BLW 11MO won't eat cooked food

[AppleAndBlackberry]

Help! In the last couple of weeks she has refused homemade pizza, beef casserole, chilli, fishcakes and roast chicken. She does like pasta in a cheese sauce, oven chips and beans on toast. She eats sandwiches and toast well and also cheese, yogurt, fruit and some veg. I just can't seem to find any 'dinners' that she likes.

I have been putting it in front of her anyway and she will generally try it, but then not eat. It's not that she's not hungry because she then eats lots of whatever I give her instead - sandwich, yogurt, fruit etc.

Anyone been in this situation?

yes, very much so with my nearly 13 month DD. [see my post a bit further down the page on BLW babies not really eating what you do...] She's always been like this though. Its frustrating but I give her mostly what she likes (sandwiches, fish, some fruit and veg, and porridge - with as much variety e.g. in sandwich fillings as I can) but keep trying with the "dinners" from time to time to add more variety - even though they are nearly always refused. [last night's chilli con carne - she ate one kidney bean and shoved the rest over the side! - this is typical!]

The only "dinners" she really likes are fishcakes (I give her roasted parsnips and peas with these) and cheese omelette (with peas), or tuna mayo salad, or salmon with cous cous and peas. [there is an oily fish and peas theme going on here! ]

Thanks Jules, I read your thread too and at least it's nice to know someone else is in the same boat! Somehow I thought BLW babies would be less fussy but it hasn't worked out that way at all (DD1 was more spoonfed and definitely ate a wider range by this age). I think I will just keep trying with the dinners and hope she starts liking them a bit more at some point! I will try a couple of your suggestions too and maybe try not having too much on the tray at a time.

My DS is now 21/2 and isn't particularly fussy now, but at 11MO he wasn't eating nearly as much variety as your DD.

Try to think of it as an ongoing thing - they need to see things so many times before they try them and try them so many times before they actually eat them and even then they're not consistent on eating them!

I would avoid giving a 'seconds' that you know they'll like as they learn they don't have to eat their 'firsts'. Although there's nothing to stop you giving a pudding you know they'll eat or a slightly more substantial snack beforehand. Now that DS talks (and understands) I give him everything in halves, and he has to eat (usually) the whole first plate, but can then just eat the bits he likes from the second plate.

I've never avoided giving 'seconds' if the first plate wasn't cleared - babies, like adults, have likes and dislikes and needing to clear a plate or eat all of a particular food, or even just 'one more spoonful' before moving on to something else is not necessarily a good lesson to teach a child (in relation to the above poster). Food is food, especially when they're little, and it doesn't matter if they leave their baked beans but want their yoghurt, or they'll happily have more toast

OP I wouldn't worry, your DD is just learning about what she does and doesn't like, as long as she's eating something at the moment then that's the main thing

Flisspaps - I think we probably agree more than our posts would suggest. My DS is now a lot older and at the stage where he would happily eat six sausages and nothing else, which isn't really teaching him about a balanced diet.

Sounds like a perfectly good meal to me (disclaimer, I am 6mo pregnant and therefore my idea of a good meal is somewhat skewed)