13 Month Old Won't Eat Anything

My daughter started to do the same thing around that age and its still going on and she be 16 months this month. I talked to her doctor about it and he said its nothing to worry about. As long as she is gaining some wieght. At her 12 month well child visit she wieghed in at 22 pounds (60%) (i remember because we bought her a new car seat and that was the min. wieght) yet her hieght was in the 95%. Anyway they are still growing but its at a slower rate now so they do not need that many calories. Plus many times they are to busy to eat. When they are hungry they will eat. I know its fustrating and nerve raking but remember you are not alone. As far as sleeping at night. My daughter went from going to sleep at 6:30 to if I am lucky she go to sleep at 7:45 over night no lie. I had to put a sheet up to her window to block out the light. Yeah she still cries but not long. (again if i am lucky) best luck.

Hey there!
We had the same problem with our oldest... she is now 12. However one of the things we did with her was we let her pick out of a few items. We made a shelf in the fridge with things she was aloud to eat and let her pick. Also if he likes milkshakes make him a milkshake for lunch.... but make it healthy. Use frozen yogurt and then add some fresh fruit with a little sweetner.
Some times they go where they wont eat and then they will over eat that is true.

Hope it helps...

PS She is 12 and eats everything now even things she would not eat then...

If you keep trying to force your son to eat it's going to make him fight you that much more. Kids go through phases where they eat less. He's drinking milk and as long as the doctor is not saying there is a problem just keep offering food without forcing it in his mouth and when he's hungry he'll eat. My son was 22 lbs. at 12 mos. and he was in the 50th percentile.
As far as the not sleeping at night. I doubt it is because he is hungry. Do you go to him immediately when he cries or do you see if he's going to go back to sleep? I give my son about fifteen minutes to go back to sleep on his own and he usually does. Maybe you could try it if you don't already do this. I know it's hard to do because I refused to do it until my third child was about six months old and my fourth child was ten months old. Let me tell you everybody is a lot happier and we all get alot more sleep! Good Luck!

I'm dealing with this same issue with my son who is almost 14 months old. Don't know why either, could be one of several factors-we are getting ready to move and have been packing the house, his sister has been gone since June to spend time with her dad, it's just one of those things! What I've found that has been working for us is putting food on a toddler fork and handing it to him!!! I've tried it with the spoon but he doesn't want me to help him so the food falls off cause he turns it upside down!! lol But he is back to eathing a whole hot dog again this way and will let me spoon feed him yogurt and applesause between bites. You could also try cutting back on the drinks. Sucking down the milk and juice all day will keep his belly feeling full too. And even the 100% juice isn't good for them with all the natural sugar it has. I give 3/4 water and 1/4 juice per cup, just enough to add some flavor to it (he gets about 3-4 sippy cups a day) and 2 full cups of milk a day (breakfast and dinner).

Just know that he won't starve himself. Good luck to you guys!!

S.

Does he seem sick at all? My son was like that when he had ear infections. He wouldn't eat, and his sleep patterns would change. That was the only outward sign he was sick though, as he did not run fevers with his ear infections. As for the average weight for a 1 year old....I think my son was a little over 20 lbs at 1 year. He's now getting close to 28 lbs, and is 19 months old. But he's been this weight for several months now...he's just getting taller and slimming down. He was a very chunky baby for a long time though. Oh, and my son would start refusing food on a spoon when he wanted to feed himself...so I would just give him stuff that he could pick up. Maybe that will work for yours.... Good luck!

D.

first off no two babies are the same my son is 19 months and weighs 36lbs no eating problems until this week but my advice is hell eat when hes hungry trust me i have an 8 yr old niece who wont eat much of anything so good luck

Maybe he is teething? My friends son did the same thing when he was teething and for three days he didn't heat anything.

If your ped hasn't expressed concern likely there isn't anything to be concerned about. If he's teething or learning anything new that could be keeping him awake or making him not want to eat. Growth slows significanlty after the first year. I've been told "A baby will not starve itself" If you are concerned, cut back the juice and replace it with solid foods. Babies gain very little weight per month until the age of ~3. Never fear. If you are truly concerned though a visit to your ped is indeed in order.
(Sorry for the totally random post. I have my own 13 month old to chase after! Just FYI my 13 month old is barely 20 pounds but she is breastfed. She is in the 25% fior weuight and the 50% for height. What is more important is that she has not dropped from her OWN growth curve.)

Hi D.,

I know that the average two year old only *needs* 2 tablespoons of food per day to stay healthy. No child is going to go hungry. He'll eat when he's hungry, don't sweat it. Don't let him drink right before meal time. He may being filling up on liquids and then he feels full, even though he hasn't eaten.

Good luck!

My son went through the same thing! I thought he would become malnourished because he ate so little, but it was just a phase. There were days when the only thing he ate all day was some mashed potatoes or some oatmeal and he didn't gain any weight for about 6 months. However, he was very big to begin with (99-100th percentile). It is very common for children, once they've reached their first birthday to slow down on their eating. If your son is hungry, he WILL eat. That was the hardest lesson for me to learn. I would try to force him to take a few bites as well and all it ever accomplished was getting him to throw a fit and we'd both end up in tears. As soon as I relaxed and stopped making a big deal out of how much he ate, he started eating more. I've also read and discussed with my doctor the fact that it is very normal for children not to gain any weight around their 1st birthdays. At this point our babies aren't going to be gaining weight and eating like they did their first year, they slow down A LOT. But don't worry, he will start eating again when he's hungry. My son is 2 now and just about eats me out of house and home..LOL! Try not to worry too much (I know that's hard, I never listened to anyone who told me that when I went through it), but after a few months of very selective eating it will all turn around, at least it did for me and everyone else I know that has been through it! You can offer him lots of different stuff, but if he doesn't eat it, don't get frustrated and try again at the next meal. It's hard to believe they aren't hungry when they eat so little, but they really just don't need as much now. Also, make sure you aren't giving him too much milk or juice. When I cut back on that, it helped as well...and I tried to fill the gaps when he wasn't eating with Nutripals! He LOVED those and they have lots of vitamins and minerals! I hope this helps...hang in there!

hello, I think you should continue to offer a variety of foods, when he is hungry he will eat. my son is 19 months and fortunatly I dont have that problem. But I keep a little girl she is 2 and EXTREMLY picky!!! when her mom brought her to me she named 3 foods tha she would eat. I've had her 3 weeks and I've added on about 4 more foods. So keep on trying. At about 10-15 months my son hit a slump and only wanted liquids the DR said it was normal and his appetite would eventually pick up and it has. But he isnt the same infant who wanted to eat everything

My son was like that for a small bit. He was more interested in running around and exploring. I just kept offering him small bits of whatever I had and some of his favorite foods. He stilled nursed a lot back then. He made it. And he's quite healthy too.

Between 6 months and 2 years, my son put on maybe 4 or 5 pounds. I'd say at a year he was 21 pounds. Now at 28 months he's probably 27 pounds. He's tall, thin and packed with muscle. It's just the way he's built.

I wrote in with almost hte same question a couple weeks ago - my daughter is one year and she turns away everything except yogurt, bananas and cheerios! She eats like 5 bites of dinner and then refuses any more. We had her one year check today and my pediatrician said not to worry - it is a phase and it probably due in part to her being more mobile and active and not wanting to sit still to eat because she has better things to do. As long as they're not losing weight and they have calories from breast milk or formula they should be fine. I did also read that their growth slows a great deal after the first year. My mother in law told me all 3 of her kids went throught his same thing to the point she thought they would starve and she was in tears - then one day they just outgrew the phase!!??

D., I've been in your shoes!!! My guy is still a 'grazer' for the most part. Here's a few things that helped me with ideas:
www.wholesomebabyfood.com (recipe's are great) www.wholesometoddlerfood.com (same site, for toddlers)
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp (we do the nibble tray and it works great now!)

Also - call the ped's office and ask a triage nurse about your son's eating habits, ask them if they have any suggestions... mine at one point encouraged me to try adding whey protein to some of his foods OR adding 1/3 a packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast to his milk to beef up his calories; they may advice you to add 1 dropper of PolyVySol (vitamin supplement) to his juice each day. Juicy Juice just introduced Special Harvest juices, very similar to V8 blends, they have carrot juice/sweet potato juice, etc.

Just keep in mind that your son will be on his OWN curve with growing; don't get caught up in comparisons to the 'average' child. Typically, according to the pediatric guidelines, 'most' babies have tripled their birth weight by 12-15 months. At this point weight slows down tremendously, they're busy little ones at that point!!!

Keep ur head up, he'll be great!! One day he'll eat you out of the house!!!

Good luck!

My 26 month old is a really picky eater as well. But when I sat down to write out a list of everything he'd eat, I was surprised to find 13 items on there! Fruits and veggies were definitely lacking on the list, but I feel better giving him a vitamin supplement just in case.

Its just a phase :) Good luck!