I'm sure many of you have seen my posts about the battles of will that I go through at meal times w/ my 16 month old. However, I'm starting to get the feeling it's time to stop feeding him jarred baby food.

No matter what flavor, meats, fruits, vegatables, etc. he will spit it out as soon as it hits his mouth. He refuses to eat it. He used to only eat stage two baby food and then I thought ok..well maybe it's time for stage 3 but even that he will spit out. So, when the rest of us eat I fix him some of our food. He will usually eat that but he won't touch the vegatables. Before this started happening I had no trouble getting him to his fruits and vegatables.

I don't know if you remember or not but I also posted about him not gaining weight and it's a no brainer why he isn't. He just hates to eat! I wasn't to concerned a while back because at least he was eating vegatables etc. A few people have recommened Pediasure or something like that. Do you think it would be wise to start it? Should consult his pedia. first? When did you stop jarred baby foods?

At his age, give him food that is soft and can be held in his fingers. Cooked veggies good for this are corn, peas, green beans, carrots and others. Cheese cut into bite size pieces (not pre sliced cheese, too thin) is good for proptein. Chicken cooked moist and cut in to small bites work well. Fruit cocktail, canned peaches, bananas, canned pears. Macaroni & cheese is a good one, messy and all when they eat it without help. Cook mashed potatoes, little ones usually like those. Give him a spoon and let him feed himself and you slip in a few bites here and there. At that age they are in the "me do it" stage. Yes, spaghetti works well even if it is messy when they try to put pick it up and put into mouth. Don't worry, that is what washclosths are good for, to clean little faces!

i never really started the jarred baby foods. they were for emergencies and outings only. i cooked my own baby foods, mashed potato, pumpkin, carrot, cauliflower etc, with bland gravy, thick soups, and stewed fruits etc. when their teeth developed i mashed the foods less and introduced them to things they could feed themselves so they could learn to chew. such bananas, cooked carrot pieces, weetabix, cheese sticks, spaghetti, cooked potatoes, promite sandwiches etc. they often ate the same things as we did. the more colorful and interesting the food the more they enjoyed meal times. i took care to ensure there were no hard bits they could choke on and stayed away from things like eggs and nuts until they were older (these can cause allergic reaction in some children). i would suggest you have a chat with your child health nurse for information.

DS is almost 14 months and he's still eating a lot of stage 2 baby food. He loves the mac & cheese, meats are so so. I've JUST started trying to get chunkier foods in him and this was after my BIL fed him tortilla chips, otherwise he acts like he has a hairball and is going to gag. At school they grind up everything for him into mush and have also tried chunks, but have the same problems. As far as giving him a spoon or putting food on his tray -- he just throws the food on the floor. I'm just assuming that no child has ever gone to elementary school with jars of babyfood packed in their lunch bag :)

HI,
Our oldest was the same way. He hated pretty much all food. We skipped baby food all together and went to regular food. So we just kept trying things. Finally it came down to that all he would eat are nuggets from McDonalds, PBJ, and some fruit. So we went with it. He has expanded his diet now, he is 7. I make him buy lunch at school, b/c he sees his friends eating it and will at least try the school lunch. That introduced him to tacos and some other stuff that we have started making at home. JD is still very picky. I would ask your doc, but our doc said just keep trying new things. It has been a long haul and still is. Every meal we eat pretty much centers round what JD will eat and not eat. I always said I would never do that with kids, but we have 4 and it is just too hard not to. We did figure out that it was not the taste so much with him as it was texture. He hates anything mushy, saugy, etc... He likes things he can chew. So he is pretty much a meat and potatos kid. He prefers his veggies not to be cooked. Good luck!!!

My girls were about 16 months old (twins) when we started things like mashed potatoes and soft meat, real veggies, crackers, cookies, brownies, fruit puffs, real cereal with milk, waffles and things like that. They LOVE it, and refused baby food. The only thing the pediatrician told me is to make sure they drink more juice, or eat more fruit, as adult food can be constipating to the little ones.

Good Luck!!

Drea Jean

hey littleone!
glad to hear austin is truckin' along! ross was about his age when i totally stopped buying baby food (including stage 3). his favorite stuff then was mac n cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, green beans, corn, sausage, eggs and waffles. anything he could pick up he was happy with for snacks too. (like goldfish, popcorn though watch him on this).
we just had our 3 year old check up. he is small for his age (skinny but tall 36") his ped didn't seem concerned. now i am having food battles almost every night. he just will not sit still for a meal. he is far from a picky eater. one of his faves, don't laugh, is fried chicken livers. anyway, gotta go. will try to post more later! just letting you know i'm still alive!!!!!
laney

read Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. great book. healthy foods for kids. talks all about making your own foods and when to introduce what kinds a food. i made a lot of my own foods and supplemented with jars depending on travel etc. i used the book in conjunction with food rec from my pedia.

by a year there are only a handfull of foods that toddlers need to avoid (honey, peanut butter) and maybe then all those foods with spices or things that are just junk food.....but by the time my little girl turned one i was giving her a lot of the foods we were eating as a family - just putting hers in a food processor.

your child is prob just ready for new tastes and textures and there are a lot of things out there to try that should make him happy!

LANE...it was so GREAT to hear from you! I'm glad you guys are doing well. Thanks for letting me know yall are still alive lol:)

Well, I MIGHT have come across a brake through. I woke up with a better attitude about the whole thing and I decided I won't act so frustrated with him at EVERY meal. So, about 2 days ago I woke up and told myself he will not let himself go hungry! HE WILL EAT!

So, later that morning....
I fixed him some scramled eggs and he pratically ate the bowl too. He really likes them! I was so happy I found something he cared for.

I have also come to realize he likes cereal (fruit loops) and peanut butter and jelly. Nothing close to where I would like to be (fruits and vegetables) BUT it is a start. Nothing happens over night.

Thanks for all your wonderful ideas and I will keep them in mind:):) :bouncing: