How Do I Get My One Year Old to Eat Solid Food?

There was a cookbook got for babies and Toddlers. It made food not boring and made it fun to eat. Let me look and see if I can find it and the name. Maybe that will help?

Hi K.-
I agree with some of the people here...my son would only eat ravioli...I actually had to mix formula in it for a while, then I found some powdered vitamines and started using those instead. He gradually started eating other things, sounds like you have a picky eater! Fun foods are very important, but also try finger foods. My boy was much more interested in eating other foods when he could do it himself. She will not starve herself! As to juice, there are two sides to that argument, is she getting the vitamines she needs elsewhere? Don't worry about juice if she is. If not, purchase the sugar free juice and mix a small amount of it with water. My boy is 10 and he still won't drink juice full force. A bottle is NOT the end of the world, and if she still needs it, let her, but start offering her a sippy cup also. I filled the bottle with something he didn't like and filled the sippy cup with what he did like. Every time you fill a bottle, fill a sippy cup also, offer both at the same time, and don't walk away with the one she didn't take, leave it somewhere she can get her hands on it if she changes her mind! When she finally picks the sippy cup first, remove ALL bottles from your kitchen, pack them in a box when she's napping and don't look back, if you don't, she won't! Just know that a bottle is really not that big of deal! Kyle let his bottle go when he was 9 mos...about a week after he started running! Up till that point he was COMPLETELY dependant on me, after that he really only wanted me when he wasn't feeling good. TWERP! He never drank milk, there's two sides to that argument too. I understand that they say the milk fat is what they need for brain development, but he was allergic to milk fat, so he got none. He is extremely intellegent, so obviously, milk fat is not the only thing that their little bodies need to assist in brain development. Kyle is now off the scales in weight, he actually weighs more than me. Your daughter will gain weight eventually, and DO NOT let your Dr. make you feel like a "bad mom" because your child is thin. They tend to get sanctimoneous with new moms, single moms, young moms, etc....If she is healthy, don't worry about her weight. Every child is different, and you can't try to put her in the cookie cutter middle with everyone else. Were you thin as a child? Were you thin until you got pregnant? How bout her dad? The extended family? These are all factors in her weight.
I was a single mom until about 6 months ago, you'll make it, and you and your daughter will be just fine. I hope you have family near by, they can be very helpful. If you just want someone to sound off on, feel free to call me, ir's tough to be a single mom, and I'll listen if you need to talk. ###-###-####.
By the way, thank you and your husband for your sacrifices while he is serving our country, I don't think we are greatful enough as a nation to our service men and women and their families, so I just wanted to say "THANK YOU" from my whole family!
A.

My daughter was only 19 1/2 inches long and 6 lbs. 10 oz. when she was born- and she remains a peanut. She is advanced with all of her motor/language skills, but still remains a peanut- underweight but tall by the growth charts. My doctor said that as long as I'm feeding her what she will eat, and as long as she is growing at a steady rate, there's nothing to worry about. Look at the growth chart for your daughter- if it is curving upward in a pattern, then everything is fine. If there are dips or no changes over a period of months, I'd ask your doctor to actually give you some possible solutions.

Just try different things and she'll eat what she likes.

I would talk to the pediatrician about this and see if it sounds right, but maybe cutting back on the amount of formula/milk would help. Maybe since she IS so small, she's simply too full of the liquids to deal with the solids. Aside from that, I have always believed in the saying that no child ever voluntarily starved themselves to death. Keep trying with the food and see what happens. Be patient. If you're spoon feeding, try letting her do it herself... with a spoon (even if it's incredibly messy) or with her hands. If she's independently eating already, maybe she would like your help with a spoon. Sounds like you're doing a great job to me. And another bit of advice. If your pediatrician is really "getting on to you" about your daughter's weight and making you feel bad about it, maybe it's time to find another pediatrician who won't hold you responsible and will work on some different ideas with you. Good luck!

Give her a sippy cup instead of a bottle.
Try this site for suggestions on food.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

Also try Dr Sears site for more info.
http://www.askdrsears.com/default.asp

Children do not need juice...it's nothing but sugar.
Good luck.

I am also having somewhat the same issue with my son who turned 1 Aug 16. Actually it seems like he doesn't want anything fed to him with a spoon. He has just recently had this problem. He used to eat baby food fine.

I'm not sure if it's the right approach or not but sometimes I'll just let him get messy and play with his food so he can eat it with his hands and he'll eat a little that way. I know some people put a small amount of baby food in the bottle but I feel if continued for too it's kind of a lazy way of doing things.

My son has actually been a larger baby since birth he was 9lbs 2oz. He's not a chunky baby because the DR has never said anything about his weight, so he's pretty healthy for not eating that much. For me I've decided to continue giving formula through out the day since he chooses not to eat much. I want to make sure he's getting all the vitamins he needs, that regualar milk doesn't have. He too will eat a couple bites of what my fiance and I are eating.

If you find any solutions that work for you please let me know and I will do the same. Hope everything goes well.

Food... one of the biggest concerns for moms along with sleep, and about everything else.Unless something is really really worng with your child's health, she will never starve herself. More, children usually feel what they need. They will crave for some specific food for a while and will totally ignore it then. Food is also a social moment, that should be fun. My daughter is 2 1/2 and doesn't eat much. I try to keep a routine on food, regular times for main meals and snacks. I also try to eat what she and her brother eat. Or make fun with food. Fruits on a stick, a lake in the mashed potatoes, with peas as fish, or slippery spagettis to eat with a lot of noise (not good if dinng out though). They both drink milk from a bottle in the morning and in the evening. One on Dady's lap when at home or usually both on my lap. It's a quiet moment for all of us. And what... It's like potty training. Have you ever seen a teenage drink his soda from a bottle? Or have wet pants? About juice, unless you blend fresh juice yourself to be drunk right away to keep all the vitamins, avoid them all as much as possible. Sugar, sugar and sugar. It is poison.

K. this is your second email today i received.
so i wanted to give you my 2 cents on this one.
you're lucky your daughter at 12 months eats what you eat. it could be worse. as in my girls got milk in a bottle, not sippy cup until a day after they turned 2. if she is low with weight give her formula for a while, for a few more months as the formula has everything that they need still.
i don't know how much she weights but really do you want a chubby baby? let her eat what she wants and whenever she wants. don't teach her to fight food because that fight will most likely never stops (i still go through with that, and believe me it isn't a habit you can easily break).
doctors say at 12 months baby is ready to eat whatever you eat just watch out for allergies and don't worry.

Have you talked to your dr about pediasure? Also with my daughter I cheer her on like she just won the superbowl when she does even the littlest thing that she has been stubborn on. she loves aplause so will keep doing it. and when giving her something new, I will take a bite or two so she gains interest. for a couple weeks I had to put her food on my plate and let her eat off of it. now she eats well on her own tray and my plate doesnt get gooped up. good luck, and know that if she gets hungry enough she will eat, it is pure instinct.

K.,

My son is 9 and isn't an eater. He is good height and his weight is within normal limits, but he doesn't really like meat. He will eat vegetables and rices and potatoes, but not meat. He will eat chicken nuggets from McDonalds, but not fried chicken at home. What I did was find the things he liked the most and eat them at least 3 times a week. Let me tell ya, I almost hate spaghetti. But eventually he did start eating a little of the meat if he had ranch dressing or a-1 to dunk it in. We also had to eat 8 meals a day. Very small meals (imagine a can of raviolli lasting all day, that is the size of the portions). We substituted with ensure drinks for the vitimans and proteins at every meal to make up for whatever he was missing. Also, if your daughter was always spitting up, was it a reflux issue? She will know when she is hungry and eventually you will find something that works. I hope it goes well for you and that the moms here have some great ideas for you.
Best of luck
J.

My daughter was in the 7% range for weight when she was 10 mths old and dropped to the 5% at 12 mths and is now at the 3% range at 15 mths. She is almost 16 mths and can still fit into two of her 3-6 mth outfits I have and is wearing 6-9 mth clothes. I stopped worry about her weight because she is more active then anyother kid in her daycare and can say more words then any of the other children her age or even slightly older. My doctor also told me not to worry about her weight because she is very active. The whole time we were at the doctor's office she was climbing up and down a step stool, none stop. My advice is to give your daughter what ever you are eating because that is the only way my daughter would eat as well and if she is hungry she will eat. Do not load her up on milk or formula because that will fill her up and then she wont want any food. I do try to make her meals fun. I add cheese to broccoli and rice to main dishes since my daughter loves rice. I would find out what your daughter really likes and try to add a little bit of this in her meals. At home my daughter only gets milk and water to drink but at her daycare they give her juice. As a result of this she refuses to drink water at daycare. My doctor has told me that at her age she really shouldn't have juice. So, I wouldn't worry about her drinking juice because it really has a lot of surgar that she doesn't need right now. I would try giving her fruits and watermelon instead, my daughter loves these. Some days my daughter would eat almost nothing and other days you could never fill her up. I would stop worry so much and make sure you offer her healthy foods and trust me when she is hungry she will eat. I also give my daughter 2-3 snacks a day, which she almost always eats. Make some fun dishes and enjoy your daughter. As long as she is active I wouldn't worry about her weight. Good Luck