Will he ever eat anything else?

dk5294

My wee boy will be 1 in a month and I'm already feeling like a failure as he's not fully on a sippy cup, in fact he uses it as a toy more than anything, he's still supping a good 16oz of formula and he'll only eat the cow and gate cereal for breakfast.

He's a great eater the rest of the day but at breakfast it's the cereal/muesli stuff or the banana porridge and 8oz of milk. I've tried giving him good old porridge oats, muesli, ready break and even coco pops and he just spits it out.

I know I'm meant to have him off his bottle by a year and off formula but I work full time and I can't stand knowing he's got to go from 6am until 11am on a bowl of cereal and then I need to get him off that as it's weaning food!!!!

I've tried yoghurt and fruit and he's all right for about 3 teaspoons and then he won't eat anymore.

I genuinely don't know what to do. He eats fruit and yoghurt during the day, but not in the morning. He hates eggs and he only likes toast when it suits him.

Any suggestions on what to do??

copperclock

Yes. He will eat other things at some point. Try not to stress. All you can do is offer him foods. You can't control what he puts down his throat, so there is no point ever getting upset about it.

Maybe he just doesn't feel very hungry until about 11am. If you've offered him a good breakfast and he's had a few mouthfuls, then I am sure he's absolutely fine in his childcare/with your partner until his 11am food. Don't forget, three teaspoons of yoghurt is quite a bit for his little stomach, especially along with cereal - weaning or otherwise.

Seriously, don't stress about food. Just offer him a good variety and trust him to self-regulate. Allowing children to listen to their own appetites is one of the best gifts you can give, imo.

As for the formula - it's the other way around: you're not meant to give them cows milk as a main drink until they are 12 months old. Plenty of people keep giving formula or follow-on milk after 12 months. Personally, I don't believe they are necessary, and they are expensive. Maybe you could try mixing his normal formula with some cows milk and gradually increasing the ratio while he gets used to it. But if he's happy with the formula and you're happy with the formula then don't tie yourself in knots.

Regarding the sippy cup/bottle, check out these doidy cups. They are great for teeth and coordination and the slant makes them easier to drink from.

DigForVictory

Take several long deep breaths & relax. If he were loosing weight, slightly different picture, but it doesn't sound like it, just that he's exercising his right to be a little individual.
This article says it takes 10 bites for a "new" or disliked food to become familiar, and noone's saying it always has to be any one way - these little folk are unique.

Says she with one cousin who are nothing apart from toast & treacle tart for two years. Therapy, the works - no change. Even alongside a table of gannets (myself & sisters) he stuck to his stuff. Aged 8 he decided it was inconvenient & unfriendly & began to expand his repertoire without prompting. He's now a strapping great ice hockey playing Canadian & you'd never guess his mum washed up with Fairy liquid & tears for years.

I'm all for ringing the changes when he's hungry & keeping the status quo stable when he's minded to be picky. My eldest had baby rice til gone 2 for breakfast but everything the nursery offered (curry, chinese, mexican - he ate better than I did!) and devoured whatever was put in front of him for the evening meal, but breakfast was small, plain & simple. He's now a lanky 18 year old who just devoured an entire Costco pizza evenly with his little brother.

So, worry not, keep what works for breakfast, & jot down what's liked &/or tried elsewhere. Enjoy him & try to see the funny side? (Get photos of halfway through the yoghurt - his Best Man will thank you some day!)

Eat properly yourself & he will learn by example eventually. You have to survive long enough to see & enjoy it!

peachyprice

The thing is, those C&G breakfast cereals are really nice, you can't blame him for liking them!

First thing in the morning when you're trying to get ready for work and get him ready to go too is always going to be a hard time to introduce new foods and breakfast habits are always hard to break because they're hungry and want something that gives instant satisfaction, which those tasty smooth cereals do.

Maybe at the weekend when you're not in a rush try giving him a little less breakfast then try to introduce a suitable breakfast alternative mid-morning when he's not ravenous, he might then be open to new foods, which you can eventually bring forward to breakfast.

The most important thing though is to not beat yourself up about it, children have likes and dislikes just the same as we do, his taste will change over time.

splishsplash

My 11 month old grandson usually has porridge made with cow's milk for breakfast, either on its own or with mashed bananas or blueberries sometimes. Personally, I would gag if I had to make porridge with milk, so I feed him dinner for breakfast when I have him. A nice big bowl of stew or casserole or whatever. Alternatively, I make pancakes which he likes with butter and banana and/or blueberries.

I would relax about the formula or sippy cup issues. He'll get the hang of the sippy cup eventually. As long as the formula isn't filling him up and stopping him from eating, I would continue with it until he's eating enough solid food.

snozberry

If I could go back in time to when my son was the same as age yours I would not be as stressed and anxious as I was. My son barely ate, refused a sippy and wanted formula all the time as well. Just keep offering a wide variety of food and he will get there. Mine did.

ETA, he never took to a sippy cup but he did take to this:

http://uk.iherb.com/pr/munchkin-miracle-360-degree-cup-7-oz-207-ml/63943

Absolutely brilliant cup

dk5294

Thanks everyone! It's nice to know it's not just me who's had this. He eats me out of house and home for every other meal and is thriving. He's happy to try new things as long as I don't introduce them at breakfast.

I have the munchkin cup, he doesn't like it =( I've got 6 sippy cups and the only one he likes now has rice in it and is a rattle, haha! He'll drink from a cup like we do, but my health visitor said I shouldn't be encouraging that and I shouldn't give him formula after 12 months or I'll create issues for him.

I got into trouble for giving him wholemeal pasta as it's supposedly 'conditioning him for allergies' =/

SmlSave

Why on earth wouldn't you want a child to drink out of a normal cup??? Or am I reading the HV advice wrong?

The advice about whole wheat pasta is absolutely rubbish imo.

Your HV would hate me...I just know it.

SmlSave

Plus I have opposite children to you dk5294, mine eat loads for breakfast and very little for dinner.

snozberry

dk5294 wrote: »

I have the munchkin cup, he doesn't like it =( I've got 6 sippy cups and the only one he likes now has rice in it and is a rattle, haha! He'll drink from a cup like we do, but my health visitor said I shouldn't be encouraging that and I shouldn't give him formula after 12 months or I'll create issues for him.

I got into trouble for giving him wholemeal pasta as it's supposedly 'conditioning him for allergies' =/

Your hv and I wouldn't get on at all. Ignore her and follow your heart and advice from others who have been in the same boat.

If he drinks from a cup then let him - stuff what your hv says! I can't understand why she said that about wholewheat pasta. It sounds very strange to me. Has she got children herself?

SmlSave

I've just remembered the cup for babies/toddlers is a doidy cup, could not think of it before, that we used

Here's the nhs' view on whole wheat food:

I've heard that high-fibre foods aren't suitable for toddlers. Why?

Fibre is an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. But foods that contain a lot of fibre (such as wholemeal bread and pasta, brown rice and wholegrain breakfast cereals) can fill up small tummies, leaving little room for other foods. This means your toddler can feel full before they've taken in the calories they need.
It's good for your toddler to try different kinds of starchy foods, but don't give only wholegrain foods before your child is five years old.

So nothing about allergies