My Toddler Is Turning into a Picky Eater.

I would say to try other things, but my daughter is exactly the opposite. she is 18 months old and loves cheese, lunch meats, noodles, rice, etc. My son is a picky eater and I have just decided that if he will eat something I won't fight with him. My daughter has been eating regular table food since she was a lot younger though, because she refused the baby food, graduates, etc.

First sorry about your morning sickness T., *hugs*. I went through that with my son and it is tough. I can't imagine now with a toddler too.

My son is also 18 months. He has his front 8 teeth (4 on top and bottom) and he too has his molars coming in. So he hasn't been eating much lately besides breastfeeding. I have found that not worrying about it is the key. I try a few different things but if he's not up for eating, we try again later. He always has a sippy cup of fresh water available to him. Also, we have carpet picnics for lunch where I put a table cloth on the floor and we eat there. Then he's free to continue playing and zooms by for some food when he's ready.

Here are some things that work for us: peanut butter sandwhiches cut in shapes, steamed mushrooms & peas, beans & boiled chicken combined with taco seasoning and a little cheese (this is a huge hit), yogurt, kefir milk, cheese, soup, kiwi, banana, strawberry, grapes, mango, raisins, scrambled eggs, fish (talapia or orange roughy), Goldfish crackers, Juice Plus gummies (although these are his supplements, he loves them!), jello, pudding, frozen cubes of juice and basically anything that I'm eating. If I take a bite, then he is much more interested.

Good luck!

Hi T.,

My 21 month old has always been a picky eater. (and now has a lot of teeth) He did the same thing to me at that point too. I just fed him things like the cheese sticks, yogurt, cut up peaches, plums, nectarines, blueberries (frozen now they are out if season) and things he liked to chew with front teeth like frozen peas and apple slices. After a plate of mixed fruit and veggies I offered him a bottle of milk. If he did not eat he drank the milk and sometimes did both. He usually ended up drinking one meal out of 3 and drinking some milk with the others. (maybe try freezing stuff like cubed fruit )

I also made a snack drawer at his level and put things like pretzels and raisins in it. He gets food and brings it to me to open when he is hungry. I give him a multivitamin that I showed him how to chew with his front teeth. He has grown fine, a little thin but never the less healthy. I relied on the milk for peace of mind.

Hope this gives you some ideas.
Feel better.

J.
(stay at home married mom of 21 month old boy)

My daughter loves bean burritos. Beans of any type (black, kidney, etc.) are an easy consistency too- and they are good for protein if she doesn't like meat very much.

The gerber graduates have carrot and green bean dices (don't know if she likes veggies) and also apple and peach dices. Canned peas are good too- I'd get the low sodium kind.

Gerber also makes veggie crackers that my daughter loves. Have you tried avocado? My daughter loves it and it's full of the good fat.

Other ideas: mashed potatoes, yogurt, yogurt drinks, canteloupe, meatloaf, sweet potatoes...

Hi, Im still a new mom myself. I have a 20 month old son with lots of teeth and still at times he is picky and just will not chew the food we give him. We did find out the other day he loves maple and brown sugar oatmeal with less sugar. He also enjoys Publix brand kids yogurt. You may want to also try maybe as a snack, smoothies. We enjoy making them and add bananas, strawberries blueberries even pineapple sometimes and he likes them and they are healthy. I know its hard not to make food and issue but sometimes you just want to give in to what they enjoy the most. I will try to think of any other ideas and respond again. Hope I was somewhat helpful.

I have 3 of my own. My toddler refuses to eat most of the time, I was concerned also. Try milkshakes - but add fresh fruits, Add a scoop of ice cream, it wont hurt them! Also, my daughter is an Ovaltine nut, it has great vitamins and minerals in it - better than Nestle Quik, etc. As long as you can wipe her teeth and gums, don't worry about the bit of sugar thats in it. At 18 months, you can't force them to eat - they WILL eat when they get hungry. Having a really picky eater is tough, my 3 year old eats a whole lot of cheerios! My 13 month old is in the same boat as your 18 month old - 4 1/2 teeth all in the front! She does remarkably well, soak some cheerios in milk for a minute, your baby can eat PB&J sandwiches now - make one up, break it in to little pieces he/she can handle and then have a wash clothe handy! So not only is your toddler picky with what he/she will eat, they are at a stage where they will only eat when they want to. Don't try and force a scheduled eating pattern - this will just drive you nuts! Little by little suggest that he/she sit at the table at meal time - even if it's for about 30 seconds. And right now, with you being pregnant and horrible morning sickness - don't sweat the small stuff - they will eat when they are hungry... also a good idea is vitamin supplement that you can get a prescription for from your ped doctor. Good luck!!!

Aw I'm sorry she's giving you a tough time BUT it sounds like a problem with her teeth and not taste really which is great. My son is really picky with everything. It's been incredibly frustrating. Thankfully me pediatrician has been encouraging and really just tells me to keep introducing things and not worry much. Some foods you might want to try: yogurt (yobaby is organic and was a favorite for my son) applesauce (look for unsweetened varieties to cut back on sugar intake), mashed potatoes, mashed malanga, oatmeal (my son adores the dino one from quaker), pizza (there ARE healthy varieties out there just gotta keep an eye out for them), pb&j, baked chicken nuggets. Also you might want to try disguising things. My son won't eat cheese for instance but I make a grilled cheese sandwich for him and then I use a cute cookie cutter to make it a puppy for instance or a dinosaur and that's tons easier to get him to eat it all of a sudden. You can probably try the same thing on lightly steamed vegetables or softer fruits (bananas or strawberries for instance). You can look online for things like vegetable cutters. They even sell molds for hard boiled eggs. I'm guessing that even if she's just gumming things she's still sucking out some nutrients and that's a good thing. My son won't even gum most things. Good luck to you and sorry about the long post.

I had the same problem, i wanted to start my daughter more on solids/table foods but i was worried that she had very little teeth to chew well. But i did it anyway, and trust me, they figure out how to chew well with their gums... so if he doesn't like her baby food anymore, which is totally understandable for her age at this point, she will fight you not to eat it. Try different table foods that are soft, or can be cooked into soft. I bet she'll do better than you can imagine. Luckily, my daughter isn't a picky eater, but my son was and still is.... sometimes it changes, sometimes it doesn't, you just have to learn to deal with it in whatever way works best for you. Good luck.

My nephew is the same way. He started at about 18 mos and he is 2 1/2 now and still won't eat. My sister-in-law gives him a pediasure drink everyday to make sure that he is getting the nutrients he needs since he isn't eating them. Thats really about all you can do until she grows out of this stage as far as I know.

Hi T., I too have a picky eater, at times it can be frustrating because it seems like he never eats. I breast fed my son for 14 months and he would never eat the baby food he is 4 years old today and is just starting to try new foods, he really enjoys milk in a sippy cup and juice so I let him have it when he wants because I found the more I tried to get him to eat the more he wouldn't and when I finally just left him alone he would pick but a least he was getting something and sometime that something would be only 1 bite of peas or bite of broccolli. I learned to just make him a plate of a variety of flavors, textures, colors, shapes on his plate and just let him choose , it has taken my husband and I a while and a lot if frustating years to waite for him to not be sooo picky but he is getting better. I have a 10 year old and let me tell you she is much different than her brother from the minute she was born she was an eater and that made life easy but when my son came I wasn't sure how to handle his picky eating. I could go on and on. Hope this helps some

B.

Yogart? Cut up bananas, cut up cereal bars, little diced apples that have been cooked? Maybe fruit cups? This is all I could really think of.

Your pediatrician is right, don't make food a battleground or you will never win the war! Just leave small pieces of food in little dishes around at her level. Toddlers like to eat on the move, let her pick and she will probably eat more than if you sit her down at a "meal". Remember they don't need nearly as much food as you think they do at this age.
I am sorry you are feeling sick, food is the LAST thing you want to think about!
K. Ianacone, RN, MA, MSN, CCE, IBCLC

you sound so much like me! i have a 17 month old, and am currently 14 weeks pregnant with twins with horrible morning sickness, as well. my son has just recently gone from eating almost anything, to now only yogurt and snack foods. my doctor told me the same, just ride it out and not make a big deal about it. as long as hydration is not an issue, all should be ok. last night, i found a food he would eat. i boiled carrots until fully cooked, cut in bite size pieces, then sauteed a little with butter and brown sugar. HE LOVED IT! sweet, but still a veggie. will keep you updated with any new things i come up with. good luck!

I have to agree I feed my son 14 months old whatever we have for dinner. But what he gets is it if he doesnt eat it then he goes without. I dont starve him and he thrives it only lasted a couple of days and hes learned that if he doesnt want baby food he has to eat real food.

T.,

I feel for you. Morning sickness just about did me in with my first kid. Do you have a hand chopper? I use to take table food and chop it up with that so it was easier for my son to deal with, but with more texture than baby food. He isn't a picky eater, but had very underdeveloped muscles in his mouth that resulted in a year with the oral therapist. You can get one of the choppers at Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond. Its the kind you put a small amount of food down, put the chopper on top and pound it into a cutting board until you get the consistency you would like. Good luck.