Baby just turned 1.. support on meals and drinking water?

[Firesidepumpkin]

Meal ideas and feeding advice for a nearly 1-year-old
I’m looking for some advice and reassurance about feeding my nearly 1-year-old. I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all and would love some practical meal ideas for lunches and dinners, both for spoon-feeding and encouraging her to feed herself and use cutlery. I’m never quite sure how much she should actually be eating or drinking at this age, and I worry she isn’t getting enough. I also can’t seem to get her to drink water from a cup, despite trying several different types. She seems to love being fed from a bottle and is still having bottles roughly every 3 hours, as well as at bedtime.
I’d also really appreciate seeing what a realistic daily routine or schedule looks like for a little one this age, including wake-up time, milk bottles, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and naps. I’m struggling to know how to fit meals around her bottles, whether I should be cutting down her milk, and how to balance spoon-feeding with encouraging independence. I’d love to hear what your little ones actually eat in a typical day, roughly how much they drink, and how you encourage cup drinking and self-feeding. I think I just need some practical advice and reassurance that we’re on the right track!

Just bumping this for you OP.
MNHQ

Hi first off, don’t fret. They all get there in their own time. You’re doing fine trying to find a cup she will drink from. Perhaps persevere with just the one cup, until she gets the hang of it.

She can have milk from a cup now and in order to protect her teeth, you should be working towards ending the bottles.

Sit her with you in a high chair for meals and give her similar food to what you’re having but without the salt. I found with mine that buying actual baby food was a waste, as what you’re actually aiming for is getting them to eat the same food as you.

For breakfast she can have a banana or toast, to pick up herself. Or a bowl of porridge.

For lunch or dinner give her bowl of food with a spoon, say mashed carrots and mashed potatoes or pasta with some pieces of chicken or fish. Let her play with the food and hold the spoon. You could put some finger foods on her tray as well like cooked broccoli or cauliflower. You could try spooning some of the food into her mouth so she can taste it.

She can have cheese, yoghurts, fruit.

She still needs around a pint of full fat milk but this can be given in a cup or in her food. She no longer needs formula.

There’s no rush. She will get there in the end. Everyone does.

I really wouldn't worry about quantity, as long as she is generally well in herself and wet nappies. You want to focus on getting her to explore and enjoy food.

"She still needs around a pint of full fat milk but this can be given in a cup or in her food." This isn't true, they don't need to drink cows milk, as long as she is having dairy foods. It's true you don't need to give formula any more.
I'd work at cutting down the bottles, every 3 hours sounds like a lot. Then get off bottles and onto whatever cup works. try the Pipette method for straw use.

mine would never be fed so she has always self fed using hands or cutlery, I would be encouraging that at 1. It's important they learn they can control what they eat.
I'd be trying to share meals, don't make separate things. I know the NHS says snacks from 12 months but honestly I wouldn't, especially whilst you are still giving some milk. You want her to be hungry for meals.
It's hard to advise on schedule without knowing what you do now.

If it helps, mine is just turned 2 and has only reliably eaten 3 meals in the last few months. I'd really recommend Sarah Ockwell Smith's book about eating and kids, it focuses on helping them develop healthy eating habits rather than focusing on quantity

What I meant by a pint of milk, some of which can be given in food, was to include things like yoghurts and cheese as part of the pint. Sorry for any confusion.

Bottles every 3 hours is too much at this age. Cut that down. They need nutrients from food.

I just spoon fed mine. Around 18 months he grabbed the spoon and started eating by himself, none of that getting dirty and throwing spaghetti on their head nonsense. I did always offer some slices of fruit or veg to one side though.

Food wise - best to give them what you eat. I found mine loves saucy food - risottos, bolognese, curries etc.

I found it easier to Cut out one bottle at a time and build up the food, so lunchtime was the first to go.

then the mid afternoon was replaced with a snack

then the morning bottle replaced by breakfast

I keep the milk in the evening and my 5 year old still has a cup of milk before bed!

In answer to your question around what to feed- the same as you but less salt and slightly mushier.

I’d recommend a steamer if you don’t have one already as it’s great to try out lots of veggie finger foods.

fruit, yoghurt, cheese, pasta etc

At that age we didn’t give a milk feed first thing, we went straight to breakfast.

Things to try are toast with nut butter, Ready Brek with chopped banana, blueberry pancakes, one egg omelette, Greek youghurt with berries, weetabix with full fat milk.

You can give her a cup of full fat cow’s milk alongside her bottle.

So if you give breakfast at say 7, then a bottle at 10, do you give lunch around 12?

There are some good ideas for lunch here. You could also try left overs from your tea the night before, tuna mayo sandwich, french toast, a savoury muffin or some dahl.

I’d leave it at least a week to help her adjust to not having the first bottle then drop the afternoon bottle and replace it with a snack.

Then for tea there is so much she can have. My DD absolutely loved a Roast Dinner at that age. How about fish pie or cottage pie? Family friendly Chicken Korma or Spag Bol?

There are some good suggestions of meals that should suit everyone in the family in this cook book.

I wouldn’t worry too much about her not drinking water either, at the moment she’s taking so much liquid through her bottles she’s probably not experiencing thirst or realising that water will help if she is thirsty. Once you start to drop her milk intake she should become more interested in the water.

What you’re aiming for with the bottles is 300 ml/10 Floz of full fat Cow’s milk per day at this age.

The advice is no bottles after 12 months but some parents do keep them for the nap and last feed of the day for a few more months.

I’d be dropping a bottle a week until you get down ro those two at least.

Sorry meant a cup of full fat Cow’s milk with her breakfast not her bottle

Once you swap to Cow’s Milk or her formula drops below 20 Floz a day you will need to start giving a daily vitamin too

I forgot to include suggestions for oily fish. Girls can have oily fish twice a week. You could try these fishcakes or some salmon pasta.

Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice!

little one has had a tricky first year for an underlying issue. She was also extremely jaundiced and sleepy for weeks and we were admitted with an NG tube. I think im a little fixated on what she ‘should’ be having since then 🥰

this morning I did offer cows milk (which she seems to love) but noticed she probably only has a couple of oz, so might be telling me she doesn’t want it so much anymore. Going to start with breakfast first thing. In regards to the water, I think she definitely is so hydrated she doesn’t fancy it.

thanks

A difficult start like that can make you like that

A couple of Floz alongside her breakfast sounds absolutely fine and I think you’re right about her already being well hydrated.

If it gets to the point where you’re dropping bottles and she still isn’t interested in water, you can always try some water rich foods like broccoli, cauliflower, berries, melon, jelly or soup

I wouldn't worry about water, offer it but mine has never drunk much but always has wet nappies. Don't forget fruit and veg has water in it.

At 1 I'd just be feeding her what you are eating. And she should be feeding herself with cutlery or her hands. No spoon feeding needed. Sit and eat alongside her and model how to eat. They pick it up really fast. None of mine were taught how to use cutlery they just copy you.

Sometimes she'll eat alot and sometimes a lot less- that's normal. Offer water regularly in open cups alongside constant access to some sort of bottle of water- straw or sippy style.

Doddl cutlery is really good, sits nicely in thir hands.

Just feed her what you are having. There is no need to make special meals for her ir really change anything. Watch the salt content and give as much home cooked fresh variety as you can. Let her feed herself and eat with her whenever possible.

You’re aiming for 3 meals a day, 2 snacks, a couple of servings of cows milk which can be swapped for dairy based food e.g. yoghurt. Eating with a spoon/fork herself but with some mess and realistically still a bit with hands. Meals can be what you have so long as no choking hazards and low salt. Free access to water ie just leave a sippy cup in her vicinity. No bottles at all but you can transition that gradually, and there isn’t any harm in keeping a bedtime one for a few more months so long as teeth are brushed afterwards. Somedays they will eat more than others and it often doesn’t seem like they drink a lot but they’re small so don’t need tons of water and you’d know if they were dehydrated from the nappy output.