So confused! 22mo eating poorly this week.

[olien]

Help.
I dont know if this is a normal part of development or not.

DS has never been a great eater. He wont eat veggies unless I sneak them in (finely chopped in a soup/sauce, which is hit or miss). He eats tons of fruit, which is great. His Ped said that is fine for now & dont worry about it.

Last week he ate a good amount of food every day. This week he is hardly eating. Is this normal?? He is very skinny, so I get worried when he doesnt eat.

Here is my real Q: He loves only a few things. Pizza, cottage cheese & noodles(his fave dish), strawberries, grilled cheese, pancakes & grapes. 90% of the time he will eat these things. Should I repetedly make these things for him day after day???

I always try to give him a variety of things. Sometimes 3 diff choices & he often turns them all down. So I end up with a crabby, hungry guy who will then ask for a bottle of milk (thats another topic) bec he doesnt want anything I offer. I'm not starving him, but I dont always have pizza handy

Should I make him pizza or grilled cheese (for ex) every day for lunch & dinner just so he is eating a good amount?? There are days, like today, that he goes to bed with no dinner - just his bottle & a few blueberries. Its driving me crazy. Its becoming a battle.

Thoughts???

BTW: This week noticed a def change in his sleeping patterns. Maybe developmentally something is happening?

[wholebreath]

My son is also very slight and I know it can be really anxiety producing to think about them not eating. However, I don't think you should go down the path of catering to his limited food choices at every meal. It only seems to lead to frustration and power struggles. He may just be having a week where he's just no that hungry, it happens a lot with toddlers.
Take a deep breath and know that he will not starve. I make sure one meal a day is very appealing to my son, with at least two things he loves. The other meals I offer him other healthy choices, some of which he likes, some he's just ok with, some that I know he probably won't eat. I almost never make him a meal separate from my own. Sometimes he doesn't eat much dinner, but then the next day I choose breakfast as the meal where he can have a really appealing food for him.
Can you make homemade pizza with him and have him put fresh veggies on it? Can you put some ham in his grilled cheese for extra protein, peas in his cottage cheese and noodles to add some veggies ( he may not eat them, but it will give him the option)

Again, power struggles over food never turn out well. Keep offering different foods and try not to worry. So many people go through this.

[gagin37]

My ds is almost 22 months, and sounds a lot like yours, except he's always been at the top of the growth chart. But he goes through spells when he'll barely eat anything. I think it's pretty typical toddler behavior from what I have read. Here's what I do... I make ds something I know he'll eat for lunch (he's not a huge breakfast eater, he would rather nurse in the AM), then offer whatever dh and I are having for dinner . If it's something he likes, that's great, maybe he'll eat it. if not, well I know he'll nurse at some point before bed. I also have to sneak veggies past him. I always offer them though, whether he will eat them or not. I try to offer nutritious snacks throughout the day too: dried fruit or apple slices, cheese, whole grain crackers, hummus. Also, it's good to remember that their tummies are still very small, and easily filled by a few bites. I try to just ds a few bites of whatever I'm serving, and if he eats all that and wants more, I'll be happy to give him some. But sometimes if I put too much on his tray, it ends up going to waste.

[Katie T]

For my kids it has always been normal to have days/weeks where they eat great and days/weeks where they don't eat hardly anything. I don't change up the meal plan. When they are hungry they will eat I have found as long as I offer meals and snacks like I normally would.

[marispel]

My DS (22 mo) is also a picky eater. I do cater to his needs and fix him what I know he will eat. I would rather him eat than sit there and fuss that he doesn't want what we're eating. I do offer him what we're eating, but 99% of the time he pushes it off his plate.

He does eat well with the stuff he likes - so I continue to offer it and try to offer other foods. I do try...he just refuses. I know when he is a bit more mature we can discuss it, but it's just not a fight i'm willing to go through with him.

He did have a time a couple weeks ago and he started refusing his favorites. Turned out he had a really bad EI.

[curiouscanadian]

My DS is actually usually a good eater, but still has periods where he won't eat much. Honestly, in our house it's almost always a sign that something's "off" - be it getting sick or just teething. Although after this weekend I think we have to add "he's too hot to eat" to that list.

I make sure one meal a day is very appealing to my son, with at least two things he loves.

I'd also recommend this. I think it's too easy for a toddler to figure out that they can hold out for a better offer if you always cave. (Said by a woman who caved the other night when DS didn't want to eat grilled chicken salad for supper... )

[happysmileylady]

My dd is just 3 months younger than yours and might be 22lbs soaking wet and with a full diaper. Thankfully, she's not ever been a picky eater, she will usually eat just about anything.

However, she does have days and weeks where she eats very little and rejects some foods she normally likes. And then she has days and weeks where she's eating everything in site.

She rarely acts hungry and she is still mostly non verbal yet, so it's sometimes a guessing game as to when to feed her. I tend to feed her when I get hungry, unless she's obviously acting hungry. And even though she's like 3rd percentile or lower for weight, the doc isn't worried, said she's right on the curve she's been on since she was 2 months old. So, I just keep doing what I am doing.

[momshelper]

Not unusal for children eating habits to alter. Sometimes they are really hungry (possible growth spurt starting) and at other times not eating much at all. If your wee one is running about and has plenty of energy then I wouldn't worry. My daughter ate one teaspoon of pureed carrot a day and it took me half an hour to get that into her but she had bags of energy.

Have you tried involving him in preparing his own pizza? Sometimes the fact that he "made it himself" may encourage eating the finished product. If this method works with a favourite food you could try with a new meal like fish pie, shepherd pie, sandwiches, pasta etc. You could even try with a children cook book, one with lots of colourful pictures and tell him this is his receipe book and pick one to make together each week.

Wishing you luck