Tips to get my one year old to eat??

JEN1974

DS has steadily declined in his weight gain and weight %s, putting him in the under 5% range for his height.  Pediatrician is mildly concerned and just wants to make sure we're beefing up his diet to some high fat items.  Problem is the kid doesn't like to eat!!  He's so completely opposite from DD that I'm really, really struggling.  No longer does the rule of a "balanced, healthy diet" or you "eat what we serve" necessarily apply and I'm really struggling with that aspect of it.  His favorite things to eat are the baby purees in the squeeze packs, yo-baby yogurt, graham crackers, applesauce and puffs.  Everything else is a complete crap shoot--loves it one day, and throws it on the floor the next.  He doesn't care for table foods all that much and so I find myself pureeing alot of his food still in the food processor to the consistency of chunky baby food.  I can put pot roast, potatoes and carrots all in front of him on his tray and he won't touch it except to throw it to the dog, but if I puree it all together he scarfs it all down.

The challenge has been in our new daycare where we don't bring in the food and he's in the 1 year room (he turned one 1/14)  where they don't use sippee cups, use utensils and strongly promote independence.  They're trying to work with us, but most days he comes home having eaten 8ozs of applesauce because that's all they can get in him. 

I know logically much of this is out of my control, but I also feel like a horrible parent because all my kid is eating is crap most of the time (Friday night he ate french fries and a milk shake for dinner when we were out to eat).  Does it get better and if I indulge his palate now, will he ever try new foods...like a real vegetable or fruit daily??

Pesky

I would probably do baby steps.  Look to full-fat yogurt for one.  Second, try branching out to other kinds of yogurt -- DD LOVES the Wallaby variety as the vanilla kind does taste like pudding.  Second, could you offer up food mashed first (not pureed) and gradually over time build up to more whole?  If that doesn't work, maybe a combo of mashed and pureed?  I found DS loved mashed potatoes that I would whip with cream cheese, butter, milk, S&P and chicken stock.  That has gradually (over a year) got him to eat regular just mashed potatoes.  As for the loves and hates it thing, sad to say that is a normal cycle for kids once they find they have the power to refuse food. 

You can try bettydaviseyes -- want to say she had a similar issue with one of her boys.  GL!

DownToEarthGirl

Try mashing avocados and maybe introducing almond milk if he will drink it.  Those are both good fats that will help and you can pretty much hide avocado in sweet foods like applesauce and savory foods like mashed beans. 

Will he eat finger foods like small cheese cubes or small grilled cheese sandwich cubes?  Cheese is pretty fatty and I think all animal and vege fats are good for brain development at this age. 

Don't worry, I had a kid who ate very little at 1 yr old and he's a great eater now.  Also, is he still on formula or BM?  That will help a lot also - even if it's at home and not at school.  Also if your doc is concerned, then I would hope that your daycare would have him eating more than 8oz per day...chat with your daycare person about the concern and see if they can give him more time or work with him more closely at meals. 

 

DownToEarthGirl

Oh and Weelicious has some great recipies that have all been kid tested, so you could check out their website for ideas to get more fruits/veggies in with what he'll eat. 

http://weelicious.com/

 

Kmac-06

It sounds like he is still struggling with more textured foods and some kids just take longer to move away from the purees. I would just gradually try to make them foods more chunky, or chop up the meat and mix in with pureed veggies, etc. How about ground meat, like meatballs? DD still prefers ground to other kinds of meat.

We have struggled with getting enough fat into DD's diet at times and I started adding olive oil or butter to all her foods. Does he like pasta? I made DD a pasta sauce that was heavy on the olive oil also. I would just keep offering a combination of things that he will eat, along with new fruits or veggies. Toddlers go through so many phases, hopefully this one won't last too long!

ijack

Does it get better and if I indulge his palate now, will he ever try new foods...like a real vegetable or fruit daily??

Yes. When you have a kid that doesn't eat and the doc is worried the most important thing is to get as many calories into him however you can. Will they let you bring food in for him while you work on getting him to eat better?  If he eats from a pouch you can put your own purees in one of these, it would also be something to take to school if they'll allow them. It would give you the opportunity to really beef up what he's ingesting. I would recommend adding fat/calories to any puree in the form of butter, oil (evoo or coconut usually go over the easiest) or cream. I would also add rice/oatmeal cereal to applesauce and nido (whole milk powder), formula or duocal to yogurt or applesauce. I'd try and do away with the puffs and focus more on something with a higher calorie count (ritz crackers maybe). Does he drink well? If so you can do smoothies with greek yogurt, fruit, cream and added fat (duocal, nido) - you can also easily add a veggie to them without him noticing. And if you're really worried about him getting proper nutrients then you can add formula powder to his milk or something like this.

The most important thing is to get him to eat right now. He needs fat for his brain to develop so don't worry about creating bad habits right now. 3 years after a failure to thrive diagnosis, we're back on the healthy eating train. It hasn't always been easy, but I also know I haven't created any lasting issues in allowing her to eat what she wanted to eat.