https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:27:08 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1685587 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 15:36:29 +0000 aegie 1685587@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO went through this phase. Sometimes they're just too busy to stop and eat a full meal. Leave out food that can be left out for a while - sandwich cut up into small pieces, crackers &amp; hummus, pieces of veggies and fruit, And let him munch on them. No pressure to "clean the plate". My LO eventually started asking for "mamma" which is Korean for food and that's when I knew the snacking phase was over. But I didn't want to have a food battle so I left out "healthier snacks" on her kiddie table and let her graze on it. After a few hours, I'd clean it up and then put out another snack. I'd always ask when I ate if she wanted whatever I was having, but if she said no I didn't force the issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1685548 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 15:16:45 +0000 Ra 1685548@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: Interesting! He isn't walking yet but he's taken a few steps. I think he will be walking soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1685311 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 14:07:55 +0000 Bookish 1685311@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: Too funny, this has been true for us! G started walking about a month ago and ever since her appetite has skyrocketed but the # of foods she will accept has dwindled considerably. She went from being completely obsessed with fish to spitting it back out at me. Sigh. Good to know it's not just my LO! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1685304 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 14:06:15 +0000 septca 1685304@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Arden: No worries. Toilet paper was apparently a "safe" food for my daughter. :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1685298 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 14:04:27 +0000 Arden 1685298@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: Hmm, my LO must be an evolutionary anomaly. She eats dirt, grass, spiders (!), paper, and pretty much any other random thing she finds. It got WORSE when she started walking. As far as real food goes, she likes veggies and is "meh" about fruit. She hasn't had any carbs, really. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1685116 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 13:21:01 +0000 Applesandbananas 1685116@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: thanks for sharing! This is so true for us. LO used to be a total garbage disposal, eating anything and everything he could get his hands on, but lately it's been trickier, right around the time he started walking! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684925 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:14:50 +0000 septca 1684925@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rahlyrah: Is he walking? </p> <p>There is a biological/evolutionary theory that kids get really picky right around the time they start to walk. This mostly presents as them only eating carbs and really familiar, "safe" foods. The idea is that once a kid starts to walk, they have at their fingertips a whole new world of potentially dangerous/poisonous foods and so they only eat what they *know* is safe.</p> <p>At the same time she started walking, DD went from eating anything I would give her (spicy Thai duck curry? no problem!) to eating exactly three things: Cheerios, animal crackers, and scrambled eggs. I just kept offering additional foods at every meal and gradually, one by one, she added things back into her diet. She still - at 16 mo - is much pickier than she was before 13 mo, but every week I see improvement. :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684887 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:03:17 +0000 Applesandbananas 1684887@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rahlyrah: our grocery store sells antibiotic-free organic ready-to-eat chicken and beef strips intended for fajitas, which is what I use, to make it a quicker process than actually trying to cook an shred chicken or beef with a hungry LO waiting on lunch! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684651 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 10:57:38 +0000 Ra 1684651@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Applesandbananas: Good idea! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684637 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 10:52:32 +0000 Applesandbananas 1684637@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We do a lot of quesadillas with varying ingredients. LO gets hooked with the carb on the outside, keeps it in his mouth because of the cheese, and I sneak meats and veggies into it! It's been a huge hit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684317 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:36:12 +0000 autumnlove 1684317@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would try to cut down on the snacks and keep offering the real food. We had to do it last year! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684309 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:33:24 +0000 MsLipGloss 1684309@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rahlyrah: We also did a lot of *mobile* snacks/meals, so that LO could graze without being confined to her highchair (which has it's risks, for sure!). </p> <p>And this little bowl (the Gyrobowl) has been great for reducing puff/melt spills!</p> <p><a href="http://tinyurl.com/n96xvdx" rel="nofollow">http://tinyurl.com/n96xvdx</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684273 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:25:20 +0000 Ra 1684273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: Good idea! I'll try that, too. He's been fighting me in pretty much everything these past few days so I'm wondering if he's just wanting more independence. Maybe he will do better if I'm not hovering. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684272 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:25:03 +0000 Anagram 1684272@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rahlyrah: I think it's okay if he gets a little hungry while learning how to self feed--then maybe he'll learn that hungry + feeding himself, you know? I mean, he's still getting milk or formula right? At least that's what I tell myself. </p> <p>My LO is not the best solids eater in the world and some days she'll eat an okay amount and others days she'll hardly eat at all--but I keep telling myself that she would let me know if she were hungry and that at least she's being exposed to new tastes and practicing her grasp (even if she barely swallows anything). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684257 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:21:53 +0000 Smurfette 1684257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rahlyrah: When R first started with solids, she did better when we weren't sitting right in front of her eating. I would move her chair closer to the living room and sit in the chair and play on my phone next to her, but wasn't watching her every bite. Or bring the chair in the kitchen and unload the dishwasher while she eats. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684243 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:17:21 +0000 Ra 1684243@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: I am so proud of how far he's come! I literally cried when he started feeding himself. I just want to make sure he isn't going hungry. I have been giving him peanut butter, which he loves. I will give hummus a shot, too. </p> <p>@Cole: Great idea with the food trays. He cries when I put him in the high chair, so maybe he will be more receptive if we switch things up a bit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684194 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:08:04 +0000 Cole 1684194@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sometimes novelty helps, have you tried doing a snack tray? I think there are some blog posts about it. Maybe try putting one out at a time when he normally eats instead of putting him in a high chair and see what happens. Just do one or two bites of several things, some familiar and loved and others that you are working on. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684174 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:03:42 +0000 MsLipGloss 1684174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rahlyrah: The bright side? He is picking up new foods and putting them in his mouth. I know it doesn't seem like much, but that is progress! Keep offering (it can take an insane amount of presentations, like 15+, before he may start to eat a new food). Also, what about hummus and peanut butter for extra calories and protein? I don't know if you have tried those yet, but if he likes breads/crackers, it might be worth a shot! And maybe even try cheese slices/string cheese as well.</p> <p>It is so frustrating, but it does get better eventually . . . although we still have days here where LO will eat next to nothing (and she's 21 months). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684160 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:00:26 +0000 Smurfette 1684160@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just keep offering! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lo-will-only-eat-snacks#post-1684136 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 08:53:32 +0000 Ra 1684136@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is a late self feeder. He will be 1 next week (sob!) and just started feeding himself this week. Prior to feeding himself, we called him the dump truck because he would eat anything. Now, he will pretty much only eat Cheerios, puffs, and yogurt melts. I've been able to get him to eat a few bites of pancake, fruit, or meatball here and there, but he mostly just puts them in his mouth and then spits them out. </p> <p>I worry that he's not eating enough (and not enough balance of foods) but he SCREAMS if he even sees a purée. He also cries and fights me if I try to feed him fruit or veggies. </p> <p>What do I do? Just keep offering real food and let him eat snacks in the mean time? I've had better luck at restaurants but we can't eat out for every meal.</p> <p>He does keep sneaking dog food. Apparently that tastes better than my cooking :silly: </p>