Help My 13Month Old Will Not Eat!

I will tell you the same thing my dr told me when I had the same problem with my son, Stop the bottles !!! Trust me dont do the same thing I did with my daughter stop them now while she is young, My dr also told me that he would eat when he is hungry as long as she is developing normally I wouldnt worry.

My daughter is 18 months old and still very picky. I know it is very stressful but their caloric need is not as much now as it used to be. The growth has slowed down so she doesn't need as much food. One thing you may want to be aware of is her liquid intake. She should be having between 16 - 24 oz of milk/formula and only a little juice diluted in water during meal times. If she fills up on too much liquid calories she will not be hungry for the solid foods.

Also, kids will not starve themselves. They eat when they are hungry. It is important not to turn the highchair into a warzone. Give her 5- 6 small meals daily roughly around the same time. If she eats great, if not she will eat at the next one. Most kids just over a year old get maybe 2 good meals through the day so pack all the nutrients you can at each meal. Yogurt smmothies are awesome becuase you can hide so many good things in them. Remember it is your decision when they eat and what foods are placed in front of them. It is their decision on how much to eat.

I used to drive myself crazy and to tears every day worrying over this. I am calmer now and try not to stress so much as this is completely normal behavior. Your little one is also expressing her independence.

You are right about the finger foods. She probably rather feed herself at this point. When she throws her food on the floor it is usually a good hint that she is done. What I have tried that works some of the time is place a plate near where she plays with cheese, apple, a half bagel or green beans or any type of healty finger foods that she can snack on at will. I know this is anti what many books say but as a good friend of mine once told me 'There is what the books say, then there is what works".

Good Luck!

I am no expert but as a mom of a 18 month old whom I consider a picky eater, I can relate. I notice he goes through phases. Sometimes he wants the majority of food to be what he feeds himself. Then for a few months, he only wants spoon feeding. Now he almost refuses spoon feed foods (only applesauce with Beechnut babycereal mixed in. It has lots of vitamins and added calcium). But he will only take it while sitting on the floor. Now, he won't feedhimself unless its chips. I sit with him and feed him. Once again, a phase. Don't get too upset and give her what she wants while trying to introduce new food to her. I would cut back on the bottles though to 2-3 a day because it is probably filling her up and she is not going to be open to eating regular food if she is full of milk. I also found that if I say the food that I give him he is more likely to eat it. That is, don't try to trick her and give her a new food while saying the name of a food she likes. She wont trust you. Also, let he watch you enjoying food. She may want to try what you are eating. She is still young at 13 months so just take it slow and respect her wishes while encouraging new experiences.

I had this problem when my daughter was about that age. Later, I found out she was teething. She ate cold food such as yogurt, grapes, bananas and I let her eat her dinner at room temperature such as pasta and sauce. She ate anything that did not require a lot of chewing. I hope this helps.

Hi M. ... I've been through this too. I think everyone with kids has, actually lol
Best advice ... wait it out. Keep offering up the meals, keep offering the spoon/fork, and add some variety and spice. In the beginning, I kept everything bland, but once I started offering my son what we were eating, chock full of spices, he started gobbling. But, keep in mind, these bouts of pickiness come and go, so just be patient. My Father gave me the best answer yet, when I said, "Dad, Mike just won't eat anything!" He said, "Honey, trust me, he WON'T starve himself--Believe me, when he's hungry, he'll eat!" Truth is, he was right. When your daughter goes through another growth spurt--shortly--she'll probably eat everything in sight! Until then, give her any vitamin supplements your pediatrician recommends, and just hang in there ... She definitely WON'T starve herself lol
I also agree with another Mom who suggested cutting back on fluids. I made the same mistake early on, and still sometimes do, because it seems like that's all he'll "eat." But, truthfully, she may just be filling up on the liquids. So, try cutting back on that (especially before dinner), and see if that helps.
Incidentally, my son is going through a picky eating thing yeat again. For example, one week, he can't get enough apples ("bapples" he calls 'em) and pears, and now I have a bowl of them rotting on my counter LOL He spits it all out like it's poison. Sheesh!
Good luck, sweetie!

Hi M.

I would try to cut down on the liquids. Hasn't your doc recommended switching to regular milk or organic milk? Most children wean off of formula on a year old. Also, becoming picky and loosing their appetite is normal. Just like sleep, children go though different stages and growth spurts. When she is hungry she will eat. Try not to give bottles instead or near meal times. One mistake I made was to keep fixing different things for them because I was so concerned they would be hungry. Big mistake I became a short order cook LOL. She is old enough to eat whatever you are eating just cut up into smaller pieces. Try for breakfast, french toast, pancakes, cinnamon toast, lunch ideas chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, pastina with a little butter or cut up veggies mixed in, and whatever you have for dinner, leftovers for lunch is also great. Not wanting you to feed her is normal. Give her the spoon and let her feed herself, it's messy but she is trying to be independent so let her. Finger foods are usually what they want. Don't worry when she is hungry she will eat. My kids are much older and when they were babies the doctor made us get rid of the bottle at a year. I would try to start reducing her bottles to maybe one in the morning and one at night before bed. This may help increase her diet. Good luck she will be fine.

My daughter did the same thing at the same time. She is fourteen months now. I read that its normal for them to slow down drastically, the amount they eat the first year, because their growth slows down. If they kept up that way theyd blow up like a balloon! It could also be a result of teething. My daughter wont eat or sleep for a few days while cutting a tooth. She wont starve..they eat when they're hungry,so dont stress it. Try some different fruits she's not had before. String cheese is a big hit at out house too. Good luck!

Once babies reach one year old, they should be switched to whole cow's milk - no more than 16 oz/day. Four 8 oz bottles of formula is way too much formula. Is there a reason why she is on Next Step Formula? The Toddler formulas are a gimmick of the formula companies to continue to make money off of you. You will save money by switching to cow's milk & cutting back on the quantity to 16 oz/day. Supplement the 16 oz of milk with water for drinks. Her appetite will surely increase. Try to cut out the snacks if she does snack. Only feed her 3 meals a day and see if that works. Speak to your pediatrician to see if they have any suggestions. Good luck!

Hi M.,
Is she drinking full 8 ounce bottles? Maybe she is not eating because she is full. At a year old, milk becomes a beverage served with meals and maybe a little milk before bed, but they don't require milk feedings any longer. I'm also wondering about the formula. Babies over a year old don't need formula, their nutritional needs are supposed to be met by their food, and formulas don't have what they need. It is a marketing ploy by the formula companies to make you think your child gets better nutrition from formula. I would cut out the bottle feedings and serve meals and healthy snacks with milk in a cup. Good luck!

I second, and third, and fourth, the advice from all the other mothers. 1) Stop using formula and switch to milk (this will save you money too). 2) Cut back on the fluids. 3) Don't worry about it.

Numbers 2 and 3 are hard. My daughter is 3 and still doesn't eat much. I'm often shocked at how little she gets by with, but after weeks of eating 3 bites of each meal (and TONS of food that goes into the garbarge), she'll go through a growth spurt and eat everything put in front of her. So it's really nothing to worry about. This is what I keep telling myself!!

As for the fluids, it's hard to do, because you're always worried that they're going to get dehydrated, but you have to cut it down. Again, my daughter's 3 (and has been off the bottle since 12 months) and she would STILL prefer to drink her food rather than chew and eat it. So we give only very, very small amounts of milk or juice with her meals. Sometimes I withold it altogether until I'm satisfied that she's eaten enough. Thus she gets her milk or juice almost as a dessert.

So, hang in there.

Probably just a phase or teething. Make sure she's taking a vitamin to supplement!

Hey There,
At around 1 year, some kids start to go into a growth lull, and their appetites go down. It sounds like she is just filling up on 4 bottles per day of formula! My kids were completely off the bottle and onto the sippy cup entirely by 13 months. At one year, children can start on whole milk, (or continue with next step formula) but only need 16 onces per day (especially if they are eating yogurt and cheese). When she decrease how much forula she is getting, her appetite will increase and it will be easier to get her to eat. Start decreasing the bottles now or she will become too attached and it will be harder to get her off them and get her to eat real food. It might be easiest to take away the daytime bottles first, and introduce a sippy cup with mealtime. Good Luck!

Welcome to the world of toddlerhood. Just when you think
you know them, they change. Sounds like she is eing
13 months. They do become picky then. She might not
be very hungry since she is getting four bottles of
formula. Does she have a bottle before or after breakfast? If she does, change that. Breakfast and then
something to drink. She is 19 lbs. at 13 months. That
is a good weight for her age. Just keep offering different foods. Good luck.