My Picky Eaters

Hi Everyone. My girls Emma and Bella are 21 1/2 months old. And I am still having trouble getting them to eat anything besides yogurt, crackers, goldfish, etc
They see an occupational therapist once a week each and she has been working with them on feeding. It is not going well. She started by trying to add things to their yogurt and they did not like that at all! It is actually hard to get them to eat yogurt sometimes now, in fear we tricked them.
They were getting 3 bottles a day one in the morning, one at nap time, and one right before bedtime(which I didn't know was too much) My husband and I had decided when we first noticed they were kinda picky eaters that we would get rid of the bottle when they started to eat more. Well here it is almost a year and they still don't eat much. Actually, Emma has picked up a couple new things and will sometimes try something new no problem, but Bella is extremely picky still.
So Their OT said to stop the bottle completely, no more milk, which she said will force them to eat. Well I tried it yesterday and it was a disaster! Emma did ok, cause she eats certain things Bella won't like Cherrios, bananas, etc. Bella wouldn't eat a single thing. It was so sad! She cried in the highchair, but not like throwing a fit, and when I would get her down she would just lay on the living room floor with a blanket over her head, like the time she was sick for a week throwing up I couldn't do it. I thought it was wrong to make a child who doesn't understand what is happening to take every comfort away from them. They don't talk yet, so I couldn't explain to them why their favorite foods were gone and replaced by this new stuff.
I have noticed that if they're in a good mood they're more likely to at least try something new out of curiosity. But if they're already mad, forget it!
So for now, my husband and I have decided that this is not something we will commit to so why torture them. We have cut down their bottles. They get a little 4oz bottle in the morning, none at nap, and 4oz before bed. We thought that was a good place to start. I will keep offering them new things at meals, but I will not push them to try it as I believe it can cause more trauma towards meals. I have hope that they will slowly grow out of this picky eating phase as they have been very slowly trying new things.
Has anybody else had similar experiences? And what did you do about it?
Thanks so much!

 

I think pickiness and bottles are two separate things. If you are worried about nutrition, then I think milk is fine. As long as you don't go above about 24 oz a day their appetite shouldn't be adversely affected. The bottles do need to go though. It is bad for their teeth and their oral motor development. They are almost 2, that makes them toddlers and not babies, so cut the cord and switch to cups. Then you can tackle the food issues.

 

Thank you. Any suggestion on how to get them to drink their milk from a sippy cup? They love water in their cup, but the second I put milk in it they spit it out and refuse to drink it. Should I just get rid of the bottle and keep offering the milk in the sippy? Will they eventually take it?

 

With mine I switched cold turkey but you could do it gradually too. I found it easier to offer milk at every meal instead of at the time they got their bottles. If you do it cold turkey, just tell them "you're big girls, you can drink your milk from a cup now" Since they take water from their cup you know that that they can drink from them, it's just that they won't. I've seen it work to make a big deal out of ditching the bottles and giving them some sort of replacement doll/stuffed animal/lovey to reward them for being big girls. If you do it gradually, start with the morning one and keep offering milk in the sippy at every meal and snack, then every few days drop another bottle. Once they realize its not coming back they'll start drinking.

As for the pickiness, do they like dipping things? My DS is very picky and if allowed would eat nothing but goldfish crackers, dry cereal, and yogurt. We have gotten him to try new things by allowing him to dip in ketchup or ranch. He also tries more if we give him a fork and let him attempt it himself.

Good luck! Toddlers are very stubborn and oh so manipulative

 

Hi - Here is what I have had some luck with: this may seem a little unusual but it worked for me: if you have something portable that you want to try (any finger food will do) then try it while they are out and distracted by other things. For example: if you want to try cut up cucumber bring it in a container next time you go to the mall and then sit in the food court and give it to them there. Usually if they are hungry and they like to look around they will eat it without much thought. If they need more calories let them dip it in something. Also, most kids (of course not all!) love fruit: mine would eat nothing but blueberries if i let them so maybe try cut up fruit. My kids are also very interested in different temperatures - I give them frozen blueberries sometimes and that is a HUGE hit. Everyone tells me to try to keep their food fun: put a happy face on their toast or draw it in their pudding or whatever. My kids this sometimes works most times not but may be worth a try. One last things - try making things like veggies in different ways - try steaming or my kids LOVE anything roasted.

For the sippy cup - we didn't have this problem but my friend did and what worked for her was to have a different type of sippy cup for the milk vs the water. so maybe have ones with straws or whatever for the milk and try to make it a big deal/exciting when you give it to them.

good luck. Eating is a constant challenge in our house. My kids aren't picky they just don't eat much quantity so it is always stressful.

 

Thank you all for the advice! I really appreciate it!