picky eater!!!!

my daughter is 10 months old and has become a VERY picky eater. I hope this is not something I did to cause this but I need some help.

She will no longer eat mushed up baby food. Jarred or home made. She WILL eat the fruit and yogurt though...but that is most likely because it is sweet. We usually give her whatever we are eating for meals...but a lot of the time she is so picky and wont eat it and I am at my wits end on what else I can give her.

Here are some things she LOVES:
Pasta (of any kind...but no tomato sauce or she wont eat it lol)
fruit (especially bananas!!)
cheerios
yogurt
chicken
mashed potatos
sometimes she likes carrots

So what else can I give her?! I don't want her living off those few things...she needs some variety and she needs to learn how to eat other types of foods too. What can I do?!

anyone?  

Keep offering her a variety of foods. She is entering those oh so fun toddler years where the pickiness only gets worse!You will probably find that what she likes most now will turn into stuff that she won't touch in a few months. As long as she is eating at least 1 good meal a day, she should be fine.

yup just keep offering different things. i'm dealing with that now in my 2 1/2 year old...it only gets worse. theres days sheonly wants cookies and throws a tantrum otherwise....what can you do? you don't want them taking a nap hungry, but all i can do is offer different things. one day she'll clean her plate, and won't touch the same thing the next day. my mom always said it's normal and as long as they eat one healthy thing a day and are growing as they should to not worry. i also get my daughter pediasure, makes me feel better at the end of the day.

my cousins did that they would eat everything at one point then they wouldnt eat anything except junk food. just keep offering diff foods and try as much as you can to give her fruits and veggies but dont force it dont make feedings stressful but if its something that you are really worried about that she isnt eating enough or not getting enough nurtients id suggest to talk to her pedi about supplementing the only thing that comes to mind would be either pedisure or that yo baby yogourt im not sure about the ages tho.

Quoting Ashlyn & Connor's mommy:“ yup just keep offering different things. i'm dealing with that now in my 2 1/2 year old...it only gets ... [snip!] ... day and are growing as they should to not worry. i also get my daughter pediasure, makes me feel better at the end of the day.”

what age can i start pediasure? i'm still using formula with my daughter so i am good for now but i am worried that she wont be getting all her nutrients once i start her on whole milk. pediasure is kind of like "big kid" formula isnt it? except it doesnt taste as bad?

Quoting angelwingz22:“ my daughter is 10 months old and has become a VERY picky eater. I hope this is not something I did to ... [snip!] ... off those few things...she needs some variety and she needs to learn how to eat other types of foods too. What can I do?!”

Check out the book " Deceptively Delicious. It shows you ways to make foods healthier by adding purees in things they will eat. They have a chicken nugget recipe, buttered noodle recipe, ect.

Quoting HollsSN:“ Check out the book " Deceptively Delicious. It shows you ways to make foods healthier by adding purees in things they will eat. They have a chicken nugget recipe, buttered noodle recipe, ect.”

I'll have to keep that in mind...


Jamil is doing the same thing. He loves yogurt. (Even plain) I try to mix his vegitable purees in with his yogurt, sometimes it works...

He will eat pretty much any table foods he can handle...

Peas, Aspargus, Squash, Green beans, puffs, banana, egg yolk.
He will occasionally eat purees too but not very often, and when he eats the table food he is not eating very much. Not even close to as much he was eating when eating only purees. It's stressful, and makes me wish I never gave him finger foods...

Quoting jamils_mommy:“ I'll have to keep that in mind... Jamil is doing the same thing. He loves yogurt. (Even plain) I try ... [snip!] ... even close to as much he was eating when eating only purees. It's stressful, and makes me wish I never gave him finger foods...”

Aww, Christina, you had to give him finger food some time! He's at the age where they start to give up purees. Babies only eat baby food for a short time. He's getting close to the toddler years so keep in mind that toddlers really don't eat very much. Just offer him food more often. Like, instead of 3 meals a day give him 6 meals a day. And when you do try purees make sure they are really clumpy. I wouldn't even puree the food anymore, just mash it. Then, give him some on his tray and then help him with it when he'll let you.

But, I think you would really like "Deceptively Delicious". It's food for the whole family. There is also another woman who has a book w/recipes that have purees in them but I can't remember her name.

Oh, and also, when babies get into the toddler years they also generally don't eat a balanced diet every day. They more likely eat a balanced diet over a week. So, I wouldn't get too worried if every day your child doesn't eat a veggie or fruit, ect. ( this was more to the OP).

Quoting angelwingz22:“ what age can i start pediasure? i'm still using formula with my daughter so i am good for now but i ... [snip!] ... nutrients once i start her on whole milk. pediasure is kind of like "big kid" formula isnt it? except it doesnt taste as bad?”

She can start having Pediasure when she starts on whole milk (at age 1), but I highly recommend discussing using it with your pedi. My son was put on it, but it was as a last resort because it contains so many vitamins and nutrients, that it can fill them up causing them to eat even less food. We only used it if he had gone the entire day without eating a full meal. One big thing to remember about kids is that their stomachs are only as big as their fists. If you take that into consideration, the amount of food they will actually hold is not very much. She isn't going to let herself go hungry, and she is actually developing her ability to recognize when she's had enough so you don't want to force her to eat - if she is truly hungry, she will eat. As I said before, just keep offering her a variety of foods (and the hidden purees idea is a great one for sneaking in added nutrition). I know as a mommy it's frustrating when you think they aren't getting enough, but if she is continuing to gain weight and is still drinking formula, then she will be fine.  

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/recipe-deceptively-delicious-chicken-nuggets/article44248.html

Here's the chicken nugget recipe from the book.

And here's the buttered noodles ( with yellow squash)

ingredients
- 8 ounces of whole wheat pasta
- 1/2 a cup of yellow squash puree
- 1/4 cup of non-fat milk
- 2 tablespoons of trans-fat-free soft tub spread
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente.

2. Drain, return the pasta to the warm pot, and stir in squash puree ( make sure the puree is really creamy), milk, margarine, Parmesan, and salt.

Also, in there, she has recipes for just about everything. Scambled eggs, Pancakes, Mac and Cheese, Pita Pizzas, Burgers, Grilled Cheese, Brownies ( which are suppose to be awesome), cookies, ect ect.

It's some extra work but if you are really looking to add fruits andveggies ( the book is mostly adding veggies)to your kids food it's great. I bought the book because my daughter wasn't really eating her veggies very well. But, right after I got it she started eating them on their own. So, I haven't been needing to hide them. But, I am sure I'll be using it for Addie when she starts becoming a picky toddler!

Quoting HollsSN:“ Aww, Christina, you had to give him finger food some time! He's at the age where they start to give ... [snip!] ... a week. So, I wouldn't get too worried if every day your child doesn't eat a veggie or fruit, ect. ( this was more to the OP).”

Your right.. Thanks. It's so easy to get stressed about it, but he weighs a lot, and I know those are all fat stores, for when he is a picky toddler.

Quoting jamils_mommy:“ I'll have to keep that in mind... Jamil is doing the same thing. He loves yogurt. (Even plain) I try ... [snip!] ... even close to as much he was eating when eating only purees. It's stressful, and makes me wish I never gave him finger foods...”

exactly! my daughter kind of just stopped wanting purees on her own. i offer them to her still and the only thing pureed she'll still eat is fruits like apple sauce and stuff like that. no veggies or meats. so now i give her table foods but she is soooo picky! she will eat an okay amount...depending on how hungry she is. i am not too too worried yet because she is on formula so whatever she doesnt eat in solids, she gets from her formula...but i do want her to learn to eat solids...and eventually she'll be off formula and onto whole milk which doesnt have all the same nutrients formula has...