Help - picky 12 month old

Hello all, I have a wonderful 12 month old daughter. She is on milk
about 6oz with every meal and one at bedtime from a sippy cup. She
was born in the 95 percentile and at her 12 month she was at the 97th
for weight and off the chart for length. So, she's a big baby but the
doctor says everything is ok.

The problem is, she's becoming a picky eater at breakfast. She's not
to fond of eggs, fresh toast or pancakes. She doesn't like to be
spoon feed anymore and she's not good enough to feed herself oatmeal
or cereal. She loves diced fruit and veggies but I wanted something
else to go with these. Any sugguestions for breakfast items for self
feeding?

Thanks,
Sunshine

"Sunshine" wrote in message
om...
Hello all, I have a wonderful 12 month old daughter. She is on milk
about 6oz with every meal and one at bedtime from a sippy cup. She
was born in the 95 percentile and at her 12 month she was at the 97th
for weight and off the chart for length. So, she's a big baby but the
doctor says everything is ok.


Personally, I would stop giving her milk at bedtime. Milk has a fair amount
of natural sugars and can cause tooth decay issues. I'd go with water here.


The problem is, she's becoming a picky eater at breakfast. She's not
to fond of eggs, fresh toast or pancakes. She doesn't like to be
spoon feed anymore and she's not good enough to feed herself oatmeal
or cereal. She loves diced fruit and veggies but I wanted something
else to go with these. Any sugguestions for breakfast items for self
feeding?

Thanks,
Sunshine


You don't mention her appetite during other meals, but one thing I've
personally found is that if I give DS milk or juice with a meal, he fills up
on that instead of his food. So we give only water at meals, and use milk
and juice (if he gets juice) during his snacks--I don't worry about whether
he's eating much during snack time, and he tends to focus much more on food
at his meals that way. Other people have found that their kids fill up on
drinks between meals and then won't eat, so you'll have to experiment with
this.

No one ever said that breakfast has to mean traditional breakfast foods. So
if she'd enjoy something like cheese bits or beans or whole wheat pasta, go
for it. Have you tried frozen waffles? DS doesn't like pancakes, but he'll
eat these--some varieties come made with whole grains. We haven't had any
worries regarding allergies, so DS often gets something with peanut butter
in the morning--he likes it on those waffles. I've also cut a banana
lengthwise and spread peanut butter on it and dotted it with raisins/dried
cranberries. If you want to avoid nuts for a while still, you could try
tahini instead. Dry cereals are easy finger foods--add a little milk and
they might get a little messy, but can still be eaten with fingers.

Other ideas:

homemade granola bars
bean burritos (DS loves these)
cheese melted on a bagel
mini pita-pockets filled with cream cheese, peanut butter, refried beans,
etc
fruit chunks in a little yogurt (again, messy, but do-able)

--
Jodi
SAHM to Oliver (2 years, 6 months) & Arwen (4 months)

Sunshine wrote:
Hello all, I have a wonderful 12 month old daughter. She is on milk
about 6oz with every meal and one at bedtime from a sippy cup. She
was born in the 95 percentile and at her 12 month she was at the 97th
for weight and off the chart for length. So, she's a big baby but the
doctor says everything is ok.

The problem is, she's becoming a picky eater at breakfast. She's not
to fond of eggs, fresh toast or pancakes. She doesn't like to be
spoon feed anymore and she's not good enough to feed herself oatmeal
or cereal. She loves diced fruit and veggies but I wanted something
else to go with these. Any sugguestions for breakfast items for self
feeding?


Remember that eating habits change frequently so she might not be all that
hungry. In case she is and is just finicky you might try making the oatmeal
or other hot cereal realy thick so she can pick up chunks. Also, if you
give her a spoon you might be surprised how fast she learns to use it to get
the food herself. Mine made a mess but were fairly decent at it by about 14
months is all. There are all sorts of dry cereal options. Yogurt is yummy.
Different spreads like cream cheese, jelly, cin/sugar, honey, for the toast
might spruce things up...we probably eat to many sweets ;-) Fruit which you
say she already eats. Other then that you can use what ever she ate for
supper last night. Who doesn't have the occasional cold slice of pizza for
breakfast??, Lol
--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (4) and Luke (2)

i'd try giving less milk. i know it is sort of a chicken or the egg
scenario, but even if she goes a little hungry for one or two meals. we cut
out the lunchtime bottle and sam's eating improved out of sight. (he is
almost 1(
"Sunshine" wrote in message
om...
Hello all, I have a wonderful 12 month old daughter. She is on milk
about 6oz with every meal and one at bedtime from a sippy cup. She
was born in the 95 percentile and at her 12 month she was at the 97th
for weight and off the chart for length. So, she's a big baby but the
doctor says everything is ok.

The problem is, she's becoming a picky eater at breakfast. She's not
to fond of eggs, fresh toast or pancakes. She doesn't like to be
spoon feed anymore and she's not good enough to feed herself oatmeal
or cereal. She loves diced fruit and veggies but I wanted something
else to go with these. Any sugguestions for breakfast items for self
feeding?

Thanks,
Sunshine

In article ,
(Sunshine) wrote:

The problem is, she's becoming a picky eater at breakfast.

If there is any other finickiness after you cut back on the milk, there are
some other things to remember:

1. Toddlers change their likes and dislikes every day. My DS has varied from
completely refusing a soft-boiled egg to gobbling up more than one at a
sitting! I always accept that DS doesn't want to eat whatever-it-is *today*,
but that won't stop me offering him the same food *tomorrow*. My DS is nearly
2.5, and I don't think he has any fixed dislikes yet.

2. If you make a song and dance about food, your child will behave in a way
that makes you perform. They like attention, even if it is negative. If she
only wants toast today, don't keep hassling her to have egg, or you will find
that you are always pressuring her to eat.

3. Most toddlers find a big plateful of food overwhelming. Offer her a
quarter of your slice of toast and see what happens. Add small amounts to her
plate as the food disappears (this also lessens waste of food).

4. Most toddlers are suspicious of unfamiliar food, or food presented in an
unfamiliar way. A few weeks ago, we went to friends for homemade pizza. They
gave the kids ham & pineapple pizza, which we don't make at home. DS said to
DH, "I don't like it." Once DH explained that there was cheese and ham (two
of DS's favourite foods) on the pizza, DS started to inhale it! He still left
the pineapple though.

5. Make mealtimes pleasant and avoid distractions (particularly TV).

As far as breakfast foods -- how about fruit yoghurt, or a slice of cheese, or
a few spoonfuls of whatever you are eating?

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

"hobbes" wrote in message
...

"Sunshine" wrote in message
om...
Hello all, I have a wonderful 12 month old daughter. She is on milk
about 6oz with every meal and one at bedtime from a sippy cup. She
was born in the 95 percentile and at her 12 month she was at the 97th
for weight and off the chart for length. So, she's a big baby but the
doctor says everything is ok.


Personally, I would stop giving her milk at bedtime. Milk has a fair
amount
of natural sugars and can cause tooth decay issues. I'd go with water
here.

If you clean her teeth after her milk before bed this shouldn't be a
problem, I would have thought. This was our routine for about 13 years and I
don't have a single filling in my teeth.






The problem is, she's becoming a picky eater at breakfast. She's not
to fond of eggs, fresh toast or pancakes. She doesn't like to be
spoon feed anymore and she's not good enough to feed herself oatmeal
or cereal. She loves diced fruit and veggies but I wanted something
else to go with these. Any sugguestions for breakfast items for self
feeding?

Thanks,
Sunshine


You don't mention her appetite during other meals, but one thing I've
personally found is that if I give DS milk or juice with a meal, he fills
up
on that instead of his food. So we give only water at meals, and use milk
and juice (if he gets juice) during his snacks--I don't worry about
whether
he's eating much during snack time, and he tends to focus much more on
food
at his meals that way. Other people have found that their kids fill up on
drinks between meals and then won't eat, so you'll have to experiment with
this.

No one ever said that breakfast has to mean traditional breakfast foods.
So
if she'd enjoy something like cheese bits or beans or whole wheat pasta, g
o
for it. Have you tried frozen waffles? DS doesn't like pancakes, but he'll
eat these--some varieties come made with whole grains. We haven't had any
worries regarding allergies, so DS often gets something with peanut butter
in the morning--he likes it on those waffles. I've also cut a banana
lengthwise and spread peanut butter on it and dotted it with raisins/dried
cranberries. If you want to avoid nuts for a while still, you could try
tahini instead. Dry cereals are easy finger foods--add a little milk and
they might get a little messy, but can still be eaten with fingers.

Other ideas:

homemade granola bars
bean burritos (DS loves these)
cheese melted on a bagel
mini pita-pockets filled with cream cheese, peanut butter, refried beans,
etc
fruit chunks in a little yogurt (again, messy, but do-able)

--
Jodi
SAHM to Oliver (2 years, 6 months) & Arwen (4 months)

"Sunshine" wrote in message
om...
Hello all, I have a wonderful 12 month old daughter. She is on milk
about 6oz with every meal and one at bedtime from a sippy cup. She
was born in the 95 percentile and at her 12 month she was at the 97th
for weight and off the chart for length. So, she's a big baby but the
doctor says everything is ok.

The problem is, she's becoming a picky eater at breakfast. She's not
to fond of eggs, fresh toast or pancakes. She doesn't like to be
spoon feed anymore and she's not good enough to feed herself oatmeal
or cereal. She loves diced fruit and veggies but I wanted something
else to go with these. Any sugguestions for breakfast items for self
feeding?

Thanks,
Sunshine

Toast, toast and more toast was the staple breakfast for my little man at
that age. You can put all sorts of stuff on it, cream cheese, jam, butter,
peanut butter, marmite, you name it.