please help re-wean at 12months

[katechristie]

DD is now one and still not eating lots, I feel I need a new approach somehow. She hardly touches anything I cook (have given purees and finger food from the start, sadly she's always preferred jars of hipp to anything i cook), yet started nursery a couple of weeks ago and is eating their food ok (lumpy mush for lunch altho refuses the snack tea at 3pm).

I've always offered her food at the same time we all eat, 8.30, 12, 5.30. She has a BF mid afternoon to bridge the gap till teatime and I offer her a little snack with DS at the same time (e.g. apple, breadsticks/phil, biscuit).

She's started refusing the jars now (thank goodness), but I don't really know what the best sort of food to offer is at what time - do I stick with our meal times for her and do I carry on with a lighter lunch (e.g. sandwich, jkt pot, soup, followed by a cooked meal at teatime or give her a hot meal at lunch and less later?)(and what level of lumpiness as she's still not really getting the finger food for everything).

She'll eat:
cheerios/ shreddies, yogurt (spoonfed off me)
oranges, apples, pasta twists, cucumber, toms and pepps (well sucks then throws), wedges.

the one meal she's good at is bolognese with rice or pasta.

She's not eating much meat or fish at all, won't eat cheese whether grated or in cubes.
She throws sandwiches on the floor, munches bits of veg then spits them out

If I make her food, that she then won't eat, does that mean I shouldn't offer anything else at that meal? even if she's eaten nothing?

She's so far had a couple of half days a week at nursery for the last few weeks, she'll be going 3 full days from May, so I'm hoping that will help things along as well.

It all feels such a mess second time around, any advice / reassurance would be most welcome, TIA.

What she's eating sounds OK to me and pretty normal. I think it's common for them not to eat very much at this age. I seem to remember eating spag bol almost constantly because it was (and remains) something that she liked. She would always eat noodles as well with a sauce made out of peanut butter.

I would say keep doing what you're doing, and try not to worry about it too much. Eat with her at meal times as normal. I used to give dd greek yoghurt and fruit if she wouldn't eat the dinner. If you are still bfing as well she will be fine.

thanks besom, I do get a bit despondant when I read about so many babies at this stage eating proper meals, munching on sandwiches etc. but DD doesn't seem to get the connection with food and hunger, just pulls at my top . I'll just carry on and try and chill out about it. Although DS has been a fussy eater, i know he was eating more in volume at this stage and it's hard not to compare. (and am fed up of throwing good food away all the time [huge skint sigh].

thanks for the reply .

I'm just thinking as well - if she eats at nursery better than she does for you, do you think it's because she is picking up that you are getting a bit stressed about it? (I think they like to exert their little bit of control where they can!)

Maybe you do need to take a few deep breaths and step back from it a bit? She is eating cereal (which is fortified with vits and minerals), she is eating some fruit and other carbs, she is eating yoghurt which is fat and calcium and she is still getting your milk. She is getting all she needs as the moment if you think about it.

X posted with you there. My dd didn't start eating much volume wise until she was probably 18 months. She is nearly 2 and packing it away at the moment.

that's reassuring to hear thanks. I do like to hear about late eaters becoming good ones! I do try not to appear stressed at all as I know that doesn't help, i really do try and chat to DS and her, but I guess I try and spoon food in her if she isn't eating, so she probably picks up then and stops the finger food. I need to leave her to it and trust she'll eat if she wants to.
thanks so much for the posts.