Anyone else do BLW & still get a picky toddler?!

[JimbosJetSet]

I am just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or whether I failed to follow the book correctly...

I did, as far I as I was concerned, BLW as described in the book, to the letter. Waited until 6 months, did not spoon feed DD anything, patiently spent ages after every meal cleaning up the mess on the baby/floor/walls without fuss because I knew it was a very important part in her exploration into food. In return, I fully expected a child (now nearly 2) to happily be eating all sorts of nutritious, exotic and interesting different foods.

But she doesn't. Like many of her contemporaries, she would be more than happy to live on a diet of bread, cheese and fruit, and she turns her nose up at the majority of dishes I try to serve.

Has anyone else had this experience? I am wondering if I didn't expose her to enough variety of food in the early days - I did try, but I must admit I have never been one for doing cooked-from-scratch freshly prepared meals for every sitting, as the book seemed to expect... Or is it just a normal phase that most kids go through regardless of how they were weaned?

I think they follow their own personalities, tbh.

Dd1 was weaned a la Annabel Karmel with purees galore, and now at 6 will eat or at least try everything, and has always been an ok eater.

Dd2 was blw and now at 5 is very picky and fussy, and from about the age of 3 decided that she would eat only a small selection of food or starve!

My two were both blw. Dd1 ate anything and everything as a baby, started becoming a bit fussy when she turned 2 , became really fussy when she turned 3 and now at 3.5 is starting to be a bit more adventurous again.

Dd2 still eats most things (she's almost 2) so I'll just have to wait and see what happens with her eating.

I don't think you can guarantee they won't be fussy by doing blw but maybe it makes it less likely. With dd1 I've found the best thing is not to make a fuss if she doesn't want to try a food and make sure she always has something she likes to eat on her plate, even if it is just a piece of bread or some tomatoes alongside the rest of the meal.

I did BLW with my DD and when she was little she ate everything and everyone was impressed by how well she would eat new foods like aubergine.
Now nearly 2 she lives on a diet of bread, ham, fish fingers, fruit and pasta and refuses to try anything new. Apparently she eats really well at the childminders though and will try anything there. I think it's because she likes to copy the other children eating.

I have also found that if I eat exactly there same thing as her them she will eat much more albeit from my plate not hers. :)

i think fussy eaters are born, not made.
both dds were BLWed, and exposed to a wide range of family food from day one of weaning
dd1 is your classic eats everything child
dd2 has more dislikes than likes. Veg wise will only eat peas or brocolli, no red meat. we still put a little tiny bit of the foods she won't eat on her plate, in the vain hope that she'll change her mind one day.

I did blw with my first because she refused to be fed from a spoon and she is a pretty picky eater. My friend thinks that babies who are blw are more picky because they never have to eat anything that they don't like the look of.

I'm not sure if I agree with her but I do certainly think that blw does not have magical powers to overcome a child's general personality, it's just an easier (imo) and more relaxed way of weaning that doesn't involved making two meals at every mealtime.

Dd2 was a bit prem so not up to blw when she needed to start. She has a mix of purees finger food and stuff out of pots and she will eat absolutely anything and everything in huge quantities.

That should have been she had a mix of purees etc... She's three now & eats everything!

we did blw lite with ds1, he was incredibly fussy baby and toddler. so with the dts we did it to the letter. at 19 mo they won't eat cheese, one will eat the crust of a piece of bread, and they will only eat certain fruits. so I think you're doing quite well! thankfully ds1 is now 4 and enjoys trying new things, so I know there are only another 3 YEARS of fuss to go. :tears out remaining hair:

Thank you guys, I was worried I was only going to the only one! My DD has certainly read the same rule book as your DCs I feel I can blame it not entirely on myself now. Hopefully things will improve when she's a bit older.

I think choosing a limited diet is par for the course with most toddlers regardless of how they were weaned, and most grow out of it eventually.

Love the name btw Jimbo - childhood memories flooding back!

It makes sense that young children are cautious with food and in particular new tastes. I've noticed the same thing as CharlotteBronte - if you are eating something it must be good i.e. not dangerous or poisonous. That's also why kids dislike (in general) bitter foods like aubergines, olives and coffee, because bitter-tasting things are often poisonous (think unripened vegetables). I love my DS - i gave him a nibble of my Jaffa cake yesterday - first bite, he took a little between his teeth and savoured, second bite, nearly took my hand off

Ooops, I mean, I agree with gamerwindow

Dd did blw and was an amazing eater til she was about 21/2 and noticed her brother's picky diet. She is still great with fruit and veg but hardly ever tries something new and won't eat the stews, cottage pie type meals she wolfed down as a baby. She is 4.

I did BLW, my toddler is what some might call picky but I try not to worry about it as it is more likely she is just eating what she needs and regulating her appetite.
She isn't very good a trying new things I have to say but she was when she was going through the BLW process.
She doesn't like mushy things like pies and stews either much. wonder if there is a connection.. still she might refuse something one day and happily eat it the next of vice versa, she's just a toddler who like to be in control!