Almost 2 Year Old Feeding Problems

Being that he needs to gain weight, is picky and has allergies, I would bring it to his pediatrician's attention that you would like to be referred to a nutritionist who will help you with a food/meal plan for him.

I agree w/ GrammaRocks- take him to a nutritionist. They are good at coming up with calorie-dense suggestions, taking his allergies into account.
Does he like tomato sauce? My husband makes his own with carrots, celery, and onion- then uses an immersion blender to hide them. Barrilla makes tiny little pasta shapes he might like.
Good luck :)

Hi D. ~ I definitely know what you’re going through…it is a challenge..lots of reading & researching. I wouldn't give him toddler formula close to dinnertime because then he's not hungry. What is a typical day for him (breakfast, lunch & dinner & snacks)? What else does he usually have to drink besides his formula? I make my kiddos ice cream smoothies I freeze bananas so when making smoothies I don't have to use ice so their smoothies are pure fat w/soy ice cream & soy milk SoDelicious soy ice cream Remember to always carry benadryl & his epi pen...here's a list for you
Bread – Bimbo (Meijer, Kroger, VGs & Walmart) ~ make my own bread crumbs
Nabisco Barnum's Animals Crackers
Mini Teddy Grahams
Nabisco Grahams Crackers
Wheat Thins
Margarine (Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine) they are 2 different ones make sure it's the one w/the yellow & green box) (Meijer)
Aunt Millie's plan bagels or Thomas
Chef Boyardee Rice w/Chicken & Vegetables (micowave bowl) (Walmart)
Zen Soy Chocolate Puddling (Kroger, Whole Foods or Health food store)...
Silk Soy Yogurt
Tofutti Cream Cheese
Tofutti Cheese Slices
Tofutti Sour Cream
Daiya Cheese is really close to the "real cheese"
Cherrybrook Kitchen sold at Kroger, Whole Foods or www.cherrybrookkitchen.com) for you baked goods such as pancakes, brownies, cakes, cookies all free of dairy & eggs also Gluten free
Tyson Chicken nuggets
Ore Ida fries
McCain's fries or smilie face potatoes
Tofutti Cuties Ice cream sandwiches (Whole Foods or Kroger) (tofutti.com)
Ian's French toast sticks (VG's or Whole Foods)
Ian's Fish Sticks (VG's or Whole Foods)
Van's Gourmet Waffles (Original or Blueberry) (Whole Foods, Meijer, Kroger or VG's)
Jello
Sloppy Joes
Applesauce
Motts apple juice
aunt millie's hotdog & hamburger buns
Costco hotdog & hamburger buns
Turkey burgers (Costco or Jennie O - there are 2 different
ones it's the one w/the green writing)
hebrew national hotdogs
pillsbury original cresecent rolls
Pillsbury classic pizza crust
Ragu Original/Homestyle Pizza Sauce
Turkey bacon
of course fruits & veggies my daugher loves the mini/snack size carrots (smaller than the bag carrots)
as far as eating out...we have yet to order anything at a restaurant for her to eat; as I'm not comfortable doing so since I'm not in the kitchen & I worry about cross contamination; this is where the chef boyardee chicken & rice bowl comes in handy (can be found at Walmart); I've also made fries & chicken nuggets ahead of time. Sorry I know this is a long post; so feel free to message me. Hope this helps.
Kraft Shake n' Bake Original Extra Crispy this is great for making your own chicken nuggets as well as breading for chicken & pork chops,
Ritz Crackers ~ I also use these for breading
Ragu spaghetti sauce (Sauteed Onion & Garlic or Chopped Tomato, Olive Oil & Garlic) Gerber Graduates Juice Treats (Fruit Medley) these are like gummis,
Gerber Graduates Fruit Strips,
Cereal –
Rice Krispies ~ I also use these for pork chops & chicken instead of shake n’ bake
Kellogg's Honey Smacks
Lucky Charms
Froot Loops
Cap N Crunch
Kellogg's Strawberry
Frosted pop tarts,
Nabisco Chicken in a Biskit Original Crackers
musselman's apple sauce in the little snack cups &
del monte fruit cups
Kraft Italian dressing (just the regular dressing - i know there's house & some others)
Kraft original BBQ sauce.
Meijer Naturals Pancake mix, brownie, cookie mix
Hungry Jack Original Syrup
Maple Syrup
Meijer Gold pasta in black packaging is safe all the other pasta brands are processed in facilites w/eggs
My lil guy is not a meat eater but loves pasta & being able to dip his nuggets & fries into bbq sauce & apple sauce
I buy Meijer Organics soymilk or kroger Simple Truth Organic Soy. You can also find little juice box size (3 to a pack) of the silk soy vanilla & chocolate both can be found in their speciality isle at Kroger or Walmart (non refigerated) these are great for when you out & about because they don't have to be refigerated (i wouldn't leave them in a hot car or anything - avoid extreme temp changes) also be very careful of "soy cheese" tofutti brand has one that I know is safe but others have milk protein also be careful of medications that may contain "dairy" lactose...if you need a multi vitamin the gummies vitamins by nature smart is safe I found the chewables contain milk. Let me know if you have any questions ;0) If you want to give me your email I can send you a couple of recipes (simple everyday stuff on hand)
Also I know that if you have pans w/the coating & if they are scratched (even after being washed) a little bit of food (sauces, juices etc.) can be in the scratches causing cross containmination. I purchased a couple extra pans just for the purpose of cooking "safe" foods for her. Again, sorry for the extremely loooong post.

Always, Always double check ingredients even if it’s something you’ve bought a thousand times. Let me know if you have any questions, I would be more than happy to help! M.

I also thought this might be helpful if you don't already have this...

MILK ALLERGY

the following items listed as an ingredient in a food, it will not be milk-free:
Butters: artificial butter, artificial butter flavor, butter, butter extract, butter fat, butter flavored oil, butter solids, dairy butter, natural butter, natural butter flavor, whipped butter

Casein & caseinates: ammonium caseinate, calcium caseinate, magnesium caseinate, potassium caseinate, sodium caseinate, hydrolyzed casein, iron caseinate, zinc caseinate

Cheese: cheese (all types), cheese flavor (artificial and natural), cheese food, cottage cheese, cream cheese, imitation cheese, vegetarian cheeses with casein

Cream, whipped cream
Curds
Custard
Dairy product solids
Galactose
Ghee
Half & Half

Hydrolysates: casein hydrolysate, milk protein hydrolysate, protein hydrolysate, whey hydrolysate, whey protein hydrolysate

Ice cream, ice milk, sherbet
Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate
Lactate solids
Lactyc yeast
Lactitol monohydrate
Lactoglobulin
Lactose
Lactulose

Milk: Acidophilus milk, buttermilk, buttermilk blend, buttermilk solids, cultured milk, condensed milk, dried milk, dry milk solids (DMS), evaporated milk, fat-free milk, fully cream milk powder, goat’s milk, low-fat milk, malted milk, milk derivative, milk powder, milk protein, milk solids, milk solid pastes, non-fat dry milk, non-fat milk, non-fat milk solids, pasteurized milk, powdered milk, sheep’s milk, skim milk, skim milk powder, sour milk, sour milk solids, sweet cream buttermilk powder, sweetened condensed milk, sweetened condensed skim milk, whole milk, 1% milk, 2% milk.

Milk fat, anhydrous milk fat

Nisin preparation
Nougat
Pudding
Quark
Recaldent
Renned, rennet casein
Simplesse (fat replacer)
Sour cream, sour cream solids, imitation sour cream

Whey: Acid whey, cured whey, delactosed whey, demineralized whey, hydrolyzed whey, powdered whey, reduced mineral whey, sweet dairy whey, whey, whey protein, whey protein concentrate, whey powder, whey solids

Yogurt (regular or frozen), yogurt powder
Possible sources of milk:

Natural flavoring
Flavoring
Caramel flavoring
High protein flour
Lactic acid (usually not a problem)
Lactic acid starter culture
"Non-dairy" products may contain casein.
Rice cheese
Soy cheese
Also avoid products that have an advisory label that indicates that the product MAY contain milk or that is processed on shared equipment.

EGG ALLERGY
What does an egg allergy mean?

Egg allergy is usually mild, but in rare cases can trigger anaphylaxis.

If you see any of the following items listed as an ingredient in a food label indicate the presence of egg protein, it will not be egg-free:

Albumin
Apovitellin
Cholesterol free egg substitute (e.g. Eggbeaters)
Dried egg solids, dried egg
Egg, egg white, egg yolk
Egg wash
Eggnog
Fat substitutes
Globulin
Livetin
Lysozyme
Mayonnaise
Meringue, meringue powder
Ovalbumin
Ovoglobulin
Ovomucin
Ovomucoid
Ovotransferrin
Ovovitelia
Ovovitellin
Powdered eggs
Silici albuminate
Simplesse
Trailblazer
Vitellin
Whole egg

May contain egg:

Artificial flavoring
Lecithin
Natural flavoring
Nougat

Also avoid products that have an advisory label that indicates that the product MAY contain egg or that is processed on shared equipment.

Make an appointment with the nutritionist.
While you wait for that appointment, write down exactly what he eats every day -- if you give him a cookie at 2pm on Monday, write it down. If you give him a carrot at 3pm on Tuesday, write it down. Every time you give him something to eat or drink, write it down. Take this list of what he has eaten when with you to the appointment. This way, when you get to the appointment, you have what they need and it will save time.
Bring a list of his allergies, too.
This will help them help you come up with a solution.
LBC

What is his percentile for height and weight? The "he'll eat when he's hungry" thing does not apply to all kids. Does he have any developmental issues or sensory ones? Some kids are just not as driven to eat as others. I think you need to see either a nutritionist or possibly a speech or occupational therapist if you think there might be other issues. It does not sound like he will "outgrow" it without a bit of help.

My son used to refuse most food when he was younger(until about 18 months) . Now at 22 months he eats everything we eat. Yes there are some foods he still doesn't accept but these are foods that I rarely give him. Everything else that I give him regularly , eats just fine.

What worked for M. was to keep offering variety of foods consistently. he would refuse and I would give something else that he eats. Extra work for M., but sometimes he would he very hungry or distracted and start eating the food he generally refuses. And once he started eating it , I would offer it again in the next couple days (before he forgets about that food) and he would eat it again. Try this with your son. Keep offering foods even if he refuses or eats very little. Once it gets familiar and they eat a few bites, they genarally eat more.

Also make sure your son is getting enough activity during the day so that he is hungry enough to eat at dinner.

Is your ped concerned about his weight? Or just you? I ask because it is so natural for us, as parents, to be concerned about weight. We just want the best for our little ones. But make sure it really is a concern of your ped as well. If he/she is not concerned about weight, they I highly recommend you try and let go of that concern. Kids need to grow according to their own natural growth curve.

Children know when they are hungry and when they are full. If your child is full, he will not want to eat. As adults, we don't always pay attention to what our body is saying. Often we will eat long after we are no longer hungry. Trust your son when he telss you he is not hungry.

At 2 years they are so crazy about food. They will be absolutely starving one day and eat 2 bites the next. On Friday my 3 year old ate some cereal and a granola bar. That was all he wanted before nap time. Well, that and milk. He loves milk. But that was all the food he ate. That evening we went to our church's fish fry (can you tell we're Catholic?) and he couldn't stop eating. I think he ate more than his dad did, and his dad can eat! My family just watched and laughed. We all know that toddlers are just like that. It's just so important to trust what their bodies are telling them.

We try to make sure that he has healthy options. He eats cereal, peanut butter, fruit, cheese, meat. Veggies are a bit of a challenge. He likes raw veggies. He likes to dip them in ranch dip. We can often get him to eat veggies if they have cheese sauce. We just keep trying other veggie options so that he gets exposed to them and will eventually try them and hopefully like them. But we balance it by giving him veggies the way we know he likes them so that he does actually eat them.

Try not to worry too much! If it's really a problem, I think seeing a nutritionist might really help you get some ideas to try and help you keep track of what he is getting throughout the week so that you can fillin the gaps.

Good luck! It is so normal at this age for them to eat this way. He's probably doing just fine.

I never had this problem, but a girlfriend of mine did. She frequently fed her child avocado and would slip butter into a lot of meals.

And what about peanut butter? That has protein and fat in it and my girls can't get enough of peanut butter and jelly. In the summer, I would try banana-based smoothies using soymilk. (My girls love a frozen banana blended with soymilk and a dash of cinnamon - yummy!)

Here's a list of meal ideas, some of which may give you inspiration:
http://mommycribnotes.com/2010/11/meal-ideas-for-toddlers/

Good luck!

Have you tried Elle's kitchen, Plum Organics, Happy baby food, or any of the other organic food pouch brands? Here's a link but you can buy them at Babies r Us as well:
http://www.ellaskitchen.com/
http://www.plumorganics.com/
http://www.happybabyfood.com/
Please be careful when buying pouch food because some brands, like Gerber are cheaper but are full of sugar, GMO's, dairy and they are non-organic (if you're in to the organic thing).
Good luck!

I don't know what his speaking ability is, but since he is under 3 years old, you can get a referral to Early Intervention and have his Oral Motor Functioning evaluated. My son received feeding therapy and I learned about food chaining and the steps to food acceptance. It was invaluable. I had seen a nutritionist, but that visit did not serve much function for me other than to confirm I was covering my son's needs. A nutritionist can help you make your shopping list, but you may need someone certified in feeding therapy to actually get your son to eat what he needs.

I have read (and learned from my children) that when they transition to solid foods, it coincides with a boost in mobility and activity. They are simply so busy learning the world around them, they don't want to stop to eat. I hope this is a brief phase and you have a happy, healthy eater soon.