Need some help with 12 month old petite little girl!

Katelyn - posted on 02/06/2011

What have you tried so far?

My son has always been an eater from the time he was born. He was 30lbs by the time he turned one. He lost about 5lbs due to double ear infection where he had to be hospitalized, but has gained it all back and is still 30lbs at 17 months. So he's definitely a tank.

When he was 6 weeks I put him on cereal just to help him out because he was chugging bottles practically faster than I could make them.

You can add cereal/baby food to her bottles -some people disagree but your the mom you know your daughter. This also depends on if you're trying to get her to gain weight. If you're not and you're just trying to get her to eat then this wouldn't be ideal.

Also doctors tell you to start with veges first because if you start with fruits they won't want the veges but you might want to try fruits first...

When it came time for table food it was an easy transition. But one day my son would absolutely love something the next time i made it he wouldn't even chew it because of the texture. Maybe if you found a texture of something she likes also maybe disguise it. My son loves to "dip" his food...French fries, chicken, pancakes, and anything else. He likes to play/dip his food into ketchup, syrup and that kind of thing. This helped us out big time because initially he wouldn't eat scrambled eggs because of the texture but once he had ketchup to dip it in he ate every last bite...you can use the formula to make them too...

This probably isn't much help being that my son was an eater and wasn't overly picky but i guess to sum up my rambling:
Give her sweeter things to try
My son loves spicy (im really sensitive to spicy foods but my son can eat things that i can't even smell without my eyes watering and loves it--like his father)
Experiment with different textures
If you can buy easy mac, raviolis, the single serving quick meals- just to see if she likes certain things they are quick and easy especially when you have a busy day and if she doesn't eat it then no big deal refrigerate it try again
Let her make a mess and play with it chances are she'll bring her fingers up to her mouth and she may like something but doesn't feel scared of it if she had a chance to warm up to it vs trying to put it in her mouth with baby spoon/fork (my son "mr. independent" wanted his own spoon and fork to feed himself and to this day still fights with me if i try to feed him something because he wants to, always has)

Sorry for the rant but i hope everything works out for you and your baby girl

Kimberly - posted on 02/06/2011

Cheryl I totally know what you are going through!!!! My daughter is almost 15 months and has yet to gain 1kg in the past 8 months!! She just doesnt like to eat. We've had all the test done and there isnt any reason behind not wanting it. I am told by my ped to keep bf her til she's18months but I do know a few tricks that sometimes work. My daughter flat out refussed to be feed by a spoon period so we had to go to trying finger food, yes it is a bit messy but she seemed more willing to try it when she was putting it in her mouth. For breakfast we do a hard boiled egg cut into little pieces( she only eats the whites) or toast cut up really small, blueberries, grapes cut up strawberries, yougart in the squeezie tubes, lunch would be sausage, chicken, ham all in little peices cheese, cucumber, and do veggies in little pieces too and broc as'trees'. other snacks was rasins, avocado, or spreads on a cracker,little teddy cookies, instant noodles, small pasta spirals just cooked by themselves. I dont know how much she could have of these things with a milk allergy but the one thing I can tell you is to just keep trying some foods over and over again. Its frustrating and worring and seems like everyone else's kids just eats but I found the more I stressed about her eating the worse it got. Also I would let her sit with me and have 'picnics' as she would sometimes eat something not being in her high chair. I have food on hand it seems like 24/7 for the off chance that she will want something and we are slowly getting better but it does take time so hang in there

Sarah - posted on 02/06/2011

just an idea, but maybe she has some sensory issues that are causing her to not want to eat. My youngest son is a sensory seeker in his mouth. He loves strongly flavored foods. A little friend of his is a sensory avoider in his mouth. The boy is almost 6 years old and wears like a size 3! Basically the only thing he would eat/drink was pediasure. My friend is his speech therapist and was so excited when he was 3 and she got him to suck the salt off a cracker and lick a sucker! His mom couldn't even use candy as a potty training reward b/c it had no appeal for him.

If you are in the US, ask your doctor or WIC office about early intervention services. They can test your daughter for sensory issues or any developmental issues that could be keeping her from wanting to eat. As long as you are providing your daughter with a variety of food options at every meal, you are not failing her at all. The fact that you ARE keeping her on the formula to make sure she gets her nutritional requirements met means you ARE a good mother.

Alycia - posted on 02/06/2011

Kate just turned one and barely eats table food. She's a chunk though so I have no nutritional worries with her. Carrie was a teeny girl. She was almost 16 months before consistently hitting 20 lbs.

Does she like noodles or bread?Those two things can do a lot for a kiddo with no appetite. Our nutritionist says to add oil butter and peanut butter to EVERYTHING.

For breakfast we do toast (she doesn't actually like it toasted so it's bread with PB or J and I use a pizza cutter to cut it into small enough bites for her) Same concept with pancakes (covered in PB for calories). All meals in our home are a variation of some noodle. Even if you sauce it make sure to add butter or oil first for extra calories.

Medic - posted on 02/05/2011

My daughter just turned 1 on Jan 25th. Now she is in no way petite she is 23 pounds but is totally rejecting table food. She goes to an in-home daycare and eats fantastic for the provider and does not get any baby food. There the provider cut her milk bottles down to just after meals and she drinks water between. Now I am just having to stand my ground and put food on her tray and not give in to her because she wants baby food. She likes toast with fruit on it, stewed veggies, anything that can be made crunchy. I know I am not a lot of help, my first ate anything and everything. I am new to this behavior

Lacye - posted on 02/04/2011

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I have deleted a post because it was rude towards another mother. Please be careful of what you say on here. Please read the No THUMPS policy carefully.

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Kim - posted on 02/04/2011

First of all Hailey above is obviously an immature person, we all come here for support, not to be attacked, ignore her.



My son was on nutramigen too. Extreme allergy. I finally have gotten him off of it, yeah! It ws so pricey. Now he can do all dairy and soy. Have you tried introducing it slowly?



I can say for certain, even if they are picky eaters, this is when they start develping their habits. What you introduce them to is what they will eat. I have noticed my son prefers fresh foods over canned baby food. He loves sweet potatoes I bake a few once a week, nutrigrain waffles, bananas cut up small, graham crackers, cheerios, pancakes and mix in fruit, I know its hard. Its all trial and error. I like this website. http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/organic... Some of the strangest foods on this site he loved. Just try one new recipe once a week. Eventually you will find what she likes!

Nicole - posted on 02/04/2011

hun have you tried ptting a teaspoon or two in her milk bottle and using a wider teat that can take cereals? 12-18 month teats are normally wide enough for this. she is on formula - so dont stress she is geting all the essentials.

have you tried supplemeting two or three of her day bottles with tea or water. this is very good for them too and she will start getting hungry for more nutrition. she will fight you off at first, but eventually she will try the cereal or food you offer.. then you have to spend a while figuring out what she likes hahaa xx some babies dont want to be fed, have you left her with foodin front o her to play with and try? give her a soft spoon and some yoghut in a bowl that sticks to the table and let her mess and play. dont make a fuss eitherway. also sit her in her high chair with bits of food that you are eating and while you and hubby eat she can sit with you and after a while she will accept it as something that people do.
she also might be outsmarting you and enjoying the atttention of you trying so hard to get her to eat. put it infront of her and leave her .. dont plead and beg. even when she starts eating. ignore her. welcom to give her attention, but she will probably stop eating and try get you attention like she used to again xx

john never ate for months, si every meal i made i would sit him in his high chair, sit on a small stool infront of him, i would hand him a knife /fork/spoon and i'd holdone myself and i would eat my meal 'with' him and after a whil he just ate what i ate. we still share our breakfast bowl and he will still ask for bites of my sandwich/whatever i'm eating. but if i cut off a triangle for him to hold h never used to eat it - just pull it apart and throw it about. but now he will eat a triangle sometimes two.
things that worked well with john were banana, cream cheese, avo, scrambled eggs, bread and warm not hot soup.. hth xx