How to make baby eat

[annie]

My girl haven been eating alot ever since she turns 1.. i wonder if any mummy is experiencing the same thing? she only takes a few mouth per meal n stop eating.. i worry if she is not getting enough nutrients. how to make her clear her bowl??

 

[Phoebii Cheng]

My son when he was 1 yrs old, he also did not like to eat much, he likes to explore the environment more.....and putting them into his mouth....we did not force him to eat, instead we give him milk more since he likes it......slowly I cannot remember when, he eats his food more and we did it by pacing it with him & making it a routine that he eats with us at the dinner table......

We don't like to chase him around with food, as it would seem that he gets his ways......

 

[Phoebii Cheng]

Oh I remember, during the 1 yr we cooked food for him, but slowly when we began to introduce outside food to him, he also began to eat more.....

Cos most of the time, the food that we cook is quite bland I would say....so slowly even now when cooking for him, at least tasty a bit but not too tasty......

 

[autumn82]

My girl have not been eating alot ever since she turns 1.. i wonder if any mummy is experiencing the same thing? she only takes a few mouth per meal n stop eating.. i worry if she is not getting enough nutrients. how to make her clear her bowl??

Hmm.. Iggy too, rejected his food for almost a mth when he was at that age coz he was sick. I just totally stopped his meals and gave him milk instead. After that mth, I went back to his 2 meals and he just started eating it again. I guess it's a passing phase..

Or maybe you can let her play with toys or do something to distract her while feeding her? I know it is not a good habit but if you're really concern that she eats her meals, then maybe u can give it a try.

 

[annie]

i tried distracting her with toys or tv n all but to no avail... she seems to prefer to self feed nowadays so i let her eat by herself by making her finger food eg french toast for breakfast, rice balls for lunch n macaroni bolognese for dinner... she seems to prefer the macaroni bolognese. so far she has always manage to clear her bowl all by herself but with the others, she only take a few bites..but impossible to give her macaroni bolognese all 3 meals isnt it? LOL

i was also wondering if she will eat more if i give her outside food but then... the food outside is not healthy.. full of msg n salt... arrgg delima...

when she touches 1 yr.. she actually stop opening her mouth wide for food.. always takes only the tip of her food and takes triple the time to clear her bowl but at least she still manage to clear her bowl! then after 1 mth which is these few days.. she open her mouth wide again but only takes like about 3-5mouth then start to reject her food..so can i be optimistic that this is jsut a phase and she will start to eat more solid again?

 

[annie]

i heard that jing feng san helps improve appetite but i dun dare to anyhow give my girl.. anyone tried that? does it really works?

 

[diymummy]

If you buy multi-vits with Lysine in it, it actually increases appetite.

I told my PD that I'm starting to give my boy Appeton infant multi vits and he asked me if it contained Lysine. I said it did and he said that that's something that increases appetite.

If you're afraid that your baby is not getting enough nutrients, multi-vits could help a little. I feel that she should be ok. My boy's almost 1 and not even eating 3 meals. His appetite has dropped ever since he fell ill and never came back.

 

[annie]

so did your son's appetite increase after taking the multi vit?

my girl was eating very very well before 1yr old taking 3 main meals + 1 snack time few hrs before her dinner n almost all the time she clears her bowl till she reaches her 1yr mark. now i dun give her snack time anymore...

i have many frens who are still giving their bb 2 meals even though they are 2-3 yrs old! but then.. if they clear their 2 meals.. i suppose its quite ok..

 

[diymummy]

I took my boy off the multi vit temporarily because he's coughing. He has other meds to take so I stopped the multi vit.

When I was feeding him, I didn't see very significant increase in his appetite. Also maybe coz he was only on it for a while. Will start again once his cough is better.

 

[annie]

i see.. thanks. im not too sure if i should let my girl take any outside medication/vit to increase her appetite...hmm

 

[diymummy]

Do you have a PD to turn to? Maybe you can check with your PD. For me, my PD gave me the all clear to use this multi vit that's why I'm using it. Also some mummies here recommended me to use that brand. So I asked my PD abt it, he said ok, I bought it and used it

 

[annie]

yea i have a pd here but she only told me as long as her weight is increasing n is inside the growth chart then nothing much to worry even if she dosent seem to be eating alot. so far she is inside the chart la. 50-60% percentile so far... im not worried bout her weight but jsut bout the nutrients that she is taking in per meal or per day.. guess im over worrying? hehe

 

[diymummy]

Yeah I know what you mean. It's like weight might not be a good representation of how much nutrients she's absorbing right? We worry maybe the weight is all fats or too much glucose (my boy loves porridge with potatoes...). So I worry that although his weight is increasing whether is he getting the necessary nutrients.

LOL. So I KS. Went to buy multi-vits... Ease my own mind. Plus I want to boost his immune system because he's falling sick quite often.

But actually, if your girl is still taking her milk well and you're unwilling to start multi-vits, it should be ok. Because milk has a lot of good stuff in it.

 

[annie]

yeah she still loves milk alot! so much so that i try to distract her n not let her drink it as i worry it will interfere her appetite for meals.. but if its not near meal time i will let her drink as much as she wants though..

i seldom give my girl potatos as its just carbo hehe. if i give, i give sweet potatoes.. but it seems like she dosent really like the potatoes family.. maybe too dry.

yah yah u r right bout the nutrients n the weight gain hehe. read my mind very well. think we parents love to worry too much. lol. thanks for all the replies though. u've been very very helpful! :red:

 

[annie]

autumn, when iggy dun eat food for the whole 1 mth.. do u still cook his every meals for him or u simply stop altogether n then give him only after 1 mth? then did he lost weight without any food that mth? my girl seems to have lost weight...

Phoebii, so u often give your son outside food that time? n his appetite really become better?

 

[autumn82]

autumn, when iggy dont eat food for the whole 1 month.. do you still cook his every meals for him or you simply stop altogether n then give him only after 1 month? then did he lost weight without any food that month? my girl seems to have lost weight...

Phoebii, so you often give your son outside food that time? n his appetite really become better?

I just totally never cooked for a month. He did lost alittle but now gaining back quite a fair bit He's on a "revenge" eating spree now still.. :001_302::001_302::001_302:

 

[annie]

hmm.. im kinda worried bout my girl not taking food.. she haven been really eating since 1 yr old.. always a few mouth...i think this whole mth, she has only 'almost' cleared her bowl for lunch once? dinner has been quite ok. she will take 1/2-1 bowl of food. msotly 1 whole bowl.. breakfast is jsut few pcs of cornflakes... she dun eat any other things i try to make for her...

u didnt try to give him your food or outside food during that mth? now he is still eating porridge/rice tat u cook for him or taking wat u eat n outside food?

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

I read a little about toddler's behaviour: as babies grow into toddlers, they start to behave differently. Apparently, many toddlers like to graze, which means eat a few mouths of food spread over many meals through the day. If my boy starts eating less, I'll try grazing method instead of making sit down to eat over 3 meals. This makes him retain his interest in food. Toddlers are busy people learning things all the time, so we may need to cater to their new preference.

Home-prepared food is definitely the best. Try giving a variety of finger food and small portions of usual food and offer Jumpy through the day. Offer 1/2 bowl of food for her; let her finish and ask for more before giving her. This is more encouraging to her and mummy than struggling with a big, slowly-emptied bowl of food.

Consider giving her 2 options on eat when you are preparing meals. Eg. Spaghetti or macaroni today? Pumpkin or carrot?

Japan has many cute bento containers and shape-cutters. If the meal is presented in a creative way, eg. with her favourite animal shapes, maybe she'll eat more.

Make meal-time fun, eg. playing peekaboo and eat 1 mouth of food.
(I don't prefer playing with toys though, as my nephew has this habit since young and he still eats very little and very slowly at 3+ years old. He's more interested in playing with toys than eating during meals.)

Breastmilk still contains a lot of nutrients and boosts her immunity, so just let her have the usual feeds.

All the best!

 

[autumn82]

hmm.. im kinda worried bout my girl not taking food.. she have not been really eating since 1 your old.. always a few mouth...i think this whole month, she has only 'almost' cleared her bowl for lunch once? dinner has been quite ok. she will take 1/2-1 bowl of food. msotly 1 whole bowl.. breakfast is jsut few pcs of cornflakes... she dont eat any other things i try to make for her...

you didnt try to give him your food or outside food during that month? now he is still eating porridge/rice that you cook for him or taking what you eat n outside food?

At least she still takes 1/2-1 bowl of food during dinner. Iggy totally no food at all during that month, be it homecooked or outside food (2 years and above then I'll intro). After a week of refusing his food, I just stopped giving him, didn't try at all.

Yes, he is eating his porridge/marcaroni/mee sua/pasta/rice now, no outside food yet until 24mths and above. :001_302::001_302::001_302:

 

[annie]

i was planning not to give outside food till at least 2yr old too but now that she dun eat im not sure if i should give her.. cos they are more tasty than those food i make at home..

mummy to baby very, thanks for the tips. thats very encouraging. i feel if she likes the food, she can finish them in one session eg her dinner macaroni bolognese... i always cook a huge bowl for her n she can finish it all by herself... till these 2 nights she is taking only 1/2.. maybe she is sick of it lol. but to me, its still better than nothing of cos. for snacks as well.. she can easily finish 1 whole packet of snacks per time! i think she is just being fussy but thats so difficult for me as im not a good cook... for new food she always takes alot till she gets tired of it...

recently im giving her 100% pure fruit n veg juice bought in those bb shops to supplement her loss of nutrients from that group. but one whole day she only drinks 3/4 packet of it which is like 100ml.. im not too sure how much this amt can supplement her with.. i tried making her fruit shake n at first she loves it n can clear the cup but now she dun even take it! hai~