PixieCurl

Went to a LLL meeting last night and came with a question. I expressed concern about how Solomon (2.5+) nurses so much still that he doesn't have much of an appetite for solids at all. I'm quite certain that if I went all day without offering him any solids, he wouldn't even notice. That said, when he's away from me he certainly doesn't starve. We were apart for 36 hours when I had Abram (the longest ever) and he was fine. Anyway I'm not trying to wean or anything, but I expressed concern that if he didn't start eating more solids, he'd never wean. Even as I heard myself saying those words, I realized how silly they were because of course he will, when he's ready. (or, if/when I decide I want to gently encourage weaning.) And then I said I was worried about the quality of his diet. He's super-picky and won't eat many of the foods I want him to (like fruits and vegetables) and while so many people say "Just offer what you want him to eat, he'll eat eventually when he's hungry enough", that doesn't apply to him because he just won't eat, and then he'll nurse to satisfy his hunger. But even then, the LLL leader who is super-knowledgeable and a doctor, said that he's getting all the nutrients he needs from my breastmilk so he doesn't necessarily need fruits & veggies on top of that, now. As long as he's growing properly of course, which he is. I said I was worried if he doesn't eat fruits and veggies now, he won't develop a taste for them later. She said that he is developing a taste for the things that I eat, through my milk. And a few moms chimed in that things their children would eat at 2 completely changed by the time they were a bit older anyway.

So, I know I'm just rambling, but I'm going to stop stressing about it. If he has a day where he only eats a few bunny crackers and some cheese all day, lioke yesterday, I will rest assured knowing that my milk has filled in the gaps and he is happy and healthy.

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mad scientist

LOL suuuure you are going to stop stressing, Pixie.

Its always nice to get some affirmation from someone who is more experienced. Sounds like Sol is doing great.

I still stress about both of my kids diets since they are both so skinny. DS is still not much of an eater at age 4. He probably has a good meal every 3rd day or so. He lives on yogurt which seems to be his comfort food. I could take it away from him and force the issue, but I don't want to - he's healthy and active so he's getting enough energy from somewhere.

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curly_keltie

He sounds like he's doing great. If he wasn't growing, hitting milestones etc.etc, maybe I'd be concerned...but he is thriving.

All you can do is offer the food to them - it's their job to eat it.

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PixieCurl

Thanks for the replies. mad scientist - if Sol would eat yogurt I'd offer it breakfast, lunch, and dinner! It's super-healthy. The healthiest thing Solomon likes is hummus, so I really should offer that more often.

The only thing that bothers me a bit is that my husband likes to offer Solly treats, even if he doesn't eat any "real" food. I wouldn't mind the treats (in moderation of course) if I felt he was "eating" more - I have a bowl of ice cream almost every night. And while I know that my milk in addition to whatever "real" food he eats is meeting his nutritional needs, I don't want the only solids he eats to be treats either. He doesn't seem to eat too much of them, though. Like if we give him two cookies after dinner (Newman-O's, organic oreo type cookies) he might carry them around for half an hour and then eat just the cream.

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RedCatWaves

My daughter was an extremely reluctant eater as a toddler. One way I got her to eat was to offer treats first...like an appetizer. I wouldn't give her much, maybe 1 cookie, or a teeny tiny scoop of ice cream, and then I'd slip her little plate of real food in front of her. The treat got her eating juices flowing and she'd actually eat a whole meal afterwards. She always had to sit in her high chair for eating though...walking around wasn't allowed.

PixieCurl

Interesting! We've found that Sol seems to like salty/sweet together so occasionally after eating a bit of cookie, he'll go back to the cheese or crackers or whatever on his tray.

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Kaia

Pixie - I have no words of wisdom, only commiseration. I'm exactly in the same place with Dylan (almost 2 and a half). He nurses all day long, and hardly eats any food. The only thing I know he will ALWAYS eat is Mcdonalds fries. Other than that, the things he'll eat semi-regularly are cherios, cheese, and goldfish crackers. I hate offering those to him, and I'd love to offer only healthy things, but then he won't eat those and only nurse. And he'll be perfectly fine with that, while I go insane. I'm really not that concerned about his nutrition now, bc I know breastmilk is plenty good enough, but I would like him to get in the habit of eating some healthier foods, and I'd LOVE for him to lay off the nursing a bit. I keep hearing about these toddlers that nurse like 3-4 times a day... ahhhh, that would be so wonderful!

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RedCatWaves

The little boy I babysit is 21 months. He doesn't eat either. He still nurses all.the.time....when his mother is around. When she's not around, like when he's with me for 30 hours a week, he just doesn't eat. I try to shovel yogurt into his mouth, a spoonful here and there, but he really doesn't let me do it often these days. Most food that I give him on a plate ends up on the floor...and my dog eats it. So, this toddler-not-eating thing doesn't only happen to stay-at-home-moms. Just thought I'd let you know that.

The good news is...they all eat eventually...especially boys. And I have the grocery receipts to prove it.

PixieCurl

Yup, same story. My leader loaned me a LLLI book called My Child Won't EAT! by Carlos Gonzalez, M.D. I haven't read it yet but it looks interesting.

Oh, and it's the craziest thing, but the other night he asked my husband for some chicken off his plate and a fork. He doesn't eat chicken and he doesn't use utensils (except sometimes a spoon for hummus). Anyway we expected him to just play with it, but after a while he put it in his mouth (with the fork) and ate a small bite. Then another! We were in shock. We offered more but he was done. Anyway it's a small victory. I've fallen into the bad habit of not even offering him some stuff that I don't think he'll eat, because I figure it's just a waste. But if I don't offer it, he definitely won't eat it. At least if I offer there's a small chance he will.

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mad scientist

LOL its like that at our house too. Lunch is the kid friendly meal where I specifically make what I know they will eat. But at dinner time I just don't even think about the kids most nights they rarely eat anything more than the bread and yogurt. Every now and again Karan will actually want to try something, and then he'll eat it! But that is by no means a guarantee that he will ever eat that same thing again.

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