Mealtime is a disaster - tips?

Wow, whatever phase my LOs are going through is FRRRUUUUSTRATING! Hoping some of you can relate and have tips. About a week ago both of my LOs started being difficult to spoon feed. They'd push the spoon away now and then or turn their heads (they've always been good eaters). Fast forward to this weekend/today, and it is a nightmare. They put their hands up in front of their mouths (when the spoon is already there, so food goes everywhere), hit the spoon away so that food goes flying... just basically refuse 90% of what we're trying to feed them. We are not giving them anything more/less or different than what we have been for some time now. My one DS will self-feed a little, but my other DS won't touch anything that he normally loves (cheese, cheerios...). He may put something in his mouth now and then, but spits it right back out. So, feeding time is an absolute disaster right now.

I know they have both broken through new teeth recently (on the top and bottom of both sides--whatever they're called). Are they refusing to be fed because of teething? I did wonder if they just want to self-feed, but like I mentioned, my one DS won't do that either and the other isn't as interested as usual (my floor is absolutely covered with whatever finger foods I give him because he likes to do windshield wipers with his arms). Are they sick of the same old food?

DH and I have tried singing to them and about every other distraction technique we can think of to get them to open their mouths. Last night, we felt like we were almost force-feeding, which we don't want to do.
Do we just let them refuse most of their meals (they get breakfast-lunch-dinner)? Do we continue the games to try and get them to eat?

Both LO's get formula in the morning and at night. My one DS gets milk midday (just started this) and my other DS is refusing milk altogether, so I have kept him on formula for now (3 bottles/day). They get sippies of water with each meal (they take big mouthfuls and then spit it out all over the place--ugh).

I suppose they'll eat if they're truly hungry, but now that we're transitioning from formula, I want to be sure sure they're getting enough nutrition.

Thanks for any tips. This is definitely a frustrating phase.

 

I don't have any tips about the feeding, but in regard to milk, mine hated it, too. So I mixed in Ovaltene (chocolate flavor + vitamins). At first it was the full amount but I've been able to gradually wean them down to less than a 1/4 of what it used to be. I think they'll be on milk within a month.

 

My guys started to refuse us feeding them at about the same age as your LOs. At a certain point they just want to do it themselves! ardon: We did have some luck giving them finger foods and sneaking in bites in between, or giving them utensils to play with, but eventually they just didn't want to be spoon fed.

Teething can have a *huge* effect on eating. Jack in particular just seems to lose his appetite. I remember giving him a popsicle for dinner once because he was so miserable and didn't want to chew anything.

Just keep offering healthy foods and drinks to keep them hydrated, and try to relax. :hug: I know it's tough, but they will eat when they're hungry!

 

I feel your pain on this one! I dread mealtime everyday... I never know what they will or won't eat!! I have found that letting them use utensils makes a bit of a difference. Gerber makes a great fork for stabbing things and it is not too pointy. I have let the boys use tooth picks, which they love (gotta watch them, though). If I need to spoon feed them soup or yogurt or something, I will put it on the spoon and let them hold it while I guide it towards their mouths. Of course, I have to make myself look like an idiot and make a big deal over every bite they take. I do try to watch their liquid consumption (it will make them feel full) and try to time snacks so they don't interfere with mealtime. These ideas have helped, but mealtime is still a struggle for us. I guess that's life with toddler twins!

And like you said, you can't make them eat and they WILL eat when they are hungry! I have stopped running through everything in the fridge trying to find something they will eat. If they don't want what I made, then they don't eat. And somehow, they are surviving!

Good luck! Know that you are not alone

 

It's probably just a phase. One of my girls stopped eating almost entirely when she was around 15 months old. She actually lost weight and dropped a couple of lines on the doctor's growth chart. After a lot of trial and error, we finally found one (thankfully great) food that she would almost always eat. It's a chowder recipe I found on Weelicious that contains mixed veggies, chicken, cheese and milk - a pretty well-rounded meal in one dish - but it got kinda old feeding her the same thing every single day. She's finally starting to grow out of this phase at 18 months. Coincidentally (or not?), she's also starting to feed herself with spoon and fork. At her 18 month checkup, her weight had leveled off.

Moral of the story: you may just have to wait it out. They'll eventually eat something. It's not in their nature to starve themselves to death. Just keep putting food in front of them and offering them the opportunity to feed themselves.

Another thing to consider: Both my girls stop eating when they're getting sick.

 

I'd probably just try giving them the utensils and their favourite foods and see how it goes. My husband spoon fed them for a LONG time, but there was a point where they just wouldn't do it anymore. It's probably a combination of teething and being independent little toddlers.

We only make one meal at our house too.. I serve a grain, a protien and a vegetable at every meal. If they eat it, great, if they don't, that's fine too. They won't starve themselves, and just like us, there's times where they're more hungry than others.

 

I agree, I would offer them utensils for them to use. It might just start off with them holding it and might be enough distraction for you to feed them.
With the milk, I added Carnation Instant Breakfast to it with a little taste of strawberry syrup to entice them to drink it. That did help.
I know that there were foods that my kids would not eat when teething, they seemed to eat and drink less then. Hang in there, they will not starve themselves.

 

My boys are 17 mths now and have eaten great pretty much the whole time! They do not like milk either. They drank it for a few months then started refusing it. They love the vanilla pediasure and I give that to them every morning out of a sippy cup. They like to feed themselves.I don't know how I got so lucky with the food but I am always offering them different foods to try. I recently started giving them cornchips, pringles, pomegranite seeds, blackberries, turkey bacon, ground turkey that we use in our turkey tacos with the spices, black beans, pasta with all different sauces. Cornchips and pringles are not the healthiest of foods but at this point if they eat SOMETHING than I feel better. I also started giving them utensils to use. I can usually sneak in a few bites bites of a veggie like the babyfood sweet potatoes if they are preoccupied. I don't know how long this will last but it's working for now. :yahoo: One way I distract them is to give them each one of the little danino yougurts with a spoon.( the tiniest ones that are only a few bites in each container) They LOOOVEE playing with these and practice eating themselves. I use my own spoon and give them bites out of their own containers so they don't have alot to make a mess with. Its also thick enough so that it doesn't fly everywhere if it gets thrown on the floor. Good luck!!