DD´s has less of an appetite

Today is the day of questions! This one is about DD though!

My LOs eat 4x a day. However, my DD has recently had a loss of appetite. I know this is common for one year olds to start eating less, but how much is too little? I let her guide me but I still get a bit anxious. Here is what she eats:

breakfast: about 5oz of milk (in process of weaning off formula) & a yogurt. She´s not interested in the yogurt and will only eat about half or 3/4 of it.
lunch: bowl of savoury puree (has veg and fish and/or meat
snack: fruit puree (sometimes has a yogurt mixed in)
dinner: bowl of milk with cereal to thicken it

In the last 2 days, meals can take up to 30 mins. I dont force her to eat, she opens her mouth, but she isnt really interested. She´s not ill and is happy and content. She´s going through that frustrated stage as she is trying hard to crawl, pull to standing and cant get there. She can cruise but needs someone near by incase she falls. I wondered if this could influence things in the eating department!

I´m starting to introduce finger foods (in Spain they give the go-ahead to start at one year) and it´s a very, very slow process. I´ve stopped pureeing their food as much and leave it a little lumpy or thicker. Im also making new recipes (started today). They sometimes gag a little but, in general, they cope OK. DD will eat well for the first few mouthfuls then I have to encourage her for some more then she just clamps her mouth shut. I admit I got frustrated with her today, which I shouldn´t have, but it´s tiredness on my side. No excuse though. :blush: I just removed her from her highchair and put her down for a nap as she hadnt slept prior to lunch (they normally sleep pre-lunch but she resisted it today). I felt awful putting her to bed without eating much lunch but she went to sleep so I guess she just wasnt hungry.

Did/Are any of you mums experience/experiencing this. If so what did you do/are you doing?

TIA!

 

I have always had picky eaters. One of the suggestions I've gotten from my pedi is to eat with them. For some reason whatever mom is eating looks super delicious to the kids! I let them try anything that I'm eating. Another suggestion is to leave food out available to them at all times. I have a coffee table in the living room where the girls play and I keep it stocked with snacks like fruit, crackers, etc.

Also, if they are hungry and food is available they will eat it! We can't make them eat, as much as I'd like to sometimes.

 

As long as she is growing and thriving, she'll be fine. We don't eat the same amount every day so we can't expect them to either. I used to freak out about this though, but that was a throw-back to my preemie days when it was a matter of life or death to get them to eat. I learned that my girls will eat when they are hungry and all I can do is give them good options to choose from. GL!

 

It could be that she wants to feed herself. I know you said that you are just starting finger foods but have you tried also giving her a spoon to hold?
This is a huge thing with Eleanor at the moment. Even though she is not consistantly able to get the food from the bowl to her mouth she wants to try. Last week I was trying to feed her dinner and she was having a fit about it, the food was something she likes and I knew she was hungry but she didn't want any part of it; she was pushing my hand away, crying and shaking her head. After about 10 minuets of that I had the idea to give her her own spoon and let her put it in the bowl (which I was holding). She was like a different child; babbling and smiling and although she didn't put her spoon in her mouth she happily ate everything I fed her. Today we had much the same thing, about 3/4 of the way through both lunch and dinner she started pushing my hand away when I went to feed her. Instead of giving her a spoon I let her have the one I was using and held her hand to help guide it to her mouth, she happily finished the food.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's better to look at their food intake over a week or so instead of looking at each seperate day. Often children this age will not eat much for a couple of days and then eat more for the next few days. You can also try giving healthy/filling snacks on days she doesn't eat much at meals-sometimes they're just so busy playing that they don't want to stop for meals. The other thing to take into account is teething, perhaps she's getting her one year molars.

Try not to worry too much, as long as she's happy and growing she'll be fine!

[SIZE=8pt]Edited to fix speling[/SIZE]

 

The serving sizes for toddlers is to tiny!!! Really! It sounds that she is doing fine. If you are concerned, talk to her ped., but perhaps it is just a day or so.. :hug: Wish they came with instruction manuals!

 

At one year mine didn't want to be fed at all anymore, so it's not really surprising. I'd keep introducing new finger foods after their purees. That being said, I'm a bit surprised that they still ask you to stop formula at 12 months over there if they're not really eating balanced food by then... where do they get their nutrients?

 

QUOTE(Fran27 @ Jun 11 2009, 11:11 PM) [snapback]1350844[/snapback]
At one year mine didn't want to be fed at all anymore, so it's not really surprising. I'd keep introducing new finger foods after their purees. That being said, I'm a bit surprised that they still ask you to stop formula at 12 months over there if they're not really eating balanced food by then... where do they get their nutrients?


Mine are getting their nutrients but through pureed food. Well, now they are eating it lumpy as we are progressing! If they dont drink their morning milk then I give them yogurts. Also, they are drinking cow´s milk now with a baby cereal for dinner - well its a thickened porridgey thing - that has all the necessary vitamins etc. Our pedi is a man of few words so Im taking things onto my own hands!

DD is eating better today so I think it was just an off day!

 

QUOTE(Twin nanny @ Jun 11 2009, 08:47 PM) [snapback]1350541[/snapback]
It could be that she wants to feed herself. I know you said that you are just starting finger foods but have you tried also giving her a spoon to hold?


I have given her a spoon, in fact I give both LOs spoons at each meal. DD just threw her food everywhere, which I know comes with the territory! :lol: I´m sure she´ll surprise me at some point! Thanks for your advice, its good to know as our LOs are so close in age!