Where am I going wrong? Feeding 13mth old

[Hohumchops]

Right.....our day goes like this:
630am ish - a bottle of formula

8am ish - some rice krispies - he won't eat anything with oats and is still avoiding wheat on advice of dietician

10am ish - snack of rice cakes

Midday ish - lunch of carbs, veg, protein, fruit, baby crisps, raisins, etc.

mid-afternoon - rice cakes and small amount of formula

5pm ish - teatime- carbs, veg, fruit, etc.

6pm ish - bottle formula - has most before bath and finishes it just before bed.

My concerns are: I end up giving him too many snacks and he has milk just before bed and that's not good for his teeth. My excuses are that we have a downstairs bathroom whch is tricky when he gets all relaxed and sleepy in pjs and that I am never sure how much to feed him as he can be fussy.

This week he has not had much more than some crackers for his tea as I have made him some nice, fresh food and he's just flatly refused to eat it. Am telling myself this is all normal and it is perhaps a phase and all that. When should he stop having any milk? (Has prescription formula, not cow's milk, but I mean in a bottle rather than in his food. Does Annabel Karmel exist to make me feel inferior? Do all children not eat certain things at all for no reason and why will he eat lunch happily but not his tea?

All thought welcome.

his diet sounds fine to me

bring his toothbrush upstairs with you so he can brush there

babies and toddlers sometimes do better eating little and often

they all go through phases of not eating/wanting to eat certain foods

maybe replace one of the rice cake snacks with some chopped veggies and dips?

he doesn't need to stop having milk - he isn't really having that much and a bottle at 1 year old isn't such a big deal IMO

That looks absolutely fine to me - I don't think you are giving too many snacks but maybe substitute one of the snacks for fruit (banana?) just for variety.

I really wouldn't worry about the formula at night - my 2 boys have always had a bottle of milk at night. DS1 stopped at about 2 and DS2 (16 months) still has it and I have no intention of stopping - just make sure you clean his teeth afterwards (bring the toothbrush downstairs if necessary).

Milk is important to them - yes you can put some in food but not really to the quantity they need so let them drink it when they want it

Glad you have spotted that Annabel Karmel exists to make you feel inferior. Don't look at the books. Your DS is only 13 months old and is only just now relying on solid foods and you both need to experiment with them! Your principles look fine.

Maybe he is just a little off colour?

My DD doesn't like eating in the morning, but eats like a horse in the afternoon and evening- I guess they're all different!!

Our ds brushed his teeth BEFORE his bedtime milk until 18 months - only then did we manage to switch the brushing to afterwards, and it happened quite naturally and easily.

I never gave my ds formula but he had a breastfeed every night and then at 22 months i replaced that with a cup of cow milk, which he still has now at 2yrs 4 months. No harm in milk before bed imo.

Looks fine to me. My DS (18 months) has a similar diet, and also often doesn't want his tea. When DS was a few weeks old a wise-2nd-tiem mum told me to avoid AK at all costs. Whilst my friends have been going mad with insecurity, inferiority and exhaustion fr4om making home made snail shaped cheese whirls with smiley faces, I have not. Best advice I have ever had.

BikeRunSki - ha ha, that's cheered me up! Trouble is, I don't know many mums irl that have kids of the same age, so I have no one to compare it to and often feel like I'm struggling when he won't anything other than marmite on crackers. Try to tell myself that it's ok as long as he's not eating chocolate buttons and wotsits for his dinner and as long as he's eating fruit, etc......but I do have visions of people whizzing up 'from scratch, individual ramekin' shepherd's pie every night. I can usually find the time to get him fresh food even though he's running around like a loon so I don't know how the precious 'they' make me feel like it's all going to pot in my kitchen.

Sounds fine. If he'll only eat crackers then can you try to make it cheese/avocado/hummous on crackers instead of marmite? Then you might feel like it's more of a proper meal.

Lunch is obviously his hungry time.

Try to brush his teeth after his last milk feed, otherwise, I'd have been thrilled if either of mine had eaten so much at that age.

I binned Annabel Karmel.

Even at 2 my ds sometimes lives on breadsticks and grapes for 2 days. Unless he looks really skinny and ill, I wouldn't worry.

Sounds fine to me! My dd 13 mo eats quite alot suring the day but gets tired and fussy around tea time and therefore won't eat a whole meal, so i feed her small snacks instead, eg, veg sticks, fruit, sandwhich etc.. She still drinks her formula from a bottle before bed, and then I make sure to brush her teeth afterwards. Re: Annabel Karmel, did you eer see a mother smile that much when its meal time??