Help Mommies! 14 Mo. Old Won't Eat Dinner!!!!!!

Hi P.,

My advice would be to try to cut down on her milk intake. Babies that age need only b/w 18 and 24 oz. of milk a day and Whole Milk is a lot more filling than formula. May I suggest when you give her lunch, give her water or juice instead and then give her a sippy of milk afterwards. Remember that rice cereal, yogurt, noodles, pasta and crackers have a lot of carbs in them and those types of foods generally tend to fill babies up quickly. For breakfast, try giving her some applesauce with her rice cereal (fruits help to digest food quicker) and for lunch try turkey or chicken with a veggie. With that she may be more hungry for dinner. Also remember, kids know when they don't want to eat no matter how much we think they should. They are a whole lot smarter than we give them credit for. Good luck and I wish you the best!

In my experience with my son the not eating phase comes and goes, sometimes I feel like he must be starving and sometimes like now, he eats everything I give him and I feed him as much as he wants. I think he seems to know what he needs cause his weight doesn't fluctuate. The things I can say is what I do with my son, I'll try and buy the best possible things that he'll eat. Like if I can only get a waffle or crackers in him it'll be whole grain w/ protein or whatever else added into it, no added sugar, etc. Another thing I'll do is make him a smoothie if he's not eating well w/ frozen fruits and a little veggies, yogurt n a little milk. My son only gets two sippy cups(16 to 20 oz) of milk a day, one before nap and one before bed. If I let him have more than that he won't eat. He eats sring cheese n yogurt for extra calcium. I suspect your daughter is full from milk and formula. Hope this helps a little!

She's getting way too much milk and toddler formula to be hungry for anything else. As long as you fill her up with that, she isn't likely to eat a meal. I would cut back on the milk. Give her water to drink with her meals. Also, when she is hungry enough, she will eat. Give her what you want her to eat and then don't cave and give her something else if she won't eat it. She'll learn that if she wants to eat, she eats what you give her (it isn't like you're giving her anything crazy, it's pasta and vegetables!). Give her the food and if she doesn't eat it, put it away. When she asks for food again later, give her the same thing. She will figure it out. She may go to bed hungry a time or two, but she won't starve and it will teach her to eat what you give her. I only had to do this with my daughter once or twice and now she eats what we eat at dinnertime. I just alter it if it's something too spicy. Making food a battle will never work because they have control over what goes in their mouths, so you will never win. Just let her down from the table if she doesn't want to eat, but let her know that is what is for dinner and if she is hungry, she is welcome to eat it. Good luck! It's tough, but this is one of those times that you have to stand your ground if you ever want her to start eating anything besides milk and crackers.

Cut back on the milk :) My kids would live on chocolate milk and plain milk if I let them. Neither one of my kids liked meat too much when they were babies. They did like scrambled eggs, so I let them eat them for dinner quite a bit. Also, my kids liked sweet potatoes either mashed or cut into small chunks. Just a few more options there to vary the diet :) Good luck!

It takes many, many tries for some toddlers to take a liking to a new food, so just keep trying. You may want to back off on cooking her own meal and just give her what you are eating, within reason, of course. Try letting her eat stuff with her hands or her own utensils, even if rather messy. I remember when my oldest was one, he would eat super spicy salsa & chips at restaurants and people were so amazed! My kids are picky about some things, too, but they love tofu and none of them will eat chicken strips or nuggets! My 7 year old had to bring fruit loops to school for a class project last week and he came home and asked me "what are fruit loops?" I was so proud! :)
And don't feel bad you can't get those processed meals Gerber & other companies pander to American mommies. Your child will likely be healthier to stay far away from processed & packaged junk like that.

Have you tried smoothies with fruit in them? Banana smoothies are usually enjoyed by children her age. Make them with the formula. Add applesauce to her baby cerial. Put a little smooth peanutbutter on the crackers. Pre-cook baby carrots so they are soft and show her how to dip them in yogurt. I hope these suggestions help.

I agree w/ the "too much milk" group. She doesn't need formula any more. She's at an age where she could be eating all table food so don't go to too much trouble making her a meal. Anything you are having that can be cut up tiny and mushed with teeth or gums, then let her try it. They really don't need to eat that much at this age. Since you are in a foreign country- cheese cubes, cheerios with yogurt (or any other small cereal), pasta noodles with cheese or marinara sauce, (I buy a jar of Marinara and then add baby food-pureed-veggies to it), macaroni and cheese, any small veggies cut up, slivers of deli meat. Are you still feeding her with a spoon? She might be more interested if you just put it all in front of her and let her feed herself. She'll play with a lot of it but eventually stuff will start going in her mouth. Cut way back on the milk and you might just discover she has an appetite! Good luck!

Hello there,
I read all the comments about milk and maybe you think, no way I can't do that because you want to make sure she is eating. One suggestion, if she still won't eat the other foods just the milk (if you try to blend them like veggies) add a little formula to the veggies at first to help the taste. Then as she begins to eat them, gradually wean that out. If she still doesn't like things other than crackers to taste, try frozen things. My son wouldn't try anything new other than crackers but frozen blueberries and peas where a big hit. Also, I try new foods on my finger sometimes. I don't know what it is about that but a little taste from my finger sometimes encouraged him to try something new.
It will come. Remember her tummy is the size of her fist so it fills up quickly. Just take note of what she is actually eating and drinking. Hang in there,
T.

Hi P.,
I think at 14 mo old she should be having more than infant cereal for breakfast- try a scrambled egg( kinda hard) where she can pitk it up with her fingers- then for lunch- yoguart is not enough to sustain her- cut up some things she can eat with fingers- small pieces of apple- a few grapes, few pieces of cheese- .....just put these on her tray and let her try for herself to eat- peas are another things kids like to eat with fingers- fish sticks another- but not to worry if she does not eat it all- if you are not comfortable with what she has eaten- then supplement with the things you have been giving her- but I would let her know that first she eats the things on her tray before getting the other....she eventually will.
Good luck
Blessings

My doctor advised me that a child who is offered food will never starve. It won't hurt her to miss a meal or two or more. She will eventually eat what you offer her. She knows you will give in and offer her crackers or cereal. So, why bother with new food. Mom will give in. If the cereal is nutritious and you don't mind her eating that, then fine. That's not a problem. Keep giving her cereal. But, if you are concerned that it is not very healthy for her, then keep offering her your food. If she doesn't want to eat it, so be it. But, don't offer her anything else. Let her go to bed hungry. She will eventually eat. My daughter went through a stage of nothing but cheerios. This is very normal. But, she is only a year old. Cereal should be ok. Maybe add fruit to the cereal? or fruit puree?

I'm not sure about the milk issue since it seems like she eats her other meals just fine including the milk. However, I would lose the milk with dinner. Just like adults have times during the day where they won't eat as much at a meal, well why not baby? Maybe dinner is her smaller meal time. Filling her up with milk isn't going to hurt her but she is probably too full for the rest of her dinner. But, if she's doing fine at her other meals with it than I wouldn't bother changing those times.

As for what she is eating at dinner. Again, it might just be her small meal time and she may not be that hungry. My daughter only picks at food at night. She's a good eater during breakfast and lunch. But come dinner she only wants a little of what we are having or wants Cherrios and little bits of sweet potato that I cut into small pieces and cooked for her to pick up and eat. It also seems to be the meal that she wants to feed herself. With breakfast and lunch she really wants me to spoon feed her if I let her. But dinner she wants to go at it alone. Who knows why?? I don't question and I just go with it.

Your daughter sounds like she's getting good meals other than dinner. So just relax and let her enjoy her "meal" of crackers or noodles if that's what she's into. She's not going to starve herself. How many times have we heard tails of children only eating one type of food and refusing all others? Your little one is doing just fine.

Stop stressing!
Good luck!
Jen
http://www.mommysjoy.com

Oh Boy- I remember those days. But she is def getting too much milk and formula. Both very filling!! By this age our daughter had soundly rejected all the baby-ish foods. She would not touch the Graduates. She would only eat whatever we (her parents) were having. So, we would cut it, mush it up, add a little broth to it- whatever it would take to make it soft and mushy so she could eat it. Still, the actual amts she ingested was always very small. We asked our pediatrician who said "if you are successful at getting decent food into her about every 6th meal, you are doing good". We just had to learn to stop obsessing. She is still a picky eater- but now a vibrant 5 year old. In terms of food, I have learned that she will take in what she needs. Don't give up!

I know this sounds bad advice to almost everyone. Cow's milk is only good for baby cow's and even they stop drinking it when they are able to eat grass. Your baby is simply filling up on it, if you can manage to take her off she will eat more. They are smarter than we give them credit, if you have it they will eat it. Checkout www.notmilk.com. Don't know which foreign country you live in, but if you happen to have an APO address, you can order things from Amazon or Lucky Vitamin. They carry numerous baby products. Avoid products with high fructose corn syrup, msg, hvp, fd&c colors,enriched flour, sucralose (splenda & equal). All of these are chemical flavor enhancers that are very addicting. I like Enviorkidz cereals & bars & Earth's Best. Have you tried rice or quinoa noodles, (Quinoa is a very small grain and complete protein), avocados, sweet potatos. hope this helps, c

www.mybiopro.com/claudia13 (learn how to protect your family from cell phone radiation & other EMFs)

Definately cut back on the milk. That baby is just too full. Her other meals seem pretty light so it's not such an issues to get her to eat those. Also From now until she's about 3 her eating habits are going to be erratic. Some days it's like she can't get enough to eat, and others you'd swear she was trying to starve herself. Just keep in there go with her flow. Instead of a cereal bar or something I would try feeding her PB&J if it's available. Not too many kids will turn that down and it's a little more nutricious than a snack.

Keep offering her the fressh fruit or veggies, but if she refuses give her a sippy cup of V-8 Fusion. It is a great tasting blend of fruit and vegetable juice and gives them a whole serving of each.

Don't give up sometimes it takes several tries to get them to take a new food. Good Luck!!! ;-)

Since you have your child so well trained for the first two meals of the day, you might try some variety there. Fruit mixed with cereal and yogurt is always yummy for little one's tummies. Even a little bit of baked or boiled yams mashed up is a sweet way to get her to eat and one of the most nutritional veggies out there.
The other thing to remember is that she is not going to starve herself. With what she is getting in her first two meals, she is getting plenty to allow her to suffer her consequences if she chooses not to eat. Right now she is winning your food battles because you give in to her at night. Kids will eat when they are hungry. Now is the time to instill good eating habits or it will become a real battle later.
Good luck and know that you are doing a good job, just remember "Be the Mom!" It is my mantra when the kids are getting the best of me! :)

I think you might be giving her a bit too much milk. You don't mention the quantity of rice cereal or yogurt she eats along with the milk you give her, but if you give her those every day, for the same meals, and she eats them willingly, at least you know she's eating. She just might not be hungry. Try varying those two meals - there's no hard rule that says a child must have cereal for breakfast, and the best time to try something new is when she's hungry! If she didn't eat her supper last night, bring it out again for breakfast. Offer her cereal in the evening that day. Flip things around, and offer fruits and veggies as snacks - always keep finger foods available.

As long as she's growing well, has energy to spare and is happy, she's getting enough to eat; young children are fantastic at instinctive self-regulation. I know that when my boys were little, some days all the dinner they'd eat would be two grapes, the next day dinner would be a half cup of chicken cubes and spaghetti noodles and still asking for more. As long as you're giving her a good varied diet (and a baby vitamin for extra backup) don't worry about it too much. :)

Hi, here's a few suggestions, and above all, just keep trying different things because a hungry toddler will eat (they say)! I have a 16 mo old and she is a fussy eater as well. I would suggest a blender and a baby food grinder. Try mixing chicken and apricots that have been mashed or cooked and mashed. Some fruit can be roasted in its peel after washing or, if you feel more comfortable, peel it and gently cook it, then mix her favorite fruits with a little meat then try a little veggie. I've read that toddlers don't like complex flavors, so they suggest trying one or two flavors. I am still feeding my daughter the jarred baby meats and fruits and veges on many occasions because that seems to be all she'll eat sometimes. I can get soy hot dots which I chop up and she eats those, also soy corn dogs. Sometimes she will eat spaghetti or pasta with meat sauce that I grind up in baby food grinder. She sometimes eats scrambled egg with cheddar cheese and broccoli. Sometimes cooked peas and small cut up bits of carrot and broccoli. Sometimes I have had good luck with a bean soup (a 16 oz bag of pinto beans soaked overnight, then rinsed and drained. Pour those into a separate bowl temporarily. Saute 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, 3 tablespoons minced garlic, 3 bay leaves over low heat until onions are translucent, 10-15 min. Add 6 oz tomato paste and 28 oz can tomato puree and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in 10 cups water, cover partially, and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the beans to the soup pot. Reduce heat to medium low and cover, simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (I usually simmer longer). You can then add 1 cup of your favorite pasta and simmer another 10 minutes until pasta is tender.
I then grind this in a baby food grinder and add cheddar cheese and sometimes mine will eat this. I got this recipe from The Well Fed Baby by Sweet and Bloom.
I also found some neat recipes in the Deceptively Delicious cookbook (add some pureed vege or fruit to everything even cookies!).
One trick I have to use is giving her toys on her high chair tray or whatever she likes to distract her, a washcloth, little peas and a bowl, dry cereal and a bowl or cup to play with, and while she is distracted, I can usually get several bites into her.
Sometimes a grill cheese sandwich works, too.
Good luck! It gets better and easier! A little messier, too, ha, ha!!! H.

Ditch the toddler formula completely and make sure she's not getting more than 36 oz of whole milk each day. More than that can interfere with iron absorption. Provide 2 or 3 options at each meal and let her have healthy snacks a couple of times a day. Children at this age only need about 1000 calories a day, so those 2 or 3 options at each meal may only be a couple of slices of peach or pear, some yogurt or cheese and a couple of little slices of toast with honey; and she may only each a couple of bites of each! If you have dinner more than an hour before her bedtime, she will likely need a sippy of milk just before bedtime to take her through the night. Make sure that you take that into account as you monitor her milk intake.