<p>My 17.5 month old little girl hates to eat. She often refused to drink milk when she was very little – we would have to try to get her to drink every five minutes while she screamed from hunger. Eventually she would start to drink, and when she did, it would be obvious that she was absolutely starvig. Then she refused baby food until about eight months. Until a year, she still didn’t eat much of it. Until fifteen months, she wouldn’t even try a single cheerio.</p>
<p>Now she is still eating baby food. Her pediatrican acted absolutely shocked when we told her this and recommended that we deprive D of all baby food until the end of the day, only giving her real food and a few sippy cups of milk before then. That was a mistake. D refused all solids and was so hungry by the end of the day that she just screamed and swatted the spoon away when we finally gave her the baby food. At this point she’s just been shreiking every time we put her in her high chair and/or get any food anywhere near her.</p>
<p>We are so frustrated. We are worried about her nutrition, and she’s extremely cranky and cries at the drop of a hat now. She was very cheerful before we followed the pediatrician’s advice, and we just want her to go back to eating baby food like before… We feel that we should have let her own timeline guide us instead of listening to the pediatrician. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? I feel like hindsight may give y’all better insight than the equally perplexed fellow parents of toddlers that I normally discuss these things with.</p>
<p>You are going to think I am insane, but this sounds alot like my daughter’s eating history…always a picky eater…</p>
<p>ended up having Celiac disease; diagnosed at 11 yrs old after losing weight/no growth for three years…</p>
<p>just a thought; is it possible that the other food you are trying is “hurting” her stomach? that would explain the refusal to eat anything other than certain foods…</p>
<p>I’m wondering whether something about eating is painful to her. Could she have abdominal problems? A sore throat? Could she have a food allergy that makes eating painful? I suggest talking again with your pediatrician and even getting a second opinion.</p>
<p>I assuming that your pediatrician has ruled out that there is no underlying disease, but perhaps you should visit a pediatric GI specialist to make certain that there is not an undiagnosed problem.</p>
<p>If not, she sounds like my daughter at the same age. As she grew up, it became evident that she has a hyper-sensitive palate - many foods just don’t taste very good to her. She can discern even small differences in foods - a slight bitterness or not quite enough flavor in foods that everyone else thinks is fine. She says that she gets sick to her stomach if she has to eat something that doesn’t taste right. She would vomit when she was a baby if she ate something that she didn’t want (well-meaning relatives tried the technique suggested by your physician). Even now, she is thin, but she is able to find foods that she can eat when nothing to her liking is available. Ironically, because of this, she has a much healthier diet than her friends - no junk food at all - she prefers natural, fresh foods that are simply prepared. She is now healthier than the typical kid who ate anything and everything in sight.</p>
<p>I would feed your daughter what she will eat. Some kids cannot be trained to eat the way adults think they should. Forcing her to eat will only exacerbate the problem. In a few years, she’ll be old enough to tell you want she wants.</p>
<p>Of course, check with your doctor and rule out food allergies and lactose intolerance, PhysicsMom, but there is a good chance that there is nothing wrong with your daughter - she is probably just a picky eater and a very independent spirit, just like I was when I was a toddler! My parents went through h*ll and high water to feed me: every mealtime for more than a year, one parent would distract me by opening and closing the door of the glass cabinet on the kitchen wall (apparently, I found that fascinating), and the other would stuff a spoonful of food into my mouth every time my jaw dropped! I’m still alive, I have no food allergies, no diseases of the GI tract (confirmed by the state of the art diagnostic methods), I could lose a couple more pounds without really missing them, and have I ever mentioned on this forum that I looove to eat :</p>
<p>According to my personal experience, toddlers are like cats, it is impossible to force them into doing things, but you can trick them into thinking that they like something. If you baby likes baby food, let her have it. Introduce new foods slowly, make every mealtime a peaceful, happy activity. If she does not like her high chair, there is nothing wrong with her sitting in you lap while she is dining. Let your baby pick something from your plate and try it (of course, make sure it is appropriate for a baby!). You will get there, but it might take a while.</p>
<p>You may want to see if your local children’s hospital has a feeding disorders clinic. They can make amazing gains is short periods of time. Was your daughter premature? Many preemies have trouble transitioning to real food. A feeding clinic will evaluate your daughter to make sure there are not anatomical problems with chewing/swallowing, along with the possible physical conditions other posters have mentioned. If it is a behavioral thing or a sensory problem they can work with both you and your daughter and can make good progress in six weeks or so. Good luck.</p>
<p>When my daughter was a baby, grandpa would distract her while grandma spooned the “offensive” food in her mouth. After a few mouthfuls, my lovely daughter would vomit the whole thing back on the tray. She never bought the idea of introducing foods slowly. There were foods she never ate. Period. She lived on almost nothing until puberty, when she started to eat more variety.</p>
<p>Miraculously, she’s made it to 17 - still the skinniest kid in the class, but now it’s an attribute!</p>
<p>This reminds me of S2 as a toddler. He loved milk more than anything, and at one point I remember the pediatrician telling me that I had to limit him to 24 oz a day, so that he would eat other things. This was not too hard to accomplish, but a few months later she told me that I had to take away his bottle. At the time, he was drinking milk exclusively out of a bottle. He would drink water or juice from a cup, but not milk. The pediatrician insisted that I stop the bottle. I did, and S2 would clench his teeth and refuse milk from a cup. I expected this to last a few days at most, but I was wrong. S2 is 11 and still does not drink milk. I regret not letting him stay with the bottle until he was ready to give it up.</p>
<p>I would let your daughter continue to eat baby food, and whatever else she would eat. She may like the smooth texture. S2 has always hated seeds of any kind (“People don’t eat seeds - birds eat seeds!”). I think that texture is the issue. And if he eats something he doesn’t like, he vomits. He is still somewhat fussy - for example, he won’t eat cooked spinach, but will eat a huge pile of raw spinach; he won’t eat raw tomatoes, but loves tomato sauce - but he eats things that many people won’t touch - he loves green and red peppers, onions, lemons, ginger, bits of wasabi, hot peppers.</p>
<p>Having her evaluated for allergies or GI problems would be a good idea. But I would avoid, at all costs, turning eating into a battlefield.</p>
<p>Both of my kids refused to eat baby food – ever. They only accepted finger foods. One of them also refused to accept a bottle, even if something really tasty, like fruit juice, was in it. She went straight from breastfeeding to a cup.</p>
<p>Somehow, everyone survived.</p>
<p>My point is that toddlers are very opinionated and often, very weird. </p>
<p>I wonder whether you might have better luck if you went back to your daughter’s previous diet but started to add a few things that are similar to baby food in texture but are being eaten by other family members at the same meal – such as mashed potatoes or pudding. Might she get interested in eating these foods because other people are eating them? It could be a start toward transitioning away from all-baby-food to a more grown-up diet.</p>
<p>In my experience, starving kids all day to get them to eat what you want doesn’t work well. When my son refused to eat lunch at school in first grade (which was considered a concern because it might impede his academic performance in the afternoon), the school nurse told me not to let him have anything to eat after school until dinnertime. She wanted him to learn that if he didn’t eat his lunch, he would be hungry for a long time. What happened is that he was so out-of-control after school from hunger – screaming and hitting and kicking other people – that he was a danger to the other kids in the carpool and had to be confined to his room at home so that he wouldn’t hurt his younger sister (and while he was in his room, he screamed or cried or begged for food constantly). I couldn’t let him go outside to play, have friends over, or visit friends’ houses because of his behavior. I gave up after less than a week. He still refused to eat lunch in school for three more years. I was sorry I ever tried to make him change.</p>
<p>From my experience I would say there is some type of problem that is causing your child to refuse any solid foods. Is she currently 15 months old or is she older? I am surprised that your pediatrician was not aware of the eating difficulties until recently. He or she should have recommended a good GI doctor at a childrens hospital. If all checks out well after testing is done you may want to keep an eye out for possible ADHD. Your little one sounds like something is hurting her.</p>
<p>“If all checks out well after testing is done you may want to keep an eye out for possible ADHD. Your little one sounds like something is hurting her.”</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>How is your child doing on his growth curve? Is he or she staying on the same percentile?</p>
<p>It is really hard to be a new mother, but it is even harder to be a new mother when everyone around you says you baby might have some sort of a terrible disorder! PhysicsMom, please do not go into full panic mode!</p>
<p>D was one of these too-- is still pretty picky…she’d been a preemie, was hypersensitive to sounds, tastes, feelings… I let her eat what she liked–lots of pasta, different fruits and veg, chicken and fish plain. It worked out just fine, and I believe she was instinctively careful because of her sensitivities. She’s outgrown the rashes, though she is still allergic to latex and rubber-related things. And she tries more things now. By all means, check with Children’s Hosp. But just trust her, give her good options and let her choose. She won’t starve and she might become a healthy eater for life.</p>
<p>Go with your instincts, you know your baby best. Let your baby decide when she is full of whatever she will eat. If you try to exert too much control, you will really not like potty training coming down the turnpike. Good luck.</p>
<p>My now 25 year old son ate baby food until he was two. His diet then consistent of: macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, split pea soup and a breakfast that was oatmeal, vanilla yogurt and applesauce. After ruling out physical issues we realized that, except for the hot dogs (don’t faint moms…we cut it up into non chokeable pieces) he liked the texture of baby food. And when he was a baby, baby food was started at 6 or 7 months. When I was a baby…21 days old and you got oatmeal. Do what is good for your child. </p>
<p>Did I mention that he is now an adult? Quite healthy thank you…with a love of sushi, pasta and everything…except vegetables. And I don’t care. It isn’t my responsibility.</p>
<p>Don’t use food as a weapon/punishment. And do not deprive a child of nutrients. A friend of mine had a mother who made her drink milk. Huge issue (friend is almost 60) at that time. Lactose intolerance wasn’t a known issue: she was lactose intolerant. And yes, there are other issues involved (like friend never totally grew up or out of mom issues) but she has never “forgiven” her mom for torturing her everyday at every meal.</p>
<p>And my youngest? She refused baby food after demanding a taste of pasta…at 7 months. She gummed everything. She is now a college freshman, very healthy.</p>
<p>Her pediatrician has been aware of my daughter’s slowness to transition to new foods, but wasn’t so interested in it until now. She has never even mentioned in passing the possibility that my daughter’s eating habits are anything other than a parental failure.</p>
<p>My daughter is the best I could hope for in every other way – perfect sleeper, loves to play and accompany me on errands, very bright.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t guess she is in pain because, even though she fights food, she is always happier after having eaten a proper amount of it.</p>
<p>Anyway… We are trying to go back to the baby food, but she is so distressed about the recent changes we tried to implement that she’s refusing it. </p>
<p>Also, I will respond to those who PMd me later when I have a longer free moment.</p>
<p>So sorry the pediatrician gave you that advice. In my experience and observation, parents never “win” food fights with a kid, especially not by withholding food the child likes to pressure him/her into eating what the parent (or pediatrician) wants. Your little one sounds as if she’s naturally sensitive about food issues - lots of healthy, normal adults started out exactly this way.</p>
<p>In your situation, I’d probably want the pediatrician (or maybe another one?) to do a work-up to determine whether or not allergies or even some kind of anatomical difficulty might be responsible for her reluctance to eat. As she approaches 24 months of age, her natural inclination will be to resist everything you want her to do. It might be helpful to have the situation evaluated before the terrible twos kick in. (Not that I think twos are terrible - they’re great fun - but they are trying. ) Good luck - hope you’ll keep us posted.</p>
Quite healthy thank you…with a love of sushi, pasta and everything…except vegetables. And I don’t care. It isn’t my responsibility.</p>