For the past month or more we have had a little girl that has decided to use her new found independence to be a selective eater. Things that she used to love and gobble up, she now shakes her head no at and won't touch. The list of things she'll eat practically shrinks every day. At this point, she will eat chicken nuggets and individual size Tony's frozen pizzas. I may get her to eat an apple slice or two-that's it for any fruit. She may nibble on a piece of lettuce-that's it for vegetables. We have tried and retried and tried again to introduce new and old foods to her hoping she'll 'bite'...no such luck. Even her love for breakfast has gone away. A little girl that loved cereal, bananas, waffles, pancakes, and cinnamon toast will only eat cinnamon rolls and poptarts. As a parent, I worry that she's not eating enough healthy food, if not eating enough at all. There are meals that she doesn't eat a single thing. We just keep trying and relish in the moments where she eats almost all that's in front of her, even if it is a pizza or Wendy's chicken nuggets and fries! The last few days I have captured Avery showing off her eating skills and her new skill of drinking from a straw (thank you Starbucks!).
Avery enjoying some chocolate alla a candy bar...it was just a mini candy bar and she only had half, but it was so cute because she had chocolate all over her face and thought it was the greatest thing!
Avery can drink from a straw!! One of her favorite things to drink using a straw, Starbucks' strawberry lemonade:)
Enjoying her pizza...cheese variety. At this point, Avery completely gobbles the Tony's brand of frozen pizza.
Mmmm...one of her absolute favorite snacks-and a typical daily, after nap snack-pretzel rods. She usually decides to shove most of it in her mouth and gum it down (she still only has 5 teeth!)
5 comments:
Welcome to the club! Josephine is the worlds pickiest eater. It drives me crazy because Jim and I love food. I have no clue what I am going to do with a child who won't eat. She eats carbs and fruit. She won't eat anything green or that could be confused as a vegetable or meat product. I had a huge breakthrough this week when I got her to eat a chicken finger. Mind you it was smothered in ketchup and honey mustard but hey she ate it. The hard thing is that Josie is petite in the first place. She can't really afford not to eat because she is so skinny. Neve on the other hand eats EVERYTHING.
Good luck and when all else fails switch from strawberry lemonades to mint mocha chip frappucinos. They have more calories ;)
Those are the cutest pictures! Hope Avery decides to like food again soon- there is SO much good stuff out there!
luke is the same way- picky. and it started at avery's age. all of a sudden he would eat only meatballs or pizza for dinner. he also like josie- loves carbs (bread, pancakes, french fries)- never wanting chicken , hamburger or a hot dog- and they boy doesn't eat pb&j!. i always make different dinners and keep serving them to luke with a yogurt or something I know he will like with them as well. sometimes he would eat, sometimes not. which was ok- they don't need the energy requirements of their first year. as he gets closer to three i have noticed he has become more adventurous- not really sure where he gets it from- ben and i introduced him to all kinds of foods!
I'm so glad to know it's not just Avery!! Like Luke and Josie, Avery loves french fries, bread-carbs! And like Luke she does not like hamburger, hotdogs or pb&j! I'm so glad you guys have experienced this because I thought she should love these "kid" foods!! I'll be interested to see how Dylan does at this age, KTG!!
We were worried about Elizabeth last summer (when she was exactly Avery's age now) because she was falling off the growth charts and our pediatrician wanted her to pack on the pounds- so I resorted to putting butter on EVERYTHING and not even caring about what she ate- the more junky and fatty stuff, the better! We also did Carnation Instant Breakfast in her milk each night- that way it didn't fill her up during the day but still gave her extra calories.
Hopefully it's just a phase with all kids- Elizabeth now either has amazing eating days where she devours everything- avocados, apples, whole wheat pasta, etc., but on other days, spits out every bite onto the floor. I think it's normal with toddlers- I remember my nursing prof saying that it's totally normal for a kid to eat only chicken nuggets one day, and then only grapes the next day- somehow, he/she will end up getting all the nutrients they need in a week.
If you feel the need to sneak in the vegetables (like I do!), try out "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. It's a cookbook that has pureed vegetables in each kid-friendly entree- and the recipes are really good! We have been using it for a year now.
Good luck:) Hope to see you guys soon maybe in SB?
Love,
C:)
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