Help!! 1 year old with no interest in eating

[Fit_Mama2Be]

My little guy turns 1 on January 12th.

We have struggled with his weight from the beginning with him dropping a percentile and then climbing back up, etc.

We just had his one year appointment and he's lost a percentile in both height and weight and the doctor wants me to feed him more and up his carbs. The problem is he has little to no interest in eating OR drinking his formula.

He is extremely hyper and if he isn't sound asleep he is constantly moving. He'll eat a little food or drink a little formula, but he soon gets bored and starts squirming and getting irritable because he just wants to play.

When we spend time with other moms and babies the other babies will sit there and eat a whole container of food, whereas if I try to give my son food when there are toys and other people around he'll throw it to the floor and crawl away.

Any tips anyone? I just don't know how to make eating interesting for him.

 

[jessmke]

Does he feed himself? He might stay more interested in eating if he is allowed to handle the food himself and feed himself rather than just having to sit there while someone puts a spoon in his mouth.

 

[misspriss]

Has he been tested for iron deficiency? My son was preemie and had severe iron deficient anemia, he was given supplements and it cleared right up. Later I read back up on it and it said lack of interest in eating would be a symptom. And sure enough, DS had a poor appetite for food. Just a suggestion, as usually formula is iron fortified.

 

[Isme]

My oldest daughter was like this. Never once finished a jar of baby food. Wasn't much interested in finger foods. She was so tiny and all she ever did was breastfeed... but even then she wasn't the type to nurse a lot. She just didn't have that drive to eat like most other babies. I have no idea why. I ended up weaning her from breastfeeding shortly after her first birthday because everyone swore that was the problem... But nope. After that, she would just drink milk or juice out of a sippy and have the occasional bite of Mac & cheese or chicken, but that was it. I could not get her to eat, and without breastfeeding she was getting very little nutrients.

Then, one day when she was between 4-5 years old, she suddenly developed an appetite. She would actually ask for food and finish small meals. I have no idea what changed... But she's just fine now at 13. She's the most adventurous eater in the house, actually. LOL

I wish I had more advice for you. We did try pediasure to bridge the gaps, and she would drink them sometimes.

 

[Bevziibubble]

My first was like this. She was just naturally petite, very energetic and just more interested and distracted by everything around her than wanting to eat. Sometimes I found that she would be interested in what I was eating, so I would have a plate of something and she would come over and take things off it if she thought it belonged to me. Reverse psychology lol. She did eventually start to eat more though. She was so small for years but since turning 4 she has really caught up and is pretty much average size/middle size among her peers now, so I don't think the first few years of her being tiny and having a tiny appetite caused her any harm, although I do sympathise with how worrying it is at the time.

 

[xdxxtx]

My babies always eat whatever I'm having. Baby food is gross, especially the jarred stuff. You can chop up a really ripe peach and let him have at it. My babies have enjoyed cut up grapes (with no teeth and supervised!), adult oatmeal with cinnamon, little chunks of soft meat, spaghetti night has always been a big hit with my babies - I use elbows or cut cooked penne in half for my babies when they're just starting out. Oh, and toddle breakfast muffins! They're made with oatmeal, very ripe bananas, maybe raisins or other fruit chunks thrown in, and applesauce. Look up recipes for them though because there are a ton online!

You can introduce food, but keep it fun. If your little one likes to play with the food but doesn't taste it yet, just keep introducing it. It will eventually go in his mouth! And let him get as messy as he wants. I keep my sink disinfected before feeding babies meals and will give them a sink bath when they're done making a mess! I have four good eaters, so trust me on this. Just keep at it! I know you're concerned about his weight, so make sure when you feed bottles (or try sippy cups), it's someplace quiet. Some kids just don't wanna lay about when there's fun stuff to do! Two of my babies were that way, and we would have to go out to the car to take a bottle.

 

[Zephram]

At your son's age he should be eating what you're eating. Try giving him what you're having and lessening distractions at meal times.

 

[MindUtopia]

I would sit and eat with him (even if he's not sitting, though maybe if you get in the habit of sitting as a family for meals at the table, it might hold his interest). Feed him what you're eating and eat at the same time, even if it's just a small amount because you aren't hungry and plan to eat a meal a bit later. Keep snacks around all the time between meals while he's playing or if you're taking a walk somewhere and he's in the pushchair. And I would also focus on trying to up his fat rather than carbs. Carbs actually aren't terribly calorie dense, so if the goal is to help him put on and maintain weight, fat will be more efficient at that. My daughter was always small (though perfectly healthy) and didn't drink much formula at that age. I added butter or coconut oil or nut butters to everything: butter to all veg, rice, pasta, etc., butter or coconut oil in porridge, nut butters and coconut oil in smoothies, etc. We also switched to cow's milk at a year and that definitely increased the amount of milk she took in one sitting even though her milk amounts dropped as she got older and was eating more. She just liked milk better than formula and it's got a better ratio of fats to sugars for them anyway.

 

[noon_child]

I agree that family meal time might be a good idea, otherwise he thinks you are trying to feed him at play time! Try not to force him to stay eating once his interest is lost though as he'll associate meal time with feeling trapped. If he won't go in a high chair try sitting him on your knee where he can eat from Mummy's plate. The rest of the time, snacks that he can eat with one hand while he plays can fill in the gaps. Cheese is a great hand held and calorie dense snack.

 

[loeylo]

Gracie is a grazer so she likes to eat several small meals or "courses"

So for breakfast she will have a bowl of cheerios with chopped up strawberries. She feeds herself this - she doesn't eat tonnes, I usually put a handful of cereal in and then maybe 1-2 chopped strawberries.
Maybe an hour-1.5 hour later she has half a slice of toast, a few mushrooms and a boiled egg. She doesn't eat the entire egg.

Then a few hours later she has lunch - maybe something like tuna pasta with sweet corn, beans on toast, soup, proper adult meals. She feeds herself this too.

Then she might have an afternoon snack such as a piece of fruit (banana, tangerine x2, box of raisins, grapes, whatever we have. She even eats apple) - the only thing we cut for her is apple or we half her grapes, anything else we hand her the fruit and she eats it. Sometimes she also has a yoghurt or a jelly or a rich tea biscuit.

Then for dinner she usually has whatever we are having, unless it is really spicy (although she actually likes spicy food!) - so a meal might be cottage pie, macaroni cheese, baked potato, omelette, whatever really. Sometimes we help her feed herself at dinner as this seems to be her most distracted mealtime. By help, I mean load her fork for her.

We found it really helped taking her out of her highchair and giving her a small toddler table. She sometimes has a short play break in the middle of her meal. We always leave her meals out for at least 30m and then she normally does go back to it.

 

[ShiraRodrigue]

My son too have the same problem. Does any one have any more suggestion to overcome this problem.