My 14 mo old has developed food aversions. I am not sure if it is from his prematurity or it is just something he is doing. I do not force him to eat if he refuses something. He was eating small pieces of chicken and then got sick and has not eaten any more after that. He will eat toast and bread type itmes, but mostly we are doing stage 2 foods, no stage 3 except the fruits and sweet potatoes. Are they any suggestions as to how to get this little boy to eat something?
Thanks,
G.
Thankyou to everyone who responded! I have chose to just sit back and see what happens. Nathanael has begun to eat varoius other things such as strawberries, bananas, noodles and some meat. As long as it has a lot of flavor he will eat it!! I think he is on his way to eating. He just needed more time to develop, I guess.
Thank you,
G.
This could be due to his age. Infants grow really fast, and they need a lot of calories to support that. After their first birthday, their growth rate slows dramatically and they just don't have the same caloric needs, which often means that they become very picky in their eating--so picky that moms are worried about big issues. When they need more calories, they will eat more.
Something I tried with my little boy was, I would offer him something and if he didn't like it, I would just offer it agan in a few weeks until eventually he would get brave enough to try it. As long as he was eating SOMETHING I didn't worry too much with "how" he was getting it. I do try to make sure he gets something from each food group which sometimes means I'm feeding him Stage 3....
He might be bored... At 14 months my daughter was eating most of what the family was eating, and very little baby food. Maybe he wants to eat what his sibs are eating or at least something that looks more like what they have. As for the meat aversion, my dd is pretty much a natural veggie, I brought this up at her 3 year and the dr. said that many toddlers don't like meat because of texture. Maybe that is why so many kids prefer chicken nuggets!
My 15month old has been doing the same thing for over a week now. We're done with baby food because she just doesn't care for any of it. As they grow, their nutritional needs change to account for their bodies need. So I trust her decision not to eat certain foods.
What she does enjoy now is chicken noodle soup (home made), thinly sliced turkey (what you would put in sandwich), and kefir. This is all she will eat right now. I've gone a little crazy looking for something that would appeal to her until I just started giving her foods that we were eating ourselves.
I've found that if I continue offering her different types of foods and not stress over it, she does well. She usually sticks with a few food items for a few weeks, then wants something different. Not unlike us adults.
Hope this helps,
Hi G.,
We struggled with food issues as well - my son had trouble transitioning to stage 3 and table food. Anything with texture, he would gag on and throw up. So he wasn't much into trying new things either. If your son is having trouble with the same, I would suggest discussiong with your pediatrician- we ended up seeing a speech therapist who worked with him and gave suggestions for how to help his learn to chew the food before swallowing. Anyhow, it was a big help and helped him transition to some new foods. He continued to be quite picky but at least he was able to eat it. Then we could work on increasing variety of foods. Good Luck!
Hi!
Something that I tried was taking the food she liked (applesauce, and potatoes) and mixing a small amount of the undesirable food (chicken) together. I also took Pillsbury crescent rolls and placed the "offending food" inside, baked them and then served them with a dip (catsup/gravey). Start slowly so that your son doesn't notice the change. Hopefully before you know it he will be happy to eat a whole drumstick :-)
I will mention that there is a possibility that he has allergies. My two girls were both severly allergic to chicken (and many other things) but both reacted very differently. To make things even more confusing, NEITHER myself or my husband have any food allergies. Pediatricians are more reluctant to consider vomitting/upset stomach as a sign of an allergic reaction. However, more and more allergists are beginning to realize that these are definite signs. This most likely is not the situation with your son, but since allergies are so serious, and they can take a long time to be diagnosed properly I thought I should make mention. Good Luck!
K.
I would get him looked at just to be on the safe side. It could be a fluke or it could be something more. My good friend's son has Sensory Integration Disorder and has very severe food/texture aversions. He is 5 now and has come a long way with things he will let in his mouth. Good luck!
I would dump the baby food. The earlier you start table food the better. We waited until my daughter was 17 mo and to this day she is very picky about foods. They start to get picky about new foods and textures about this age, so some aversion is normal. There seems to be a very fine window when you can introduce new things, I'd grab it before it's gone.
To this day I can not even smell lemon jello without feeling sick, because I got very ill after eating some as a child. So, the part about your child getting sick after having chicken and not wanting to eat it anymore makes sense to me. I would just wait to reintroduce it later when the association may have passed. 14 months is usually a time when they start to develop more independence, but I would still offer a variety of foods. One thing that helped with my older son was giving him fruit, veggies and meat on the same plate. Not sure if you are giving things individually or what. Another suggestion I got from some friends when my first was that age was frozen peas which is great for teething especially when they are getting those molars. It's also good for fine motor skills. My son used to eat them in his stroller tray and people would be surprised to see a child having that as a snack. Along with that, canned, cut unsalted green beans (room temp or from the fridge) were a favorite and also good for a snack on the go. I think the best advice is to try not to get discouraged and not to make it a battle. Try to enjoy eating and share what you are eating and they will usually start to follow suit. Good Luck!
Keep offering him the foods in small amounts. His body is craving toast, it will turn around, just be patient.
Hi G.,
Have you considered calling the local Children's Hospital and talk to the nutritious. D.
Could it also be the texture? One of my stepkids can't eat a number of fruits because of the texture, but dried or pureed versions are okay. Maybe ground chicken would encourage him to try again. I also agree with offering foods periodically. Kids' tastes change all the time and they have to try something many times to decide they like it.
Sometimes it could be allergy. Certain food makes them uncomfortable, as you know, they don't occupy the ability to express yet.
I am an occupational therapist and have worked with kids with food aversions. i would recommend that you go an see a therapist who addresses feeding issues to help you with this. It is usually easily addressed but takes some specific planning. Children's hospital has a good program.
This is very normal. My daughter did not like the textures in the 3rd foods as well. Babies under 2 years old generally don't like meats, and it is ok. They can get the nutrients they need from cheese and milk, and try some yogurt. As long as you are offering fruits and veggies, he will decide what he likes. Don't worry about him yet!
