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Oh Terrible Two's....
The terrible two's have found their way into our house and will probably perch, get comfortable and stay awhile. Especially seeing as we have another baby on the way.
Maya has been an incredibly fussy eater for awhile now. She practically went the whole month in Canada surviving on breastmilk and a TINY amount of food because she'd just flat out refuse to eat.
So, she's re-entered the 'refusing to eat' stage. She'll drink milk, sure. Oh and biscuits (sweet and savoury) and chocolate and candy get the big nod and chomp from her! Hot chips...? NO PROBLEM! I hate that she's not eating and have to keep remembering that kids dont starve themselves but it's hard not to worry when all she has eaten all day is two bites of toast.
We've tried everything. We eat at the dinner table as a family and serve her kid sized portions of what we're eating. We've not made a fuss over her non-eating and offered to help her eat. Nothing is working. She just sits at her chair and ignores her food. Every night. For the last 3 mths. Argh!
And the crying spells/tantrums have begun. Tonight, she has not stopped sobbing inconsolably, saying over and over "I'm SAD!"
Ugh, thanks for letting me vent. I think it may be just a spell of separation anxiety (as she started daycare 2 days a week about 4 weeks ago). Could also be a developmental stage she is going through too.
I'm telling ya. When you feel like you've done something right or doing something right as a parent...it's an awesome feeling. Then there's times you're left scratching your head and feeling awful for your baby because you just can't seem to help them and it's so frustrating and saddening!
Re: Oh Terrible Two's....
Awww sweetie (((big hugs)))
You're right that kids won't starve. A friend of mine has a daughter who was the pickest toddler ever, and she told me once that she rang a nurse in tears because her daughter wouldn't eat anything but sweets - the nurse told her, "No child has ever starved from being offered healthy food...she WILL eat eventually." I know it's easy to say, but I can totally understand how different it must be to have to worry about it and watch her, and how frustrated you must feel. Hang in there - it will get better!
Sorry Tina! I have a friend who's daughter is 2 as well and only wants to eat chicken mcnuggets from McDonalds right now.
It won't be like this for long!
Hugs
Married Bio
oh, Tina, I feel for you!! I know that it's a common, common problem. I was just visiting my nephew and it's tough to get him to eat anything but pasta.
But, I'm sure it's just a phase. Maybe she is just having a hard time transitioning from breast milk? I also agree with pp that even though it must be SO hard to do, it's true that she won't starve. She has to eat sometime!
Have you tried stuff like fruit smoothies? Those are good for a kid with a sweet tooth, but you can get lots of vitamins and nutrition from them as well. You could even call them "milkshakes" which might make them go down easier?
GL!
Sorry you are going through this. Marino is only 15 months now, but he is becoming increasingly opinonated each day. Luckily, he is a good eater (he loves diverse things like dal, hummus, lentil soup, artichoke hearts!) although he doesn't like meat (thankfully he loves beans and dairy) and HATES tomatoes (I use a squash/cheddar "sauce" for pasta).
Our biggest challenge is getting him to eat dinner - he is so sleepy by 6pm that he cries when I give him dinner (and then puts it in his hair, feeds it to the dog, or just swipes it off the tray).He also is obsessed with milk and refuses to drink milk from a sippy. He wants a bottle and my hair to stroke and if I try to do anything different (water instead of milk, sippy instead of bottle), he points at the bottles on the counter and yells "HEY!!!" until I give him what he wants.
Anyway, he also drinks 40 OUNCES of milk a day (this is on top of at least 2 good meals, offered a 3rd meal and he eats 3 snacks a day). My pedi keeps telling us we need to cut that to a third of what he's taking now, but when I give him smaller bottles, he won't STTN. ::sigh:: Anyway, I feel your pain. These toddlers are very willful but not so easy to reason with.
One of the toddler books I read said you have to look at their food intake in terms of a week and not a day. So even if they only eat crackers on Monday, if they eat only chicken on Tuesday and only cheese on Wednesday, at the end of the week, the nutrients will add up to what the need.
But just keep in mind, the next time you feel bad, I am probably feeding my toddler Goldfish for dinner if that's all he'll eat
Yeah, sounds familiar...welcome to the club! Oh, and guess what? Here's something they don't tell you...it doesn't just last while they are 2. In fact, mine was MUCH worse at 3!
They have to learn to show their independence at some point!
Ahhhh, it's always good to hear about other toddler-stories that are similiar! I mean, theoretically I know that she must be going through a phase that is common to toddlers...it's just reassuring to read your/your friends experiences!
Bad night last night, new day today. She cried a lot all night and kept repeating "I'm sad, I'm SAD!" in a sobbing voice (it's her new phrase...the minute you tell her off she says it then too lol). Finally gave her some infant painkiller and it knocked her out for the most part so maybe she was hurting somewhere (molars coming through maybe).
Anna, I actually had success in finally getting a piece of fruit into her system last week and, YES, it was via a banana smoothie! Bit of yoghurt, milk, honey and banana and she downed that really well. I felt like punching the air like Rocky and yelling "SUCCESS!" ! Haha.
Haha! It's alright, I always end up throwing her dinner out untouched and giving her toast and a warm milk before bed (she used to eat/drink that but doesn't even do that now).
How does Marino go with yoghurt? Seeing as he loves his dairy...
I have heard that re. looking at a toddlers food intake over the week instead of the day. Think I might keep a little diary for a couple of weeks and show it to the maternal health nurse at her upcoming checkup.
Noooooo! *Runs for the hills*!
Man, my nephew (who is now 8) was brilliant at eating different things when he was a baby/toddler. I would make alllll sorts of meals for him and he would eat it all up! Fish, stir-fries, you name it. He's still adventurous when it comes to food. That kid is GOLD!
Hey Siren- You poor thing, but we have the same thing here at 20 months! I think I wrote SBMs post exactly except my son doesn't eat (he drinks). When I read your post, I was thinking "is she teething?" Kai does this and is in the most foul mood sometimes because he is getting his molars. He teethed early so I am not surprised. The ONLY thing that works at that point is Motrin (not Tylenol) and Orajel. I tried avoiding all that stuff and going with natural remedies (even had him wear an Amber necklace-dont ask) but nothing worked except Motrin. Oh and Kai's staple has become cashew nuts and string cheese. At this point, I have learned to pick my battles; because I loose everytime! lol
Thankfully he still likes the plain yogurt. I puree fruit for him to put in there but the past month he only will eat it with strawberries. We'll see what happens next week, b/c strawberry season is OVAH! I also give him a probiotic, a liquid multivitamin, and liquid Evening Primrose (to help with atopic dermatitis) everyday...just in case he's having a "goldfish and milk" kind of day:)