eating practically nothing

[KristySmitten]

hello everyone, i know a lot of you have posted on this subject before so forgive me for going on but i needed to express my frustrations regarding my sons eating habits. he is 11 mths, and soooooooo fussy, lately (the past week) he has been especially bad, but he has chicken pox which would explain that. but he has never been a good eater, i worry so much, and it drives me insane, i just want him to be healthy! he eats very little during the day, breakfast is ok, he always eats that, but lunch and tea are a battle. he will no longer eat the meals i make him (mostly AK ones) and gags almost everytime he tries it, even things that were firm favourites previously. he will happily eat fruit, rice cakes & various other snacky bits, yoghurt and any puddings and will have a bit of a sandwich or toast or something like that but thats about it. i want to move more toward giving him finger food meals, but basically i will accept any advice, or ideas for recipes that seem to be popular with fussy eaters, or just any suggestions really!! I am at my wits end and worry constantly that he is starving. thank you!

[maita]

Have you tried him eating whilst standing against the sofa or playing? This worked for us whilst Maia went through an anti highchair stage! We did tea parties with dollies and teddies and giving them food too helped a little bit.
xxx

[Big Munch]

Hi there, i agree with maita try giving the food whilst your lo is playing but be careful he doesnt get used to this, my lo went through a stage where she would not eat at all, this was after she was ill, so a similar situation, i just made sure that everything i gave her was finger foods and after a couple of weeks she was back to normal, she eats quite well now. i tried things like:

home made lamb burgers but made sure i threw in loads of veg (courgette, aubergine, mushrooms) becasue once you blitz it they can't see the veg at all,

I also made things like fish burgers again with lots of potatoe and other veg,

pasa worked really well for me and when i made the sauce again i just put lots of veg to simmer with tomotoes and then gave it a blitz, so it just looked like tomatoe sauce with pasta

Don't worry too much (easier said than done i know!), a friend of mine has a son who is 2 and he has never eaten vegetables at all and finally last week he started eating peas and sweetcorn, so i am sure it will be alright, try not to get too wound up cause they can pick up on your frustration, i know it's hard and i hope it gets better for you soon

XXXX

[wickypop]

hiya, u r not alone. my little man has been off his food for ages now, it wasnt until i went to see my HV last week that i realised i hadnt seen the HV for 2 months and that was when i 1st talked to her about Oli not eating!! its a nightmare!! how do they survive?!?! my HV suggested giving vitamin drops to supplement and also to put him on follow on milk, (i use aptimil 3) not cos milk! Oli is soooooo fussy! things he neva refuses are breadsticks, sweetcorn, melon, rspberries, raisins, bicuits, cheerios!!!! i cant remember when he last ate meet or cheese. sometimes he will eat a yoghurt! and this morning i got him to eat some cheerios with milk!!! my HV said just to go with it. but its so hard and frustrating. we went and bought a small table and chairs tonight and someone suggested to me he may sit at his own table and eat so we are gonna give that a try!! sorry i dont have any good advice to give. x x x x x

[LittleMissMe]

I dread mealtimes with my lo as its really hard work and usually last between 1 and 2 hours at a time. She eats hardly anything but she seems healthy shes a really good weight and the docs, hv's etc aren't worried at all as she is so healthy. Mind you she still has 14oz follow on milk per day, one in the morning and one at night. I have found though that if I put her highchair at the table with me when I'm eating and feed her while I'm having mine she eats no problem. Hope your lo eats better soon!

[KristySmitten]

thanks so much everyone for your advice and replies, it helps to know i am not the only one struggling at meal times.

Big munch - would you be able to give me the recipe for your lamb & vege burgers and the fish burgers please?

thanks again everyone.

[Logan s Mum]

I know what you're going through, Logie is the same and has been like this about a month now. He likes toast so I've managed to get him eating cheese on toast. I have to use mild cheddar and not put too much on. I also put a good bit of unsalted butter on first so he is getting something fattening! It took a couple of weeks before he would eat this but loves it now. I'm trying eggy bread at the moment but so far he won't eat it! As he's a good weight and healthy I don't worry too much about it and keep hoping it'll get better! Good luck! xo

[chez]

When my son went through this phase i just went with the flow, like you i worried was he getting enough vitamins and nutrients from what he was actually managing to eat, but please dont worry it passes eventually and they always make up for it in the long run, one thing he always ate was weetabix and i can remember one particular day it is all he ate for breakfast lunch and dinner after trying other foods first that is good luck !!