Awesome eater has suddenly stopped eating

[Biscuits & Gravy]

My almost 16mo DS has been that kid who will eat anything since he started solids at around 9 months. He has eaten tons of things that my older DS never tried until much later. That has all come to a sudden halt. Right now I'm blaming teething. (Isn't that the answer to everything? ) His final molar finally came through a few days ago, but he is currently still turning his nose up at almost all food. Even his favorites! He normally devours fruit, but this morning the only thing he ate was one strawberry and 3 bites of banana. Last night we had salmon, brown rice and broccoli, all things he has eaten before. He would not touch any of it. I did what I've always done for my older DS and offered something I didn't have to cook, a hot dog, and he ate about a 1/4 of it. After dinner he wanted dried apples and had a couple of those. That was it.

Did your toddler go through a period of not eating like this? I would say that his meals all day long might equal the amount that he used to eat at one meal. I'm not necessarily worried, just hoping for BTDT stories that reassure me that this is a stage that won't last.

Thank goodness for nursing.

[daniturtle]

Yes. Totally. I had the same baby-- ate everything under the sun. Loved even crazy stuff like kale and lobster ... Right around 16 months or maybe a little earlier she suddenly got very picky. Some days she refuses to eat what I know are her absolute favorites- blueberries even! When she used to eat them by the bucketful!

It's a phase. Apparently totally normal. Try not to worry too much. I find if at any particular mealtime I get anxious and say stuff to her like, "You LOVE these lentils! You used to eat them all the time! Really- have a bite!" she just gets more annoyed and fights me. Then along comes Daddy and she'll totally eat with him. I think it's because he's relaxed about the whole thing and if she doesn't eat he doesn't get all stressed out.

She has gotten better lately although she still eats fewer things than she did as a baby. C'est la vie! And it's also worth noting that toddlers - in general - often need to eat less than they did as littler babies. Some days they'll eat more, some days less. They won't starve! (and yes, thank good for breastmilk!!!)

[spmamma]

My daughter did this at 12 months – right when her molars started coming in. She didn't start eating a bigger variety again until she was just over 2.

Keep in mind, too, that as your toddler gets older he won't eat the same quantity of food as he did when he was a little guy. Toddlers are notorious for eating like a bird one day, then downing a big pile of food the next.

He'll be okay. He'll eat when he's hungry – just keep offering healthy options.

[Birdie B.]

I am going through that too, with my 17 month old. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!
As far as teething, I can't tell if she's getting more teeth, but I suspect molars because she is sleeping terribly lately.

[JessieBird]

We just went through 6 weeks of on-again-off-again eating. I blamed teething too. DS was downright miserable in every way. He still slept okay though so I stopped stressing about him going to bed with an empty stomach.

We're back to happy toddler eating massive quantities of everything for the past week but we still have 9 teeth to go so I'm sure there's more cranky fussiness to come.

[ps4624]

My 14 mo old DD is going through this right now. She usually eats everything but for the past week, most of her food has been thrown over the side of the high chair. I'm lucky because she's interested in learning how to drink out of a cup, so I'm giving her bone broth.

I would be a lot more worried if she wasn't still nursing like a fiend!

[mbm]

I hear you. My daughter ate everything as a baby but has been refusing her former favorites for a few months. Since she's growing, and doesn't ever wake up hungry, I have to believe she is eating the right amount. But that doesn't mean l still don't stress out about it.

Once in a while she will slam down a Michael Phelps style power breakfast -- like, two eggs, oatmeal, toast, milk AND fruit -- and then just pick and graze for the next day and a half or so. It's really weird.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

These are the answers I expected! Thanks for the reassurance.

[baglady]

We're going through this with 15 month old DS right now. Once he started eating solids, he ate anything and everything. Sometimes he would make a gross face and keep on eating.

All of a sudden he's a different kid food-wise. Tonight he actually gagged and cried when I tried to feed him homemade mashed potatoes. Seriously, What kid doesn't love mashed potatoes?!?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by baglady

We're going through this with 15 month old DS right now. Once he started eating solids, he ate anything and everything. Sometimes he would make a gross face and keep on eating.

All of a sudden he's a different kid food-wise. Tonight he actually gagged and cried when I tried to feed him homemade mashed potatoes. Seriously, What kid doesn't love mashed potatoes?!?

My older DS does not like mashed potatoes!! It is bizarre. He is not a big potato fan, unless they are roasted. Then he'll eat the browned, crispy part and the skin. He won't eat the fluffy insides. Oh, and he'll eat fries of course.

[Curlyfry7]

My DS won't eat mashed potatoes-no way, no how. He has texture issues so I would never even THINK that he would touch them though.

B&G, maybe K and T switched places- she has been packing it away lately! And still nursing a ton (esp at night of course! ) She will have some days where she won't eat much, but most days she is chowing down. And still not really getting much bigger, LOL. She eats more than C...of course he exists on air and pissiness.

[baglady]

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

My older DS does not like mashed potatoes!! It is bizarre. He is not a big potato fan, unless they are roasted. Then he'll eat the browned, crispy part and the skin. He won't eat the fluffy insides. Oh, and he'll eat fries of course.

This reminded me that my sister wouldn't (and still won't) eat corn. She was the oddball kid there for sure!

Back to the original topic, I asked the nurse in the peds office about this today when we were there for a visit. She said it's a totally normal part of toddler development that almost every kid goes through. So, totally normal, if not slightly annoying.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by Curlyfry7

My DS won't eat mashed potatoes-no way, no how. He has texture issues so I would never even THINK that he would touch them though.

B&G, maybe K and T switched places- she has been packing it away lately! And still nursing a ton (esp at night of course! ) She will have some days where she won't eat much, but most days she is chowing down. And still not really getting much bigger, LOL. She eats more than C...of course he exists on air and pissiness.

I seriously just snorted. Remember how you were telling T to watch K walk and copy him? Maybe I'll do the same tomorrow at lunch. He took one look at dinner tonight (pasta! red sauce! sausage! all things he normally loves.) and started smearing his hands all over the tray and tossing things overboard. He did not eat one bite. I'll just keep telling myself that he will be okay...