16 months old baby not at all eating:(

Vidhya, when you feed him by putting him on legs, does he usually vomit it out or does it stay in?
When I introduced solids to my daughter, I tried o distract her while eating with toys/ rhymes/ outside and when nothing worked, I switched on TV. See if you can make him sit on a high chair and feed him. When he spits out and aughs, dont react. Keep a serious face and tell him that food goes in the tummy. They understand more tha we give them credit for. Does he choke when you feed him this way?

 

Vidhya, sometimes parents need to be hard hearted for the betterment of their kids.

I would advice the following:-

1. I'm sure you must have figured out by now of the foods or tastes that your son likes. (Which he takes into mouth and swallows without you needing to force feed) - try to feed him his fave food flavours.
E.g if he likes banana, give him a small bite sized piece to eat or make banana milkshake.

2. Always place him on high chair and feed. Don't feed him in lying down position as he may choke!
Initially it'll be hard. He may cry and shout and avoid taking food in high chair but let him be like that for few mins. Do it regularly and let him know that it's time to eat when he's placed in high chair.
THIS STEP WILL TEST YOUR PATIENCE AND TIME.

3. When he spits out the food, be serious and tell him he HAS TO eat. Be firm.

Happy feeding!

 

Vidya, first off am a mother of twin 2 year olds - one eats well and the other doesn't. While its frustrating as hell, its nothing to get worked up about. There are a few important indicators of poor eatoing -
1. Is your son not gaining weight adequately? Most pediatricians follow the IAPs growth charts that are available free online. Check it to know or son's condition.
2. Is he not doing things other 16 months old babies do? For example, does he imitate the words u say, speak at least 10 bisyllabic words, rum on planesurfaces , etc. If he does all these, he is developing just fine mentally.
3. Does he communicate with you? Like, respond to being called and try talking to u.
If he has no above said problems, just relax.
There is a Lt of time to change his food habits. If he doesn't like milk, make sure he gets the requisite energy from other healthy food stuff. Try curd rich diet or milk containing food like porridge.
There is nothing wrong in him taking only mushy food. Try changing the texture very gradually. Give him finger food and don't mind the waste. Give him baby rusk or biscuits.
Try increasing the interval between feeds and make him expend energy by running around more.
Add protein supplements to the milk and try changing the formula. He may like that more.
Lastly I will tell u wat my mother told me " your son isn't likely to drink no milk or eat mushy food till his college days. So just chill and learn to enjoy his childishness till it lasts. "

 

Hey Vidya,

My toddler went without food for almost 3 weeks at a stretch. All I did was gave me 2 milk bottles a day. I guess when they have there deadly molars coming out they don't want to chew anything. Here's what worked for me :
1. Gerber Fruit puree/sauce because the sweet flavor might work with the little ones.
2. Parle G Biscuit dipped in milk once in a while.
3. Kix cereal you can get it in Walmart.
4. Flavoured yogurt .
5. I got a syringe from Petco to feed him water/milk. Me and H both had to continuously clap whenever we fed him through the syringe. This really motivated him and kept him away from getting dehydrated.This might sound silly but syringe was a savior in my case.
Good luck and don't worry this is a phase it will pass by soon. For sometime don't offer him regular food (Dal/rice/roti) .
Hope this helps.