by UnhappyRightFoot » 06 Dec 2013, 23:07
Mother of another picky eater here! *waves*
Munchie is 3.5 and is only just starting to try things - very occasionally, if the wind is in the right direction and there is a U in the day of the week etc etc!
Here is what I have tried (with very limited success but hey, all babies are different......)
Encouraging them to cook with you - if you have a bar stool or something they can sit up at the K counter with you and help prep.
Books - Dr Seuss Green Eggs and Ham and Usborne do a few flappy books about how the body works (and therefore, why food is important and what happens to it - may be a bit of a stretch for a 22 month old but you can start sewing the seeds...)
Put the food down and leave them to it. Make meal times light hearted, no pressure etc etc
Put tiny amounts on her plate and can add more if required
Begging, pleading, bribing etc etc etc
We generally don't snack - she's never "needed" them but at pre-school, they do snack and she's been asking more. Fruit, rice cakes etc all fine.
I think if they eat 2 meals well, then I don't worry about the 3rd! It can be a struggle to get her to eat breakfast, because she's sooooooo ssssllllloooooowwwwwwww, lunch is always something I know she'll eat, so supper is what I decide. However, following a recent "Please help" thread, I'm switching tacktick to always serving her what she wants - PASTA. So either she'll get fed up with it or we'll be eating it at her wedding! This is only when it's something I don't think she'll eat. If she won't eat, it's fruit or yoghurt. I don't cook anything specially for her after serving. Even if she decides she doesn't want sausages, which she happily ate last week!
As her staple is tomato based pasta sauces, I do add grated carrots and corgettes to hers. Like yours, she'll eat lots of fruit but, apart from cucumbers, no actual physical vegetable that is identifyable as such!!! Oh, and of course baked beans by the can load! Carbs are pasta or bread. Won't eat potatoes apart from a coaxed chip and the odd grain of rice.
It is so hard, isolating, miserable at times. There are days where I absolutely hate meal times (not helped by a food throwing 16 month old!) but I find when I can relax and keep things light it is better, and Munchie also responds better.
I did read somewhere that from the age of around 3, they start to become more adventurous - something to do with harking back to us being cavemen. And Munchie has tried a few more things and extended her range to include crispy aromatic duck with pancakes and cucumber (no sauce!) and chinese spare ribs. Not ideal due to clear salt content but hey, anything is a bonus!!! She also sat at the breakfast bar last week and eat handfuls of frozen peas (WTF??? She's NEVER eaten a pea!)
I don't have the answers, but I do know that you can't MAKE them eat. You haven't taken a wrong turn at all. BLW does not guarantee good, varied eaters. Some just aren't going to do it, for whatever reason. It's how you handle it - from the atmosphere at mealtimes to ensuring the food they do eat is as healthy as it possibly can be. Have you read "Meals without tears"? It's not a magic wand but does offer suggestions and reminders of how not to make it worse! Oh, and I KKNOW it's easy sitting here, with babies sleeping happily, with a new regime to say all this, but I have been there, cried, argued, got pissed off etc etc etc. It is really hard and really frustrating - but you aren't the only one!!!
x posted - agree that you could try limiting alternatives. DH thinks we shouldn't allow fruit or yoghurt if a meal is untouched because she might be holding out for what she wants - something your LO may also be doing. However, I'm not happy with her eating nothing at all - a yoghurt is, at least, something in her tummy!
Mummy to my two miracle baby girls - The Thunder Fairies. Munchie born May 2010 and Ickle Pickle born July 2012.
The one who struggles, hasn't quit.