Our kids are Monsters! They both have massive appetites, and our daughter will pretty much eat anything in sight. Whether its on a plate, a table or even the floor, if she spots food she will put it in her mouth. She had a very easy transition from breast milk to solid foods, and it was never an issue.
The same cannot be said of our son. He is a big boy for five months, weighing in at a healthy 18lbs, and can chug milk with the best of them. However, now that he is transitioning to real food, we have run into a problem. This kid hates everything we have tried to give him, and immediately spits it out all over the place. We have tried rice cereal, apple sauce, puréed bananas, and so forth. Nothing seems to be to his liking.
I’m curious if it’s just the texture he needs to get use to or he hates the taste of all these wonderful treats. He drinks way too much milk and needs to get some more food into his diet. We have been trying for a couple of weeks with no success and we are running out of tricks to try.
My questions to the great dads are:
Do you think it is the texture or the taste he doesn’t like?
Did anyone else go through a period like this?
Do you have any suggestions to get him to eat?
post post modern dad (@ppmdad)
January 30, 2013 at 4:34 pmDo not be afraid to let him be hungry. When he really needs to eat, he will. If he won’t eat, he won’t eat. You need to be okay with that.
You know you need to cut down his milk consumption, so go ahead and do it. That 4th refill? Yeah, you can skip it. Will he cry? Yes. Know going in this will be tough, but the end result will be a healthier kid. I
Robert Loftus
January 31, 2013 at 10:13 amI’m always concerned with not feeding my children enough. I was/am very skinny and don’t want my children to go through what I did in regards to weight. At the same time , I don’t want to over stuff them, and then they face ridicule for being over weight. All I want is healthy, confident kids, and I know it takes hard work to achieve that end result.
Alex
January 30, 2013 at 4:50 pmCheck in with your pediatrician first and foremost to rule out health issues and see if they have any advice.
What worked for us: Pick one solid. Only one, prepared one way. Rice cereal is usually a good bet – start it out really thin with lots of milk. Make it the same temperature as the milk he enjoys. Make sure he tries it at least once a day (we did twice a day). It can easily take 10-15 tastings of a new food for it to become “acceptable”. Keep track; write down the food, the time/date he tried it, and whether he tried 1, 2, or more bites.
Don’t scold or chastise – just encourage. “Not yet? Maybe later. It’s so yummy!” Make small servings, and be prepared to pop it in the fridge and toss at the end of the day.
After at least 15 tastings, if he’s not eating the new food, try the next. A couple of weeks is just long enough to try one or two foods thoroughly. It takes LOTS of patience.
Obviously, watch out for any hives, rashes, or swelling that might indicate an allergy.
My little one still has texture issues (at 5), but at least now will eat most of the foods she’s tried, even if she’s not keen on the texture or 100% sold on flavor. As an infant, she took to some fruit right away; yogurt took a full weekend of trying at every meal (8 tastes over 3 days) before she ate more than one bite.
You’ll do fine! Be patient with LL. He may not be a picky eater, so much as a cautious taster. And that’s ok.
Robert Loftus
January 31, 2013 at 10:17 amThanks for all the great advice. I forgot about all the note taking and tracking we did with our first child. I’ll stick with the cereal and see if that works. He is just a little fussy guy, and we need to remain patient and consistent.
Justin- Writing Pad Dad
January 30, 2013 at 7:42 pmI agree with Alex. Check with your pediatrician first. Maybe it’s time to back up a step and then try again when a bit of time has gone by. Kids change so fast maybe he just needs a bit of time. Good luck!
Robert Loftus
January 31, 2013 at 10:19 amI think you maybe correct and that the Dr. may have jumped the gun just because he is so big for his age. We are gong to keep trying until his next weigh in, and will discuss further with the pediatrician if it has not changed.
MrsFun
January 30, 2013 at 7:59 pmI have two kids that hated baby food. They transitioned to table food at 9 months. I agree to talk to your pedi. but it is normal and some outgrow it and then theres my 8 y/o that still has major texture issues, even after therapy. Be patient and go slow, at 5 months if all he’s getting is formula/breastmilk, he’ll be okay.
Robert Loftus
January 31, 2013 at 10:24 amThanks for the words of encouragement. He is healthy size and it doesn’t appear he is losing out on what he needs. I feel bad for my wife, who is producing his milk . He just may not be ready at this age
Brad the Dad
January 30, 2013 at 8:10 pmI think the biggest thing is control. He knows it’s a form of control and these little guys love to see what they can get away with. Add in the milk love, like my little guy, and it’s win win for them.
Try the different cereals besides rice, oatmeal and barley. I want to say we tried oatmeal first with our oldest and switched to rice with success.
Other than that, this too shall pass. Much like the Toy Story thing, it may seem endless while you’re in it, but it’s just a phase.
Robert Loftus
January 31, 2013 at 10:25 amBoth my children are little manipulators so you may be correct on that one. I’m sure we will find something he likes, our family does love food!
Brian Sorrell
February 1, 2013 at 5:16 amPersistence and patience, as stated above, is key. I can recommend parts of a book called “French Kids Eat Everything.” Generally, that book recommends sticking to a particular food until the child tries it. They will eventually do so; healthy kids don’t starve themselves. Keep introducing it, keep trying.
Also, make it clear that you’re eating the same thing, or eat *with* him. When it’s a family affair, there’s positive peer pressure to eat with everyone else, and the stress of being the focus of feeding is off. (Though, if you’re just transitioning to solids, you’re certainly going to be doing the spoon-feeding. Just eat a few bites along with LL as you go.)
Speaking of the age at which they transition to solids, that’s probably too young to be *actually* manipulating. You might read their behavior as manipulative, but at that age, they have not developed that kind of capacity for scheming. Even if yours is far ahead of the curve in this respect (and all of our kids are, right?), unsuccessful attempts at manipulation deter manipulative behavior. And success is up to you. Persistence and patience is key. (The way I often thought of it was this: you know better than he does, so you need to stick to your position. If kids *really* knew what they needed, they’d all be jumping off ladders stark naked in a pool of chocolate coca cola. Don’t let the food equivalent of that happen.)
Robert Loftus
February 1, 2013 at 7:22 amThanks for all the good tips. I am gong to check that book out. I picked a real good tip. We made the hoe in one of the bottles a little bigger, and mixed the cereal in with the breast milk. He ate it all and slept through the night. Hopefully it will continue to work
Aaron Brinker
February 3, 2013 at 10:52 amRobert
I would check with the pediatrician first but if they are like our pediatrician they will tell you that any young child knows when they are hungry and if they get hungry enough they will eat. I would venture a guess that it is probably just a transition period and a texture thing. Switching from one taste to another is probably not to his liking but it never hurts to check with the doctor first!
Aaron Brinker aka DadBlunders
Robert Loftus
February 3, 2013 at 10:58 amThanks for the tips! I wasn’t busting your chops just to get you leave a comment. I appreciate you as a reader and your thoughts are always beneficial not only to myself, but the parenting audience as well. Thanks again!
Aaron Brinker
February 3, 2013 at 11:01 amRobert,
I knew you weren’t….you actually are bookmarked as one of my dads I “try” to check out on a regular basis. Like I told you time plays a big factor when you are a stay-at-home dad….sigh….
There are days I swear i see myself coming and going….lol
Aaron Brinker aka DadBlunders