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Monday, April 5, 2010

He won't eat them Veggies

I can not get Dallin to eat his vegetables, or even most meats for that matter.

Hence, he isn't getting the vitamins he needs nor the protein he needs.

All he wants to eat is crackers and vanilla wafers.

If anyone has some advice, please let me know it. I am all out of ideas myself and really really want him to eat healthy.

It all started when he got sick with pneumonia. He would eat almost anything, but once he got sick, he just wouldn't eat, so I started him on formula again. I know I had to, so he would at least get some nutrition when he was sick, but man, it has made life so hard now. Now that he is better, he is more pickier than ever and I just don't know how to help him stop.

Here are some questions:

Is it safe to let them go without a meal if they just won't eat anything healthy?
Do I just try again the next time? How long do I wait between trying to get him to eat a vegetable? How about meat?
Any advice on how to prepare the veggies so he will eat them?

Grandma Hansen, I am counting on you to help me with this? How did you get three boys to end up eating all the right foods?

This is the part of parenting that I highly underestimated the difficulty of it all.

He was so great eating before, and now he is like a completely different child when it comes to eating. I guess I am just wondering, if this is just how he will be, or will he grow out of this pickyness?????

Advice please.

4 comments:

Grandma Hansen said...

OK, let me see. He is probably cutting those molars still. That means his gums are painful. Pain probably affects his appetite. I steamed stuff like fresh peas, zucchini, and squash. Then I smooshed it up with a fork when very tender, and mixed it with some cereal and formula and water. I might have even sweetened it when they were picky with applesauce or baby pears. I didn't add veggies together. I just kept offering it before fruit and eventually they ate some. But not to worry, if they don't eat at one or two meals, they won't fall apart. Offer some watered down pear juice, or a cold chew ring. I gave them liquids when they wouldn't eat, so they avoided dehydration, but I'm sure I worried myself over their lack of appetite. I seem to remember lots of macaroni and cheese, and they loved those little vienna sausages. I thought the baby meats were gross. I think he can't explain himself. It makes sense that if his mouth hurts, he also could have an upset tummy. He can't tell you, so he won't eat. After a bm, he may feel better, but I think liquids of one sort or another will be ok until he wants to eat again. He will let you know. Zucchini was always a favorite because it had a mild flavor. I peeled it and steamed it and squashed it soft and mixed it with cereal and formula. They liked cold food when they were teething. Hope this helps

Mike & Emily West said...

Hi heather! I had the same issue with Andrew (still do sometimes) and your grandma has some fantastic advice! I ended up going to my doctor about it because I was so worried. She was nice and just reassured me that the only one really "suffering" was myself because babies will let you know when they are hungry and they will eat if they are hungry. Its frustrating because you think they are starving but its okay. What seemed to work the best for me though (as per instructions from my doctor and it seems like your grandma feels the same)is to make sure he gets liquids and keep offering him the healthy stuff before any of the "good" stuff. Eventually he will eat it but he may have a few days where it seems like the only things he eats is a pea. Anyway, Andrew has gotten a lot better these days so I think they do really grow out of this phase eventually. Hope you are well!!!! :-) And I'm glad we are blog friends!

Anonymous said...

Hey Heather! I had just read your post last night, and then came across this one. Thought you might like to read it =]

She's a prof at BYU for home and family, and this is her blog:
http://familyvolley.blogspot.com/2010/04/please-pass-veggies.html

Good luck!

Hansen said...

Does he eat babyfood still? Becca Black buys the walmart brand because they have carrot-apple, and other fruits with veggies mixed. And Sadie seems to like that quite a bit.