PROBLEM SOLVING - fussy eating

Fussy eating is a huge issue for many parents. Over the years I have heard so many stories about children that once ate everything then one day simply stopped and became fussy about what they would eat. I always thought this was strange as children usually have a reason for changes in their lives but as a parent I can see that this can seem to happen. 

Here's our story:

Our little guy got sick. He had to take antibiotics for an ear infection and between the illness and the medication he went off his food. I, like any parent, was concerned he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed especially at a time where he needed more vitamins and minerals to help his immune system. I began to give him alternatives and cook food that was easy to eat or that I knew he particularly liked. And gave him plenty of extra fresh juice which is his favorite.

The days passed and he recovered from his infection and life returned to normal. Well, all aspects of life except for food that is. He started to refuse meals and 'went off' many of the things he previously enjoyed. I began to get frustrated and thought I can't just cook the few meals that he would eat or give him fruit or yogurt when he refused to eat a meal. I decided to get tough! I cooked the food I would have the week before he got sick and refused any alternatives and avoided giving fruit and yogurt at meal times. He still had his two fruit snacks during the day (mid-morning and mid-afternoon) and I delayed his dinner by 30 minutes so he was a little hungrier to eat the meal. After a few minor tantrums and the pain of knowing he was a little hungry sometimes he returned to his hearty eating habits. 

It is not an easy thing to do for any parent as our instinct is to feed our child. I assure you it is worth it to avoid continued fussy eating which could lead to nutritional issues in the future. Our story shows that there is usually a reason for the fussy eating and you may have to back track several days or weeks to find the cause but there is a solution and your picky eater can become a food lover. 

Other tips to help you:

• Let your child help in food preparation - if they see how it's made they may be more inclined to try it!
• Give your child choices - offer two types of vegetable and allow them to choose one.
• Give fair portion sizes - don't overwhelm your child by giving huge pieces of broccoli!  Be content with them eating a very small piece then next time give them two small pieces!
• Try not to get in a fight over the food. Meal times should last around 30 minutes so drawing them out for hours will just make for an unhappy household.
• Avoid snacks and give healthy options rather than crisps, sweets or too much milk.
• If you're out be a little more flexible. There's nothing worse than getting into a big tantrum over a few vegetables left on the plate when you are supposed to be out celebrating something.
• Try to have a relaxed attitude to food.

A Balanced Diet - Food 6-10 months - recipes too!

At 6 months we increased food intake. 

Our little man already had two teeth by this time and was beginning to bite at milk time!!! 

We began giving him porridge with stewed apple for breakfast making it up with water as he refused to take anything mixed with his normal milk. Breakfast was a huge success. From 6-8 months we have gradually added milk so he now has half water and half cows milk with two large desert spoons of oats. As breakfast went down so well we moved on to increasing lunch. He was now able to start with some meat and grains so he was having small meals of mince and veg with rice or lentils or chicken, veg and pasta and loving it all. Gradually over the next two months we introduced egg and fish and began to give him the recipes we would eat minus spices, salt or two many flavours. After each meal he had a small portion of fruit (which I’m told helps to absorb iron).

At almost 7 months old he was having breakfast, lunch and tea and 5 milk feeds in 24 hours. He reduced his milk intake substantially and continued to increase his food portions weekly.

By 8 months he was down to just 3 milk feeds with food portions and variety increasing substantially. He adored food and we never needed to convince him to eat. He had days where he would eat more than others and we kept a relaxed attitude about this knowing that he would eat when he was hungry. We never offered him an alternative to the meal that we had prepared or topped him up with milk but we never let him go hungry. It has been easy to tell with him as he will eat almost anything but I imagine this has to be a delicate balance for those who are more particular about their food. We kept a strict routine on his milk so once we had reduced a feed it stayed that way slowly reducing it ounce by ounce until it was not part of his food intake anymore. This way we were able to monitor how he was eating and be sure he was getting a balanced and healthy diet as he continued to develop healthily.

Now at 10 months he is having a night feed and we have slowly weaned him off the morning milk so that he has some water when he wakes up then a cosy cuddle before going down for breakfast. The plan is to leave his night milk until he is older and able to eat a snack before getting ready for bed but we are aiming to wean him from the bottle by one year and give him cows milk in a sippy cup.

So far he’s doing fantastic and really enjoys sitting up at the table with us for meals. We’re proud to take him out with us for lunch as he eats very nicely and enjoys socialising in restaurants.

Below are a few of the recipes we have tried with our little guy. Please leave us one of your best bites so we can give it a go too!

Chicken, veg and rice mash

Dice a small piece of chicken breast and lightly fry it with some onion and parsley, add some water and bring to the boil, add a tablespoon of rice and some vegetables (we use broccoli, carrots, spinach and sweet potatoes). Leave to simmer until the ingredients are soft then drain off any excess water, mash and serve – this dish is great to make in bulk and freeze and you can substitute rice for other grains

Spanishy omelette with broccoli and carrot

Peel and chop several potatoes then boil until soft. Fry a small onion and add the potatoes to give flavour. Remove from the heat and place in an oven dish. In a separate bowl mix 4 eggs (more depending on the quantity you are making) with a little milk. Poor the egg mixture over the potatoes and oven bake on a low heat until the egg is cooked throughout. Cook some broccoli and carrots and mash then serve as a side dish.

Vegetable bake

Chop carrots, potatoes, spinach, broccoli, green pepper and cauliflower into small pieces and boil until soft. Put 4 large tomatoes into boiling water for 5 minutes until the skins are splitting, remove from the water and take off the skins and chop into small pieces or blend. Fry an onion with some parsley and garlic, add the tomatoes then the vegetables. Mix together and remove from the heat. Place in an oven dish and sprinkle with cheese then bake until the cheese is lightly melted. Mash and serve.

Food - fruit and recipes

So here are our thoughts on food.

The first big question is WHEN?

I believe that there is a window of interest for all things in a baby’s life and so when my boy started to seem interested in what we were eating or how we were eating I decided it was time to try food. That said it was a very slow and gentle process. Not once did I force food on him and if he didn’t seem to like something (no mum, cauliflower is not for me) I have put it to one side until he is older and able to try it in a different way.

As a family we feel that food is very important and not a toy. There is a lot of information out there saying it’s a good idea to let the child play with food to get an idea of textures and temperatures. We do not agree with this method and teach our boy to eat properly and not put his hands in the bowl of tip food on the floor. He always has a spoon and is fully encouraged to help himself. Yep, it’s messy but we feel it’s the best way for him to become an independent eater.

I was told by the doctor to mash his food and never liquidise it as this helps him to get used to different textures and consistencies. I have never followed this to the Tee. I prefer to do what I feel comfortable with. For example, I give him mango and was very concerned about how stringy it can be so I liquidised it AND put it through a sieve. It made me calm and he was able to eat it very well. Now he’s older I liquidise it but he is able to cope with small strands so the sieve has become redundant. My advice would be to do what feels comfortable and natural. Sometimes we are not ready to give it all mashed and I think its fine to go slowly. There’s no point mashing it and feeling uptight as you feed your child and this will only make them feel nervous and perhaps give a negative vibe to meal times.

So, how did we start?

When he was around 4 months old there seemed to be an interest from him around the food we were eating both the utensils and the food itself. I began letting him suck on pieces of fruit when I was having them so I would cut a finger of apple removing the skin and hold tight as he enjoyed a new flavour. As he got more and more interested in the fruit and when he was able to sit up I gave him a few spoons of liquidised apple. He loved it! From then on I gave him a couple of teaspoons of fruit once each day and then began introducing vegetables. Once I was confident he was using a more chewing like action I gave him the fruit mashed. I found he loved cooked and mashed pear and apple and was beginning to eat larger quantities as the weeks went on. By the time he was 6 months he was having small portions (a few teaspoons) of fruit and veg twice a day. He still had his full quota of milk and only began to reduce this himself much later after he was well established on solids.

Below are a few of the recipes I have tried. Please share your own recipes or things you have tried and your thoughts and experiences on starting food.

Fruit recipes:

Stewed apple and/or pear

slice the apple and/or pear, put it in a pan with water and boil until the fruit is soft. Drain excess water then mash or liquidise. I usually freeze the fruit in ice cube trays so that I have quick snacks handy. 

Mango sorbet

Liquidise a couple of mangos then depending on the age of your baby sieve it or leave it as it is, freeze it in ice cube trays. To serve, take it out of the freezer about 30minutes before eating so it is icy but not too frozen.

Banana mash

Exactly that! Mash a banana and serve! (I gave him banana after 7 months when I was sure he could cope with the thick texture).

Strawberry milk

Liquidise and strain a few strawberries and add to milk (either babies normal milk or if over 6months cows milk).