My 1 yr old is still on baby food. I see other kids eating everything their parents eat and I feel so sad my son doesn't eat anything much other than pureed food. He was a preemie so even though I started solids at 6 months age I didn't give it to him regularly until couple months later.I felt he needed more time but I now realize that wasn't the case. I was very worried he would choke , so held off giving table foods too. I did try few table foods after 9 months or so couple times , but he doesn't take it. Even now he hates any textured food. He gags and throws up whatever he ate. And he is such a fussy eater even with baby food. I need to keep distracting him with new toys to get him to eat. He gets bored with a toy within 5 mins and throws it away and starts crying.He opens his mouth only if I give him something new and interesting to play with. I so badly want to break this habit. I am running out of things to distract him with. I am wondering if he hates baby food as well. He eats just fine when distracted if not it's impossible to get him to eat. Takes more than an hour each feeding , so it gets very tiring for me. How do I get him to eat regular food? I am told he will eat once his gag reflex goes away but I wonder how long would that take? My mom tells me that I started eating everything at 6 months age. My son doesn't even ask for our food yet. I am worried he is going to end up a picky eater. I am blaming myself for not introducing him to different kinds of food early enough. I was so worried he would choke. I still am but now I just want him to start eating like other babies.Any suggestions on how to get him to eat better? He doesn't have his teeth yet.What are the foods that I can introduce and is there a 3 day wait rule for new table foods as well? I wonder if there are other babies still on baby food at 1 yr old. I feel like a bad mom. I wish my family was close by to guide me on how to feed him :-( Would love to hear your suggestions mammas. Thanx.
Dr. Sears has some good advice for picky eaters and introducing solids:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030100.asp
Remember, he doesn't have teeth yet and was a preemie, so that does play into this. Try giving him things like avocado, banana, scrambled egg, shredded cheese, hard boiled egg, crackers he can gnaw on.
Take the toys away! Leave them in the other room and sit at the table w/nothing but you, the baby and the food.
Switch off table food and baby food w/each bite. If he cries w/one of the other, don't make a big deal about it. If he rejects it, put the bite back, wait a bit and then feed him his baby food. The next week offer 2 bites of table food and then one bite of baby food. The next week offer 3 bites of table food, and so on.
Set the timer. When it goes off, dinner is done. He may whine and complain but it sounds like he does that anyway. At least this way, he will start understanding when its time to eat and when it isn't.
If he doesn't eat, he doesn't eat. But one day he will be hungry enough to eat anything and whatever you offer him won't be so new anymore - he'll already be used to the smell and even the texture - so he will eat it.
Check and see if he is congested. If he is, squirt him w/some saline and suck out the goop. When we can't smell, food isn't appealing.
You aren't a bad mom. You recognize your mistake...that is a huge step. He is only 1...he is still young to break bad habits.
Is your son still growing and gaining weight? Is he happy? Heathy? If you answered 'yes' to these questions, then you aren't a bad mom. My one year old DD started table foods when she was about 7-8 months, but she LIKES them. She does still get purees for breakfast. She likes pureed fruits. lol. I wouldn't stress too much over this... He will eat table foods when he's ready. I have never heard of a kid starting kindergarten eating purees... Just give him time! :)
I also let my DD play with things once in a while... it seems like if I don't distract her with something then she will focus on fighting M.... but if she has something then she is too distracted to fuss. lol. I stopped doing that though when I realized she wouldn't eat without the toy.
She never was a big fan of most baby foods though... have you tried putting 'real' veggies in a blender (use water to thin if you need to) and pureeing your own? Try it, and you will notice a huge difference in the color and smell... fresh is definitely more appetizing!
You might try letting him eat Gerber puffs or something like that... they dissove into mush after a few seconds when they get wet, so they will help him get used to the feel of something solid in his mouth without worrying so much about choking. When I started with my DD I broke them in half, just in case. lol.
Definitely do away with the toys.
Question: Are you trying to feed him the table food or are you letting him pick it up himself? I have known at least 2 children his age that started out as hearty eaters of baby food and then started to reject it. They also did not want M. to feed them the table food bites --they wanted control. Fixed the problem with both kids.
Also--don't beat yourself up! He was a preemie and if he has a sensitive gag reflex you just have to work with it slowly. Almost all kids go thru a picky phase even if they start out as "good" eaters.
You basically can give him whatever you are eating, just in tiny bite size pieces. I would stick to fruits and veggies, little pieces of cheese, dry cheerios, toast, crackers. Cook some frozen baby sweet peas/corn and let him feed himself. He'll get the hang of it. Anytime you introduce a new fruit/vegetable, wait 3 days before introducing another new food...just to be sure he isn't allergic and it's easier to figure out the food that could be causing the allergy.
My toddlers never ate the same amount at each meal, I would put their food on their plate, let them eat and then once they started getting distracted/playing w/ the food...they were done, sometimes they'd eat everything and other times only a few bites. So it's not necessary for you to be making each meal time last over an hour. I would also avoid the toys. As long as he's growing and you're giving him mainly healthy foods, it's fine.
Also, I gave both of my kids baby food past one year of age in addition to table food, I still had a bunch of jars leftover, they liked it and it's good for them...not to worry! Especially since he's a preemie.
I have a 1yr old as well he has his 1yr. molars all ready and I still give him baby food as well. I have problems with him eatting as well. I have been putting table food done first and let him nibble on it and then he gets tired of trying to eat it I give him baby food. He is getting where he doesnt like the baby food as much but he doesnt like the texture of table food. I usually let him sit there for 30min. now. I feel your pain, there where days I would call my husband and cry thinking Im not doing something right but after talking with the doctor about it I feel a little bit better.
Don't worry, that's the way my first daughter was. She really didn't start much for table food until about 18 months...and now that she's six, believe M., she eats what we eat. :) I also dealt with late teething and a fear of choking, but you'd be surprised what they can handle with their gums.
First, I would look at how much milk he's getting. Supposedly, more than 16 oz a day can sabotage an already very delicate appetite. That was one of my problems with number one.
Also, just serve him table food and let him eat what he will. If he doesn't eat anything, don't offer any more, but also don't offer more milk to compensate. He will start eating.
Here are some things my just turned one year old likes to eat, and she JUST sprouted her first two teeth (upper) and really can't bite with them.
Deli lunch meat...honey turkey, mesquite chicken, etc
Fish, tuna
Green beans (cut), peas, sweet potatoes, strawberries, bananas, apples (cut VERY small), cantaloupe, etc...really, any fruit or veggie you can cut small and mush
Brown rice (mixed with a few drop of Tamari soy, or plain)
Corn tortillas (homemade) and spread with preserves, margarine, etc (cut very small pieces)
my son was very upset at 12mnths when we started giving him more table food. we had to ease him into it by smashing his food and then letting him eat small chunks. also we gave him things like oatmeal for breakfast and cream of wheat since it was similar to the baby cereal he already been eating. plus we did a lot of soft foods like scrambled eggs or yogurt. good luck i know its frustrating.
