Hellobee Boards

I *think* my LO is a picky eater but that could just be my opinion. I feel like feeding her has been a challenge all along. She was born tiny, at 5lb5oz, and breastfeeding was ok for the first month. At the 2nd month, she went through a 3 week nursing strike and i had to give up bfing to sve my sanity. I made it to 3 months with pumping and then transitioned to formula after that. Since the nursing strike, feeding her was a nightmare with each feed taking at least 30-45 min with her in my arms in the rocking chair, on the bouncy chair, on the exercise ball, in the swing, walking around etc etc. Once she started solids, that was also a challenge with her eating sometimes and flatly refusing to open her mouth at another..for days at a time. She is now 8.5 months old and it's slowly getting better. She is about 14.5lbs, averages about 20-22 oz of formula a day and 5-8 oz of solids in 2-3 meals.

I'm a tiny person myself and my pediatrician keeps telling me not to worry avout her weight but as a first time mother, can't help but let it becomes a reason why i worry all the time. We're working on finger foods right now and i fear the day she learns to self feed and how i'm goinh to get some nutrients into her. That's why i'm so thankful for this website and hopefully i can learn a few tricks from the other moms on what/how to feed the little ones.

I would often bristle when DH would dare to suggest LO was a picky eater. MOODY about food was more my word choice. LO would eat peas, when she was in the mood (rarely but once in awhile). LO doesn't eat most veggies and will pick it out if I try to mix it. I still claim it is a phase, since she used to (months ago). FOOD MOODS, I call it. If she takes a bite or a taste and then doesn't want it, it's ok with me. As long as she enjoys a few favorite 'superfoods' from each food group, and I'm meeting those needs...then I take it she's not that hungry...or not in the mood for it. So I'll try again at a later time instead of crossing it off the list. DH and I will often compare notes about what she's been favoring for the week, so we can provide balance when we make meals for her on our own. I have a very simple palate day-to-day but I can eat gourmet food when the occasion calls. So I expect my daughter to be the same.

I think part of pickiness is sorting foods into groups, not allowing them to touch on the plate, not eating white foods, only eating white foods, etc.

I think during the toddler years, it's not really not liking food, it's about controlling the situation when they can't control much else. Where I will become concerned is when my son is older and still employing the same tactics.

My son in generally picky but we also learned that if we want him to eat something that he would otherwise ignore if something he did want was on his plate, we feed him one item at a time and don't let him see that there is something else until he is done with the first thing. For example, if he gets scrambled eggs and toast, he'd just eat the toast. But if we serve him only scrambled eggs, he'll eat that and then we'll offer toast. He supposedly eats quite the variety at school but refuses to at home (largely because he doesn't have other kids to copy probably). We try our best to eat when and what we serve him and model the behavior we want to see. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.

We also recently found out that my son has a severe open bite and tooth protrusion. With that, his dentist mentioned that some kids are thought to be picky eaters when in reality, their teeth (like my son's) don't quite work like they are supposed to so some foods are just too much work than they are willing to put forth. For example, if his incisors aren't touching, they don't allow him to tear or mash the food well, making eating somewhat difficult if you can only effectively use your back molars. Basically we have a lot of dental work in our future but we'll deal with that. Right now I focus on getting a balanced meal in him rather than a variety.