has never been a baby that wolfs down anything. She likes what she likes (which tends to change on a daily basis) and I offer her a range of food but she simply
won’t eat it. I’ll put it on a spoon, finger food etc - no luck.

she has always been wee (everyone comments that’s she’s a dot) and the food thing really worries me. She was 25th percentile at her last weigh in (I’m due another one soon) and the HV showed no concerns. Some nights she simply doesn’t want anything except fruit which I worry isn’t going to help her grow.

my childminder said food is the thing that makes them sleep so when she doesn’t eat I just worry that she won’t sleep. My childminder today said she hadn’t eaten much and that I need to cut down her milk as “she is tiny” and it’s filling her up. She has a 6oz on waking and a 7 at night - I don’t know how to cut out the morning milk though. Do I simply replace with water then do
her porridge an hour later?

I’m just panicking - feel I’m doing a rubbish job because I can’t get my baby to eat more and I’m not sure what to do. Should I cut her milk in the morning and replace with water to increase her food? I don’t think she’s too tiny - she’s quite neat but so am I and so is her dad.

just a bit fed up - constantly thinking about her food and her weight.

😢

She's only 13 months! My 22 month old still has a not disimilar amount of milk 😂 You could cut the morning one down a bit but you could also just do breakfast a bit later. They still need 500ml whole milk daily at this age - that includes yoghurt etc and milk in cereal.

They all get there in their own time, please don't worry. Our daughter was a nightmare eater and still isn't great, similarly was low percentile wise. Her weight is good now and she's slowly expanding and increasing what she'll eat. Some of them just aren't driven by it. The book 'my child won't eat' is great to reassure you.

Keep offering 3 meals per day and a couple of snacks. Try and always put something on the plate she is likely to eat along with 2-3 other things. Don't overwhelm the plate with food, you can always add more if she eats it. Always try to eat with her and don't put any pressure on her eating. If she isn't eating act like you couldn't care less and just move it away and try something again later. And I would explain to the childminder the approach you're taking and ask her to do the same. You're doing great :)

Sympathy though - it is exhausting how much of your time and energy it can dominate x

Thank you - really kind and good advice 💐

Your childminder sounds OTT! At 13 months my son still ate very little. I never pushed it at all and now at nearly two he eats extremely well. I’d say it really picked up about 18 months. Making this a high pressured situation is the worst thing you can do. I would be really unhappy about the “tiny” comments from your childminder too. Stand firm OP and trust your instincts about what she needs.

Hi OP, you are doing everything right and 25th centile is not so bad. Is she energetic, running around etc? Some kids just don't need so much food.

Have you tried feeding her when she is playing/occupied with something? My DD someties would only eat if she is busy with other stuff.

It doesn't sound like your childminder knows what she's talking about!

I work supporting infant feeding and it's totally normal at this age to still have milk as the main part of the diet.

I won't cut out the milk, especially not in the morning.
I had similar issues at 13 months so I ended up giving my baby porrage before bed; she loved it so I knew she was going to eat it. It filled her up and made her sleep well.

Just give her food that she likes before bed: depending on her bedtime, make sure you don't give her milk before so she will eat some food.
What is her nightime rutine? I used to feed mine before bed while I was reading her books: she was so distracted she ended up eating more than she would of in the highchair in the kitchen.

@Crossornot I think because I’m a FTM I really take any comments/ advice to heart as I’ve suffered/ suffering PND so v vulnerable atm. Don’t have a lot of faith in my own ability so when the childminder says she’s tiny it really rocks me.

@Angeldelight21 thank you - she is a bum scooter and often on the move. last week or so she had recovered from chicken pox and had her MMR jab so surely that will be playing a part in her appetite?

@nadapersonal thank you!!!

@Tina8800 porridge at night is a great shout - she loves it. I’ve made her coconut milk rice pudding with a little bit of 🍯 before and she seemed to like that too. I try and always eat with her even if im just chomping on soreen and apples (I eat my tea at about 7:30pm so just have snacks with her!) then bath, bed with a book and milk.