Meal Time Help for 15 Month Old

Hi K.,

I have a 20 month old daughter who has the exact teeth in now and she eats everything. She loves all sorts of beans. Green beans, black eyed peas, pinto beans, lima beans and corn of couse.

She has a little trouble with pork chops and steak because sometimes it can be a little tough but I figure she might as well try and get some practice in. We cut it up in tiny bites. She loves lunch meat like sliced turkey.

I think the best thing anybody can do for a child is not to make food so important. I feed my little girl what I eat. I don't puree anything. Dinner time is a happy time in my house. I put a meat, a vegetable and a starch on the table and let her eat what and how much she wants. I do not and will not make a special different meal for her. I believe a your child will eat anything you eat. I don't sit and glare at her and push her to eat. I eat with her and if she dosn't like her broccli, I ask her if I can have it. She love to feed me too.

So funny. She'll take her little fork and get some food on it and will lift it to her dad to blow on it to cool it off but he eats it. She gets this annoyed look and slides her plate towards me. She knows she better eat what is on her plate or someone else will.

Relax and enjoy this time in your little girl development. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

Some favorites in our house...

black beans
string beans
string cheese
hot dogs (cut lentgh wise and then cut in cubes)
chicken nuggests (baked)
avocado
fruit cups (juice drained)
apple sauce
yogurt
yogurt melts (in the baby food section)
And instead of spreading butter or syryp on waffles, I usually spread yogurt or baby food on it. I also mix baby food with plain pasta to make it more moist.
Frozen grapes cut up are a favorite as well.
tofu cubes
frozen blueberries (huge bag from costco)

I hope this helps!

My little girl is coming up on 14 months...same complement of teeth as yours. I feed her a lot of the things mentioned by the other moms. I thought I'd throw in one meal idea for you though to help if you all want to eat together. My little one loves chicken parmesean. If you make it, instead of buy it, you can do it healthier than a restaurant. The breading and the sauce make the chicken really soft when you bake it. She just loves it and I serve it with pasta cut up small and a veggie. (When time's short, there are Purdue chicken breasts already cooked and breaded in the meat section).

Look into Annabel Karmel. She is a british baby/children's cookbook author. She is amazing. Good luck.

at 15 months, even with a lack of teeth, you little one is able to eat most table food that you eat- My little ones love spegheti-i just cut it up small. Pizza cut inton bite size pieces, bite size pieces of chicken, Really if you want to do it, and she'll take it you can start giving her the same thing you eat. You just have to make it bite size. and give it to her to eat slowly.

Good luck- feeding children can be stressful, worrisome, and messy...

L.

It sounds like she is eating amounts that are fine for her size. Take a look at her hand. Her stomach is as big as her fist. It might seems like she eats a tiny amount, but it's okay. I think everyone gave you great food suggestions. And it seems like you are right that she will take after your husbands build. (My daughter btw is nearly the same age and 17+ lbs.)

Hi

At 15 months old and with as many teeth as she has you no longer need to puree the food , also she can have any foods that you and your husband are eating just smaller portions , with my kids I just put little bits of everything on the tray of the high chair and let them go for it , yes it can be messy but they prefered this to me trying to feed them or give them slop.

Good luck

Hello. If you are looking for specific recipes and menus. Here's a site with a bunch of information and also has some recommendations for some cookbooks.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/read.htm
I have used "The Organic Baby and Toddler Cookbook" and the "First meals" books and both are pretty good and have great ideas.

Good luck!

Oh and my daughter has always been in 5-25% for weight and its never been an issue. She has been growing steadily and never has had sharp drops or increases in weight. I would not worry about the percentile because all kids are different. Some kids are just more lean and its ok as long as their growth rate is consistent and they are getting nutritious & balanced foods.

It is so difficult going from baby food, where they get a lot of fruits and veggies, to table food where they don't seem to get as much due to not liking texture. You have a great menu for your child! My daughter was slow to eating table food. She was still gagging a lot at 15 months old, and continued to eat baby food for the longest time. She is 2 years old and still eats baby food fruit...except she eats bananas. Try green beans cut up in bite sizes, and mashed pototoes w/ gravy. My daughter also loves the Mrs. T's peirogies. I boil it and put butter on it. Grilled cheese and peanut butter sandwiches should go over well, too. And, mac & cheese!Keep trying new things.

You don't need to keep pureeing foods. What I did at that stage was steam veggies until they were really soft and easy to chew. I always made enough for leftovers for lunch the next day. Also, she should be able to eat meats (if you choose), just make sure you cut them up really small. Green peas are always a good standby. I make sure I have a bag of peas in the freezer so I can just nuke them for a few minutes so my kids get veggies at lunch and dinner. She should be able to eat everything that you're eating at this point, just make sure the pieces are small enough so she doesn't gag trying to chew them.

I know I get into "meal ruts" with my 15 month old- from your post...it sounds as though my daughter has the same teeth as yours. My pediatrician said it's fine for her to eat whatever we are eating (minus the no-no's for this age)
Here are a few things that she particularly likes:
hot dogs (I usually cut in "discs" and then in 1/2)
pasta of any kind
pierogies, fresh fish & fish sticks, hamuburgers (cut into pieces, chicken nuggets, all fruits-especially applesauc, all veggies

After starting this list...I guess she really does eat whatever we are having for dinner- including all meats- we just make sure to cut them into bite size pieces. Good Luck!

Avocado slices
Cheese sticks
Apple sauce
Noodles (any kind warm or cold with or without sauce/butter)
Grilled chicken pieces
Meatballs
Bananas
Canteloups
Apples (sliced in to thin sticks)
Waffles (the strawberry ones are great plain)
Muffins
Scrambled eggs
PBJ
Grilled Cheese
Tortolini (cheese flavored) dipped in apple sauce

Hi K. H~

My daughter had about the same amount of teeth at 15 months. She is also underweight for her age. She's 2 and weighs 23 pounds, but healthy. I think what you're doing is just fine. Continue to give her the foods she will eat well. Gerber graduates are good, but I have also bought the chef boy r dee meals in the little cups for my daughter. They have a variety of meals like chicken and rice, chicken n dumplins and I have even given her turkey with the stuffing meals. I just mush it up a little more if need be. It was recommended to me to also give her pediasure or either Ovaltine shakes to help with weight gain. Keep up the good work, it'll get better!

That sounds great! My second child is also 15 months.

Give her everything you eat, but soften it or cut it. Steam hard veggies like carrots and slice round things lentgh sies (for instance I quarter grapes and cherry tomatoes) and I musch peas and corn very slightly with a fork so thay aren't little balls but more like little pancakes. Avoid stringy food like celery. I break apart meat with my fingers.

My daughter's favorites are oatmeal (regular, not baby), cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce, peas, any fruit, pasta, and crackers. So, basically, every meal I give her some of these things and offer her from our main meal to supplement. I save the fruit for last so that she fills up on whole grains and veggies first. She gets whole milk dairy, I will graduate to skim by the time she turns three.

I always made purees, and I really don't buy any. But I do keep some purees on hand and some jar food for travel or quick meals. She likes Earth Best Lentils & Rice and Spinach and Potatos, frankly things I don't make at home. Soup and cold cuts are also a quick option or eacy to get at a restaurant, but they are high in salt so I try to avoid. I would avoid the processed foods like Graduates for the same reason and ice cream for the sugar, altough a taste from a spoon is fine. At a restaurant, ask the server to bring some cut up tomato or avacado, which they will often do for free.

Just my thoughts. Sounds like she is good - if she is meating her developmental milestones and getting enough milk fat for brain development, then I wouldn't worry. I have heard of some people giving formula into the second year (like one cup per day), but you would have to check wiht your ped on that. She will go through (lots of) phases where she focuses on just one or two foods she likes, so just keep offering and one day she will surprise you and eat something you don't expect. They change so much and so quickly at this age.

My daughter (13 months and only 4 teeth) loves a few good things:
Jambalya
Pita breat and hummus (especially roasted red pepper)
noodles with red sauce
noodles with cream sauce
I've found that if you put pasta sauce on anything, she really likes it, so I'll put it on ground beef with rice.
mac and cheese
yogurt
We give her little bits of almost anything we eat, which helps to hopefully see a future when we're not making a seperate meal for her.
Good luck!

My son is 19 months and he's been eating the same things that we eat for many months. For instance, last night I made steamed rice, broiled chicken, and broccoli. I prepare his bowl for him and cut all the pieces small, or shred the meat. Almost all of his meals are the same as ours. I do keep fish sticks/chicken nuggets/frozen vegetables like peas and carrots in the freezer for nights when I make a meal that really requires teeth (green salad with hard veggies like celery carrot, etc). FYI, at 15 months, my son had the same teeth as your daughter. I haven't pureed his food in a long time.

Some of his favorites: spaghetti (cut), any pasta dish (especially lasagna!), steamed broccoli, fried rice, creamed spinach, chicken drumstick, peas, etc.

Will she eat meat? My DD is 13.5 months old and has been eating chicken and turkey since about 9 months, even when she didn't have teeth. Babies have strong gums, so as long as you cut it up small enough, she should be able to eat it. I used to make meatballs with ground turkey or ground chicken, which DD loved. The meat crumbles, so it's easier to eat.

Avocado is good too. It's got lots of good fats in it and is easy for babies to gum. Sweet potato, steamed carrots, peas, edamame, steamed broccoli are all good. Beans, too, if she'll eat them. My DD is hit or miss with them.

We stopped doing purees around 9-10 months, even though DD only had 2 teeth. She just preferred finger foods at that point.

M.

My daughter has always been in the 5% or less for weight. My pediatrician said to offer her Nutripals/pediasure in between meals because they are balanced. My daughter loves them and would drink them all the time if I let her. I also have let her use it as her drink with the meal if I feel that she is not eating her meal well. It has gotten better with age, she just has a tiny tummy that has to eat many times a day instead of the prescribed 3 big meals a day.

Good luck!

Good suggestions so far. I'll add that both my kids (3-1/2 and 13 months) love to eat chick peas! As a snack or an add on to lunch. For my little guy I cut them in half. Also, hummus (basically made from chick peas) might be a good addition. Spread it on a piece of bread (we like pita bread too). I haven't tried it with my 13 month old, but my 3-1/3 year old likes it. And I just take left over veggies from dinner (peas, green beans, carrots) and warm them up for snacks sometimes. Your menu really does look great, though. Keep up the good work!
B.

My son is 15 months old in a couple of days and I am going through the same thing.
We have tried tofu burgers from Whole foods, campari tomatoes (sliced small), avocadoes, black beans, butternut squash, cheese, yogurt mixed with granola, and peanut butter on toast. these all seem to work ok, but the avocado is always a hit.
good luck!

You have lots of good suggestions, so I won't repeat everything I give my son. He is 16 months old now and hasn't had any pureed food since he was about 9 months. I would suggest supplementing with the beans, meats and vegetables suggested by others and eliminating the ice cream and peanut butter. Good luck! Hang in there!

Where is the meat? Give her meat- what about pasta rice. What you have listed sounds good but sounds like diet food. High calorie food. Avacado mashed potatoes. Whole milk she needs different types of food. Pancakes waffles french toast. Mini meat balls. Omeletes.

It actually sounds to me like you have lots of meal options there. Your daughter has a pretty full complement of teeth and should be able to chew just about anything now. At this point you really should not have to puree anything, you'd be surprised what your daughter can chew with only a few teeth. Some things we fed our kids at this point:
- Low sodium lunchmeet torn up into smallish pieces.
- Baked chicken and ham cut into small cubes, hot dogs cut into quarters and then sliced, bacon
- Any steamed vegetable (carrots would be a good choice), fries, sweet potatoe fries (we really like the A. brand)
- Crackers alone or with cream cheese or cheese spread (peanut butter mixed with a little applesauce)
- Snacks: Thin pretzles, soft pretzels, nilla wafers, cheese, goldfish, raisins
- Breakfast: oatmeal, grits, frozen pancakes(use butter and pureed fruit for a topping or yogurt), frozen french toast, other cereals

Whatever you are eating, just cut up small or with vegetables steamed until soft.

Really once she has molars she can eat ANYTHING as long as you prepare it correctly.

As for being worried about her weight, if she continues to follow her curve everything is fine. If you do want to increase her calories try using healthy fats, butter on all her vegetables and breads, start using peaunut butter, etc. Children can tollerate and should have more fat than adults, so you need to worry less about giving them fat especially if they are underweight. Oh and though the puffs are great, they have almost no calories so they are more a filler than a calorie boost.

now is the time to expand her pallet! before 2 yo my daughter was tearing up curry! good luck!

Hi K.! My son is 14 months today! He enjoys eating almost everything - I made a lot of his baby food, too. Now is eats solids, mostly finger foods, sometimes spoonfed cereal/oatmeal and yogurt, and drinks breastmilk.

The website www.wholesomebabyfood.com has lots of good advice for meal plans, schedules, when to start/not to start various foods, and recipes for baby food, many submitted by other moms. It's free and very helpful - a lifesaver for me when we dove into solids! Unless your baby has allergies (which you can't find out until she tries new food), it is fine to feed her anything that you eat with only a few exceptions for easily chokable things (hot dogs, uncooked veges, solid nuts, etc.)

From your message, I am not sure what part is frustrating you? Does she refuse to eat otehr foods? Do you not know where to start? ARe you worried about trying new things and choking? Does she still prefer pureed food? (if so, that is probably ok, too)

I wish you luck! take care, and be easy on yourself (and your little boy on the way!)

Have fun!

D.

don't worry about lack of teeth. those gums are super strong, even stronger than the teeth. I found that out when I found my 8 mo old gnawing on his sister's chicken nugget. giver her whatever you eat (providing allergies are not a factor) and just cut it up good. trust me, starting it now will help you in the future--i made the mistake of waiting for teeth to come in for my daughter (she was very late) and we still have difficulty getting her to try new foods. My son has always eaten what we eat and is much easier.

Hello K.

It sounds like you have a good and healthy assortment already. Don't be too hard on yourself but believe me I understand the need for variety.

I have similar concerns with my 19 mo son. He's a good eater but I am always worried about him getting enough meat and variety.

One thing I do that he seems to like (most of the time) is when I make chicken cutlets for dinner I make a few into chicken nuggets and/or tender sizes. Then I bake them with some tater tots in the toaster oven with some steamed peas or baby carrots. I can see this becoming one of his favorite meals. =-)

Good Luck and don't be too hard on yourself.

MrsV

Your 15-month old has a better diet than my 5-year-old! Seriously, you're doing a fabulous job, Mom. She sounds like a very healthy little girl. Spaghetti, mashed potatoes, tomato slice, beets, applesauce, bananas, grits, oatmeal or cream of wheat, macaroni & cheese, and mashed peas are just a few other items that came to mind. I'd also ask doctor if it's ok to give her fresh pressed juices, if you have a juicer. You can introduce new fruits and vegetables as a juice, but be careful with adding new foods. Do slowly, as you have to determine if she has any allergies. Too many new foods at once make it hard to figure out what's going on. Great job!

My son is 8 months old and has no teeth. He eats whatever we are eating. Last night i made a pork and edamame stir fry with carrots, red peppers, and onion is it. I cut it into to small pieces and that it what he eats. he loves it. This way we all eat together and he is exposed to all kinds of different foods. My daughter who is now 3 was feed the same way. You daughter should be able to eat everything that you are eating unless there is an allergy. The more things you expose her to the less picky she will become.
Good Luck!!!