Please help. My 1 year old is sick of baby food but refusing table food. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. I've tried many things to get her to eat - scrambled eggs, bread, banana, oatmeal, noodles, cheerios.
Hummus did the trick for my son at around the same age! I had tried EVERYTHING!!! He's three and still loves it. The regular kind and the roasted red pepper kind. Not spread on anything, just straight with a spoon. It's healthy, too!
Keep trying. Kids have extremely developed taste buds and lots more of them than adults. It takes at least 12 tries with a new food for kids to decide if they really like it. She may be sensitive to textures, and she may vary between wanting to feed herself and wanting to be fed. Give a variety of things but just a few of them. Have you moved up into the toddler baby foods? How about cooked carrots & peas - you can defrost just a small handful of frozen veggies. Avocado, yogurt, small bits of cheese, grapes (quarter them), pancakes, french toast, sweet potato?
Keep trying.....sometimes kids take a little longer to make the switch. Pay attention to the foods she will eat. Are they the same texture? She might like only certain textures, and it is worth discussing with your dr at your next visit. Try to take the baby food items she like and make them the same. My son loves to eat cottage cheese, but when he was little would not eat it unless I blended it in a food processor. Try to think out of your box, things that you like or she is use to eating. Hummus, avocados, sweet potatoes pancakes, and yogurt(smooth and creamy). If she is in a high chair, just put several things on her tray and let her choose. If she doesn't eat it so what and if she does great. Food is one thing every kid wants to control and drive their parents crazy with. So just relax and let her take her time and before you know it she will be eating table food. Good luck!
P.S. there is nothing with still giving her some baby food. It is still as healthy as it was when she was six months old.
How about applesauce, yogurt, diced peaches, cheese, cut spaghetti or alphabet ones with sauce, muffin. You can also try to give your 1 year old a spoon or fork, sometimes they want to do it themselves. I used to let our kids have one and I also had one. It's messy but they start to be independent around that age. Later you can try fish sticks. Sometimes you just need to give it a little time. But mine liked applesauce, yogurt and diced peaches but everyone has different tastes. Hope that helps.
I had a lot of trouble with my son self-feeding too. Try giving her one thing at a time... maybe all the cut up pieces on the tray are a little overwhealming. Also take away or pare back the after-nap bottle (if you currently give her one) so she's really hungry when you try. It seems a little mean, but my pediatrician said that sometimes actual hunger can be a real motivator!
Try saying "One for Mama, One for Baby." My son enjoyed participating in what his parents were doing. Sometimes, I'd ask his Dad to make a "big production" out of eating something -- with the "Yum, Yum" and the "Delicious."
Does she just refuse it or gag on it when it's given to her. I know that people say not to worry but there is a window when kids should begin eating table food and it is possible that she could have an issue with textures or something similar. Talk to your pediatrician about getting a feeding evaluation done. They should be able to refer you to a local hospital or clinic. I am an early intervention therapist so feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Just keep offering her what you're eating and she'll start eating it eventually. She won't starve herself, I promise :) Is she still on formula/bottles? If she is, that may be curbing her appetite and then at meal times she doesn't HAVE to eat because a bottle is just around the corner. At a year (unless there are allergy issues) she can start drinking milk and water from a cup.
Try turning a cartoon on or songs for your baby, while they are watching you can almost always sneak in a spoon with food in their mouth. That's what works for me.
I had that problem when my girls were a little over one. They loved noodles with red sauce. They also liked when I would put jelly on pieces of toast. Both are super messy, but they had so much fun eating. They also started to like chicken at that time and although many moms will cringe, they ate all beef hot dogs (cut up in cubes with the skin removed). I tried everything because my girls were horrible eaters once they stopped eating baby food. Oh and pieces of apple and raisins were always a big hit.
