What is your baby eating now?

Olivia - posted on 02/13/2009

Well, you're ahead of our son. He still pretty much only wants to eat jarred foods, with the exception of cereals like the gerbers graduate puffs and honeycomb cereal. Tonight I gave him some vanilla cake and he actually ate it, whereas on his birthday about a month ago he wanted nothing to do with cake.

Kristin - posted on 02/13/2009

She sounds like a picky one alright. My Doctor told me one thing  that has helped me with my 13 month old. He said  " a toddler will never starve". "never start cooking him special foods, other then what your cooking for you and your husband. If he dosen't eat it then thats it. And thats how I have been and It has worked for me . So good luck. Kristin

Kasia - posted on 02/12/2009

My daughter eats everything I offer her, I'm lucky. Some favorites are avocados, any kind of cheese, cheerios, bananas, salmon, Baby Mum Mum rice crackers, etc. I read somewhere that babies sometimes have to try something ten times before they decide to like it. Be persistant. Also, if she is being difficult I will give her something to play with in her high chair that is not a usual toy (ie: tupperware, a paper cup) and it distracts her enough where I can slip in many bites. Good luck.

Cassie - posted on 02/11/2009

I had a HUGE issue with this too. At the 1 yr appointment here is what my Dr said: *don't enable bad habits. I was always giving her snacks in between meals because she would barely eat 1/4-1/2 baby food jar. But the reason was because of all the snacks I was giving her. Once I stopped the snacks, she ate MUCH better at meals. (She likes the Beech Nut products a lot). *Don't give too much juice or bottles. The juice is mostly sugar which will be empty calories and you obviously don't want her ALWAYS drinking bottles forever.

Also, from watching Jon& Kate PLus 8 (yeah, i know... haha) I realized, my baby will eat when she's hungry.

These are her favorite foods: YoBaby yogurt, bananas, mac n cheese. I just try to make sure to even out the 'junk' foods with healthy stuff. FOr example I'll only give the mac n cheese with a veggie like green beans (she LOVES it). ALso I will give her apple but most of the time she sucks out the juice and spits the rest out - but she's still getting vitamins from it, so I don't mind too much. And like I said she's still on baby food for some meals.

THe biggest thing I think is don't stress over it too much. Every baby is different and will progress at different rates. Also what Sarah said is SO true - keep trying stuff. My daughter hated eggs the first several times but now she loves them! ANy time I'm in the kitchen making something I will always give her a little taste of one or more of the ingredients. I went through what seemed like forever where she was basically on bottles, snacks, and a tiny bit of baby food. With my dr's advice and a little discipline to fix our bad habits, her appetite went up big time!!

Carrie - posted on 02/11/2009

My son eats anything that I put in front of him.   He has a hard time eating steak and pork chops because the meat tis chewier, but he loves chicken and fish.   He will eat all vegetables and fruits.  He loves green beans, corn, peas, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, mashed potatoes, edamame (soybeans).  He also has a hard time with regular spaghetti noodles so I try to cut them up small as possible.  Basically you need to keep offering things to your daughter.  Kids don't always act like they like it the first time, it could be the texture or smell.  Like someone else said, my son likes it when I feed him off of my plate.  If I make him a separate one, he is looking and grabbing for my plate

Kerri - posted on 02/11/2009

My son is getting a little better about not spitting food out.  If he sees me or my hubby eating it, he'll try it.  At supper time, he's pretty much eating what we're eating(because he wants some of ours).  But for breakfast, he won't eat eggs.  All he wants is baby food type stuff, like applesauce, yogurt, and the new addition, the oatmeal that I eat.  Then for lunch, we're trying things like the graduates foods, backed up with the baby food veggies, just to make sure he's getting nutritious food.  He's already decided that he doesn't like one of the varieties.  And he hates the pick-ups.   But if all else fails, we have the Cheerios.  My son is going to turn into a Cheerio!

Robyn - posted on 02/11/2009

I too am having trouble feeding my little guy.  He wants his baby food and baby cereals the most.  Just this past week he has decided to try new things.  Before he would just spit it out.  So far I have been able to get him to eat pasta with a little spaghetti sauce, scrambled eggs, eggo waffles, wheat bread and butter and by baby yogurt.

Stephanie - posted on 02/11/2009

My daughter eats what we eat, I just pull hers out ahead of time if I am making something spicy. It seems to help if I feed her from my plate instead of making a separate one - she will try more when we are sharing than she will on her own. If we hit a time that she absolutely will not eat something, I have a reserve of veggies that I know she likes. Sometimes, pickiness is actually about texture rather than flavor as well - she doesn't like pasta at all (just sucks off the good stuff and spits out the naked noodle). If you haven't already, try adding some seasonings as well - I added nutmeg to her butternut squash and it made a huge difference. Just watch the salt, of course.

Caryn - posted on 02/03/2009

My son is pretty much the same way - the only thing he eats on a regular basis is yogurt, eggs, the Gerber pasta pick ups, carrots and any kind of fruit. Most of the time I can't even get him to try new foods - he looks at it and clamps his mouth shut. I'm hoping this is just a phase and he'll grow out of it. (Our doctor didn't seem too concerned). Every night I try to give him what my husband and I are having for dinner, in hopes that he might eat it!

Kara - posted on 02/03/2009

Jack is a great eater, so not all this may apply, but here you go:

Breakfast:  Pancakes, sometimes with PB smoothered on top.  Cinammon Chex cereal, No Sugar Applesauce, Bananas, Grapes, Strawberries, Scrambled Eggs, Boiled Eggs, Cinnamon Rolls (rare treat)

Lunch:  Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Bread, Pasta--Chef Boyardee or Mac-n-Cheese, Hotdogs, Fishsticks, Chicken Nuggets, Boiled Baby Carrots, Steamed Brocolli, Squash (our local grocery store carries a Bird's Eye cooked Butternut Squash in the frozen section that is so easy to prepare), Sweet Potato, Mild Salsa

Snacks:  Crackers, Animal crackers, Puffs

Dinner:   He eat whatever my husband and I are eating

Jessica - posted on 02/03/2009

you can also try like some kind of pasta.. macaroni or something similar or healthier...with Hun'ts chunky vegetable spaghetti sauce. its in a 26 oz can. mine loved it..plus it has lots of different veggies in there..and she can also feed herself!

Jessica - posted on 02/03/2009

mine's the same way..she loves her baby food veggies..but come one shes a year now!!..i tried cooking a squash and cutting it up -she threw it in the floor. but she does eat any kind of pea or bean. like green beans, black eye peas, green peas, pinto beans, black beans...and those are all very healthy for her plus she can feed herself! but i am also looking for some variety...i've been feeding her those meals like mac and cheese with franks...spaghettios and franks...which aren't healthy but i need her to eat things other than her baby food!!! mine didn't get picky til she got sick for the first time about a month ago with an ear infection...

Rachael - posted on 01/30/2009

i feed Lila (not all at once..lol) Grilled Chicken/white only, white breast turkey, greenbeans, carrots, corn, potatoes (though shes not too fond of corn and potatoes) peas, squash, broccoli (that is her favorite) rice, cheerios and yogurt.

We too are trying to branch out in the food department...i feel like she is eating the same stuff all the time, i try to mix it up. We do not give her baby food anymore, she has zero interest in it. She is having her last bottle on Sunday, Dr. said its okay to now put her on VitD milk.

We do eat on a schedule. 9, 12 and 6 with a 3pm snack

Sheri - posted on 01/30/2009

My daughter is a very good eater. She eats pretty much anything and everything. When I had her at her 12mos checkup, the Dr. asked if I noticed a decrease in her appetite. I said "no, seems like it's picked up". So...it's not uncommon for them to become "picky" eaters. I think I've heard it can be between 1-3 yrs of age. But definitely keep her options open. Do you sit and eat the same things and at the same time as her? This may help also. Good luck!

Sarah - posted on 01/30/2009

Definately keep trying! Don't fall into a rut, even though it works. You want to keep new tastes coming at her, even if she doesn't like it the first time. It has been proven that it can take a toddler over 10 times of trying a new food before they like it.



Leah isn't too picky, but is my meat and potatoes kid. Natalie is my born vegetarian. Nat hates meat (other than hotdogs, ground beef), won't eat steak, chicken etc. but loves beans, veggies and fruits with cheese and yogurt for protein. Leah eats steak, and she is only 1 year old! She loves potatoes, chicken, any meat really, and is picky about her veggies and fruits.



So, as you can see, most kids have their preferences built into them from the start, but we as parents can help keep their palates "fresh" by introducing new tastes. Keep the introductions light and easy going, with no pressure or stress, and your DD will be more inclined to try a new food.



To answer your topic question, Leah eats turkey meatballs, ham, pork chops, steak, chicken, kielbassa (any meat basically!), yams, potato, corn, bread, cheese, noodles (plain or with butter), jam and butter sandwiches, fries, sweet potato fries, apples, and I could go on and on.



She probably won't grow out of the pickiness, but try to work with her on it. Mix healthy foods into her taco meat (pureed veggies she doesn't like), try making homemade meat balls out of turkey or chicken and hide pureed cauliflower (etc) in them. You get the idea.....



HTH!