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Weaning

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12 month old will hardly eat and never has - help!

4 replies

buttonspoon · 04/12/2011 17:26

My 12 month old DD (nearly 13 mo) is terrible at eating. She just doesn't seem to like food. Apart from bread. She will eat bread, toast, breadsticks, crumpets, bagels and anything else that is bread-like. Other than that - she hardly eats anything. Her diet consists of:

cream cheese
cheese (cheddar-type cheese)
Yoghurt (sometimes)
Organix pots of banana porridge
Organix pots of mango and peach rice pudding
Pasta (with cream cheese and pesto)
Smoked salmon (!)
Fruit - sometimes - berries mainly

She now refuses meat - although used to eat bits of ham. She has never eaten vegetables - not in puree or as finger food - just totally refuses them and I can't hide them in a tomato pasta sauce because she won't eat that! She won't eat 'meals' only individual bits. If things she likes are put together like a pasta and cheese sauce, she will not touch them

She is still breastfed and just wants to do that all day - although as I work full time she usually only has feeds morning, evening and bedtime - plus many at night as she also doesn't sleep very well. At weekends, she wants to be fed all the time which is draining to say the least. Her nursery are worried because all she eats is bread - she refuses all other food.

I've really had enough - I can't take much more, quite apart from being completely shattered and having health problems because of the lack of sleep, I'm fed up of cooking nice meals to have them thrown on the floor and I dread mealtimes. My DH does what he can but he is also shattered and can't feed her at night as she will just scream for me. In fact, I have on occasion wondered if I just didn't bother giving her any food, whether she would even notice or miss it as she doesn't eat anything anyway.

She has never been interested in food, never eaten more than a couple of mouthfuls and always makes a massive fuss of not eating. We have mainly been doing BLW (because she wouldn't eat purees) and eating with her, showing we love our food etc but nothing - she just stares at us and then throws her food on the floor or screams. The whole 'food is fun until their one' was fine when she wasn't one, but now she is and she I'm getting worried. She is skinny and although bright and energetic, I haven't had her weight for a long time and I'm sure she will be at the bottom of the charts.

What on earth do I do and how can I get her to eat? When is going to learn to eat? What have I done wrong?

If anyone have any experience of this or wisdom to share I would be very grateful!

ps sorry for the long post....

OP posts:
Jules125 · 04/12/2011 20:58

Not advice but empathy. My DD (11.5 months) is not much better - probably eats a slightly greater range of food than this but only a few spoonfuls (mostly BLW also) of anything before boredom /rage sets in and she wants no more. She's not very interested in food and would happily skip it for milk. We often have pretty odd meals (lunch today was sweetcorn and rice pudding as that was all she would go for).

Can I suggest stop cooking complex meals for her as this is just so frustrating. Cook for you and DH and save a bit for her (if she eats it fine, if not then you haven't wasted so much time/effort. Or just cook very simple things (my DD does eat couscous with salmon and a few frozen peas - very simple and

lilham · 04/12/2011 22:01

I second Jules suggestion of not cooking separate meals. If you just give whatever you are eating, would you feel less frustrated?

buttonspoon · 05/12/2011 11:48

Thank you for your responses - glad I am not alone! I don't cook her separate meals, she just has what we have usually - I meant that I do try and cook things I think would be good for her. That could be spaghetti bolognese (with fusilli pasta as she finds this easier to pick up), moroccan chicken and chickpeas, meatballs and pasta, chicken or fish with potatoes and veg, omlette, jacket potato and beans etc. I have to give her things like cream cheese on toast as she just doesn't eat any of the other stuff - she won't usually even try it and if she does she spits it out straight away and drops it all on the floor. I've tried lots of different things and keep trying, but she is just not interested (apart from bread...).

I just wondered if this was unusual or if breastfeeding is holding her back. Should I be more strict when I'm with her at weekends and not breastfeed? I could try distracting her although she will normally scream if she doesn't get it!

OP posts:
Jules125 · 05/12/2011 20:37

No, you are not alone. My DD has only eaten bread sticks and fruit today (I've offered chilli con carne and risotto as well amongst other things). She points at what she does want (usually me) and shakes her head when offered anything else. It is so so frustrating - sometimes I just have to walk away and leave her to it with the fruit and bread. I think still just keep trying a good range of food - but I let her have what she wants (milk, bread etc) if she really screams for it.

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