Feeding one year olds food - about to lose my mind!

Amanda - posted on 03/14/2011

I have twin 2 yr old girls. The transition from bottles to milk sippy cups was easy for them and they seemed to take to eating food that we eat. Some suggestions is to ask your picky eater what he wants to eat, or give him 2 options and let him point at the option he wants. If he is hungry he will eat. When mine throw a temper about not wanting what is for dinner, they dont eat it. That means that sometimes they come back later and eat it b/c now they are hungry. Other times it doesn't bother them. And as far as healthy food goes, I would feed them what the rest of the family eats. Its not always going to be 100% healthy, but if he eats it then I would be happy. Try to limit the junk food and the juice intake, that way they aren't filling up on empty calories. Have you tried yogurt? Mine both love yogurt and its a healthy choice for lunch with calcium to help them grow. try cereal, even dry cereal. grilled cheese, tuna fish or lunch meat sandwiches, bananas, potatoes...think about what they liked from the baby food jars and try the normal food version of that. You just have to keep trying new things and keep trying with your kids. Good luck!

Frances - posted on 03/03/2011

My boys were over 2 when they stopped their night bottle before bed...I dont see the harm. Milk is good for their bones! So why worry about swapping to sippy cups?!
Dont put too much pressure on yourself eh.

I can feel you pain with the feeding thing. I have learnt now...that some kids are just fussy eaters...
My kids eat brilliantly throughout the day... I do a spread of Crackers, Fruit, Biscuit, Yoghurt, Sandwhiches... (they are 2 yrs now but have always eaten well during the day). However when it comes to dinner time... they are completely S**t...they will only eat small portions. At age 1 and older they barely ate dinner. I use to get myself worked up about it. Until my mum reminded me...if they are having a healthy balanced diet throughout the day then don't stress too much. If they are hungry they will eat!
A lot of the time its just phase....as time has gone on for me...they have gotten a little better

Treva - posted on 02/28/2011

relax, they go through phases, they will change what they like, and how much they eat. please don't surrender to their whims at one-years-old. if you want them to stick to the sippy cup, then do not go back to the bottle at all. when they get thirsty enough, they will take it. when he gets hungry enough, he will eat. my twins will be six-years old this weekend. they have different eating habits and likes. one of them did not like to chew certain textures and hardly ever would chew meat! i had to remind myself that they will not starve if i keep offering them food. our brains are wired to eat rather than starve. just be consistent in offering healthy food only, never junk so that whatever/whenever they do decide to eat, it will be healthy.

i made a lot of rice and pasta at that age. i cooked vegetables in with the rice. For breakfast, cream of wheat or oatmeal. Give them grapes, and cut up fresh fruits, like grapes, canteloupes, peaches, apples, and pears, etc. Yogurt and cheese are good for fat and protein. Also, instead of plain milk, you could use milk to make Ovaltine or Milo or Horlicks. This way they get the added nutrients and fat. I made these hot for them before bed and added a bit of honey, too. Mmmm yumm. They would drink it up while i read to them before bed.

Elizabeth - posted on 02/27/2011

These ladies have some great advice!! I have 21 month old twin girls who are complete opposites when it comes to eating. One pretty much likes everything, the other is very picky. I know how frustrating it can be when one doesn't like to try something new. Like the other mommies said, stick to basic foods, cheese slices, bananas, cheerios, yogurt, etc. As long as they are eating something throughout the day, don't worry so much about covering all the bases each meal. Mine do like chicken nuggets. That's about the only meat I can get them to eat. Veggies have been a struggle, although they do like sweet corn. One likes raw broccoli and cauliflower with ranch dressing. As far as the bottle goes, mine still have one when they get up, and one before bed, then sippy cups with diluted juice through the day. Mine actually do better with a soft spouted top rather than a straw. I am working on cutting out the morning bottle. Hang in there and try not to get too frustrated. I read that if you make a big deal about introducing a new food, they are likely to pick up on it. Just give it to them and let them take the lead. So many times, my girls have refused something one day, and the third or fourth time I gave it to them, they liked it. Hope this is helpful! Best of luck to you:)

Kay - posted on 02/26/2011

Who is telling you what? Nutritious, yes! balanced, yes! I love what Beth had to say. Why whole milk? Why high fat and protien? Healthy is not high fat and to much protien is hard on kidneys. Stick with portions. Textures may be something that makes them look like picky eaters. Take a deep breath and just do one day at a time.

Tricia - posted on 02/25/2011

lol I feel you pain. I have 16mth old twin girls and they are terribly picky! One more that the other. Within the last month they have decided I don't want to be "fed" but want to feed themselves... problem is they are big on texture...meaning if it's too mushy when they touch it they don't even want to try to taste it!!!!
I am trying to be patient... i give them "mushy" cubed veggies, baby carrots etc. and wait...sometimes they will eventually taste it, sometimes the food choice is accepted, sometimes not...if they don't like, eventually i switch to something i know they like... like toast, peanut butter sandwich, toast with cheeze wiz, french fries... patience, they will come around! also, my girls are still on bottles... they get one before nap and bed at night...during the day they use sippy cups with juice. why rush them off the bottle already?

Beth - posted on 02/25/2011

1. are the twins basicly healthy?
2 are they eating anything at all?
3 do you know what a proper portion size is for a child of the birth age the twins are?
EXAMPLE, a serving of fruit for a child 1-2 years old is 1-2T pureed fruit... thats it !!!!, my twinies love thier half a banana every morning , but thats 2 servings for them!!! and Neal usually eats more beyond that, Allycia will eat a little , some times, but generally the half a small banana is enough for her, and maybe 1/4 c cheerieos, which is a serving of grains...
2-3 saltine crackers is a serving for a year old baby
1/4 c cereal or half slice of bread 4 oz milk or2 oz yogurt mine will eat a whole 6 oz container of it !!

just keep trying , remember they are too young to be picky!!, keep trying flavors an textures,

Jill - posted on 02/25/2011

Take a breathe and relax... we have all been there at some point or another... I had huge problems with my twins at one stage as my twins for some reason were complete opposites from birth.. What I did was try make food more fun by doing little things that make them actually want to eat there food and they will have fun while doing it. For example.. most kids love mash with a sauce.. so why not mix something healthy into the mash such as carrots, peas, pumpkin and so on.. this way they are eating something they enjoy, getting in some veggies and having something fun and colorful to eat. You can also make your food more fun by dishing it up looking like a face or by putting sauce on in a face or flower or whatever pattern. And last but not least... never dish up to much food on their plate at once otherwise they will feel like they are being over whelmed by food and will feel like they cannot please you by eating it all at once.. you could always give them a little more if they are still hungry. I hope this helps you in some way :) all the best... Jill

Valerie - posted on 02/25/2011

Hello! It can be very frustrating, but more than likely, it sounds like one is a picky eater and one isn't- just as it could be with any child(ren). Kind of off topic a little- but maybe some help, my girls were extremely busy little girls and very wiggly and hard to keep still long enough to feed them when they were little, so I would put them in their walkers (do people still use walkers? lol)- and put one of my feet under each one so they could still move around a tiny bit, but couldn't get away (they would climb out of the high chairs or table chairs, so this helped with the safety issues of that), and since ther's a tray in front of them, and it's all plastic, it still could be messy, but it worked- I would feed them that way- in their walkers with my feet holding the walkers near me in the kitchen.. as for the picky eater.. they will eat when they get hungry enough, and through trial and error you will find foods he likes.. eventually.. and sippy cups- another trial and error thing unfortunately.. my girls LOVED their "baba's" (bottles), so they had sippy cups during the day or when I was out, but I did let them have a bottle at home at night if they wanted one, I didn't feel the need to just take it away all at once.. they eventually "lost" them all-- or bit off the nipple and I would throw it away- and everytime one had to be thrown away, I would tell them they have one less now.. until they were all gone! ;) Good luck!! Hang in there!! Valerie~~

Alda - posted on 02/25/2011

My girls are 2.5 years old now. The one eats anything and everything and the other one won't even try most things before pushing it away and saying 'no!'. If she tries it and doesn't like it, fair enough, but if she won't even try it then she simply doesn't get anything else, especially not pudding, and she goes hungry, simple as that. Going hungry for a few hours never hurt any child and she eats really well at the next meal lol. My advice on sippy cups - trial and error. I bought every sippy cup on the market before I found one my girls liked. One great tip for veggies - give them frozen peas and sweetcorn. My girls actually ask me for 'fozen pees and corn'. They can't get enough of it, and I've yet to meet the child who doesn't like it. Good luck, you'll get through this :-)

Jennifer - posted on 02/25/2011

Hi Karily,
I agree with these statements, don't pressure yourself about the sippy cups/bottles, they will adjust, my son couldn't drink from a cup forever. I found my twins skipped baby food, and went straight to adult food, and I had a higher success with that. also even though it's messier, I find they do better when the are allowed to eat themselves. i spoon feed them a bit just to make sure they are getting some then let them have at it.. They are almost two now and still making a mess, but it will get easier.
I'm sure the pediatrican's advice is true, but he may not have twins, and if they are happy and healthy (as long as they don't survive on candy) you do what you need to get through... every single meal doesn't have to contain all important parts (meat, veggie, dairy) just do what you can and it will get better :)

Polly - posted on 02/25/2011

Karily this to will pass. hang on and find something funny. I had to get a dog to eat the food my twins dropped on the floor. then they learned to feed the dog. it was a 3 ring circus. I think the doctor must be smoking something. LOL Just feed them what they like and enjoy life. I did grilled cheese cut up in to bit size peices, frozen peas, chicken nuggets, maccaroni and cheese, sliced cheese....
You may want to find a new doctor too. My b/g twins will be 21 in march it goes fast. Enjoy it goes very fast. Polly

Alta - posted on 02/25/2011

My dear Karily, sounds like what I went through. I did give up and let them tell me when they were ready. You'll be surprised. There will be a point when they are so sick of the same thing every that they will BEG for something different. I made it so easy on myself and now they eat everything at 18 months. I let them ask me for something different. As for sippy cups. I was persistent, but didn't force anything, now they only want the sippy cups. Good luck

Penelope - posted on 02/25/2011

Sending you a big hug-we've all been there (and some of us still are...). Kim is right, relax. The more tense and wound up you are, the more they will be-they take your signals and feed (no pun) off of them, so if you're wound up they will be, too. I won't bother making food suggestions, kids are just too different. If it is any consolation, mine are 2 and one still won't eat meat and the other very little meat. It's terribly frustrating sometimes. I can offer a few things that I hope will be helpful. The one piece of advice I got from my family doctor that I think has been the single most valuable thing anyone told me, is that you don't have to look at nutrition on a per meal basis-or even a daily basis. You should look at overall nutrition on a weekly basis. If you can keep it relatively balanced on that scale, you're doing great! That may mean they eat nothing but pasta for two days, then nothing but broccoli, then only yogurt, but whatever! Who cares?! As long as they're eating and getting a reasonable facsimile of balance over a seven day period, you're winning!!! So, when the reject a meal or 3/4 of it, don't sweat it. They may not even be hungry for dinner or lunch one day-no big deal. Don't let the doctors sweat you into anxiety, just follow your kids' leads. For all we know, they are craving the exact foods they need at that time (which I personally think is likely) based on instinct level programming.

Anyway, enough about that. One other bit I can offer that might help you: my kids never did get the hang of the sippy cups you have to tip up until MUCH much later. I found that using the ones with straws was the answer to getting lots of liquids in. They love milk (which, keep in mind can be a great source of protein even if they don't want meat) and can get tons of it with a straw sippy. For survival, and since it's still early days, just make two different dinners for your kids (or keep backup chopped whatever for the one who fusses) so you have an arsenal that will get you through. No point in fighting about it now and you don't want to establish a pattern that will make your son dread mealtimes. Just keep the peace for now and in another year start working on "this is what you have to eat, so choose from what's on your plate". We're just embarking on that now at 2 and it's going better than expected.

I sympathise with your plight utterly, we've been through tantrums and throwing and spitting and screaming and parents breaking down and going to bed without dinner and the whole nine yards, so know you're not alone. Hang in there and pass off dinner duty to Daddy or whomever if you need to get away.

It does get better!!!

Justine - posted on 02/25/2011

Good news is every phase passes, and quicker in real time than it actually feels! Bad news is that this darn feeding thing remains an ongoing battle (I still struggle with my 3 year olds!). However, also cut yourself a break - why are you weaning to sippy cups for their milk? Bottles are only a problem if it's the only thing they drink from or if they fall asleep with them (I've researched this!), so introduce the sippy cup for water only and stick with the bottles for milk for now. Some kids still have bottles for milk at 3-4yrs, it's fine don't stress about it or let other people's ideas and opinions dictate what you should do - with twins the only survival strategy is to do what WORKS, not what you 'should' do!!! As for the eating - some kids are just picky eaters, and you may even find that they swap roles from time to time (one of mine would only eat mashed banana at this age but now she's the one that will tuck into whatever is put in front of her whereas her sister says 'I don't like that' without even tasting!) Did your pediatrician suggest some foods that hit all the food groups that you could try? It doesn't have to be gourmet at this age - mashed banana and some yoghurt? Mashed avocado if they will eat it? I remember still using baby cereals quite a lot at this age justto satisy myself that they WERE getting the nutrients! I totally hear you on the 'I'm about to lose my mind', I've been there - just stick with it, find SOMETHING that he will eat and keep it as back up (for now, as he gets older he'll have to learn to eat whatever is offered, for now it's just about making sure they eat!) FINALLY, the best thing anyone ever said to me on this issue was that so long as they are growing, pooing regularly and have lots of energy then they are getting enough food and nutrients!!!!

Kim - posted on 02/22/2011

Me having twins as my first two children... all I have to say is breathe!!!! Plan ahead.. and learn to know what your children like. We have already stopped bottles and only sippy cups now and we are ok. Both of my boys are great eaters so I'm lucky. I wasn't able to nurse so I'm sure it was a lot easier for me. I give my boys tons of "no salt added canned veggies" and they love steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Chicken and pork are also on their list of favorite things. They eat salmon at least once a week too. Just keep trying new things, I know it's frustrating but try to relax! But remember, just as long as your kids are healthy and growing, it doesn't matter what they eat at this point. Give them what they like, just as long as it's not junk food..lol Sometimes my boys will just eat veggies for dinner.. but it doesn't matter because they ate!