Would My 3 yo (Horrible Eater) Benefit From The NT Homemade Baby Formula?

[AprilM]

Hi. 3 yo DS has always been VERY picky, which makes it very hard to follow a traditional diet, or any nutritional diet for that matter. I have tried and tried to get him to eat things like eggs, meats, cheeses, and other traditional foods, but he just won't. He only likes things like frozen waffles, store bought yogurt, cereals, pancakes with syrup, all things that are sugary and taste very good. Actually, he would live off popsicles if I let him!

I know I sound like a horrible mother right now, and you may be wondering why I even let my child eat that crap. But honestly, I don't lie when I say I have tried till I am blue in the face to get him to eat good, sometimes it works, but most of the time it just makes for a nightmare at meal time. This has been an ongoing struggle ever since we started solids. Maybe it was my fault for starting fruits first, but I can't go back now. The damage is done.

I came across this recipe for home made raw goat milk baby formula (we have access to raw goat milk here), and was wondering if it would be beneficial to whip some up and give him a glass or 2 a day. It would at least make me feel better knowing he is getting good nutrition in him on days that he just flat out refuses to eat what I want him to eat.

http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/319-recipes-for-homemade-baby-formula.html#vgmf

Any ideas why this could be a bad idea? He already loves drinking milk, and from what I have read, the formula tastes pretty good.

thanks!

[Bokonon]

What you're describing is not uncommon for that age.  I'd just keep offering healthy foods, whatever you're eating.  

This has nothing to do with giving fruits first.  Breastmilk is very sweet and doesn't mean that every breastfed baby will only eat sweet foods later on.

[cristeen]

Dont count on it tasting "good". Between the pureed liver and the CLO I thought it smelled nasty. It never even got near my mouth.

As for his pickiness, sounds like he has a sweet tooth. You could probably get plenty of advice on here on dealing w that. But I'll just say that if he knows those foods are an option, why would he eat the non-sweet stuff? If its a big problem for you (which it sounds like) id suggest you stop buying the most offensive items, and work on phasing out the rest.

As for getting the young-uns to eat the healthier stuff, i know w my kiddo i've had to find what he likes through trial and error... He'll eat eggs if i scramble them w hot sauce, but not without. He'll eat sausage, meatloaf, meat patties, but not a slice of roast or even shredded pork. What did work for me in transitioning from toast to eggs was french toast. 1 slice of sourdough soaked in 1 egg, fried in butter. After a couple weeks of that, i transitioned to just egg. I also learned that on those days i do choose to give him those things (pancakes, toast, muffin, etc), i make sure he's already eaten a fair bit of egg before i put it in front of him, or he'll only eat that. But he only gets those things once or twice a week. But, the same goes for anything he will focus on to the exclusion of his proteins (like strawberries). I just cant put his entire meal in front of him at once because once he sees the berries, nothing else will be eaten.

Waffles are not difficult to make, nor is yogurt. Pancakes can be sourdough if you would feel more comfortable w that (and id remove the syrup from the equation). It does take more effort, but so does making homemade formula.

HTH

[AprilM]

Wow, thanks for all the great advice! I did french toast this morning...so he got some eggs. Unfortunately, he refused to eat without a little bit of syrup, so.....but we will work on these things slowly I suppose.

Question: He loves mac n cheese. If I used raw milk and raw cheese, could I feel good about feeding this to him?

It has really been a struggle.

As far as the formula goes, I would like to make up a batch, if for no other reason, practice. We have #2 on the way, and although I plan to go full speed ahead with breastfeeding, if it doesn't work out (like it didn't with DS after months of trying), I don't want to feed commercial formula again.

Do any of you see any 'harm' in giving some of this formula to 3 yo DS? (assuming he will take it of course)

[serenbat]

without a little bit of syrup

REAL?

maple-honey or even molasses are OK for us and we DO use them for syrup 

[cristeen]

No harm in giving it to him, no. And only time will tell if hes willing to eat it. I believe i got all the ingredienrs from Radiant Life. They have a pkg w all the additional ingredients - just add milk and liver.

[jenniepaige]

I have three kids who all go through what you are describing at different times. It finally got so bad at meal time that I just stopped fighting it. I just told them that this was your meal. If you want to eat it, great-if not then that's ok too but you just aren't getting anything else until you eat this. Honestly, it took a lot of pressure and focus off of them and the fighting and stress went way down. And guess what? They ate the meals more. Not all the time, no way, but it has improved drastically. Also don't expect for things to change over night. Slowly cut back on the sweets because sugar can be very addicting and he may go through a withdraw period. I would make sure that he is getting plenty of healthy fats too which should help to cut down on some of the cravings. Try putting some virgin coconut oil in a smoothie and start from there. Also if you just don't give him the options above that you mentioned then there is nothing to argue about. It will take some time but he will come around. Three is still very young.

[gardenmommy]

Originally Posted by jenniepaige 

I have three kids who all go through what you are describing at different times. It finally got so bad at meal time that I just stopped fighting it. I just told them that this was your meal. If you want to eat it, great-if not then that's ok too but you just aren't getting anything else until you eat this. Honestly, it took a lot of pressure and focus off of them and the fighting and stress went way down. And guess what? They ate the meals more. Not all the time, no way, but it has improved drastically. Also don't expect for things to change over night. Slowly cut back on the sweets because sugar can be very addicting and he may go through a withdraw period. I would make sure that he is getting plenty of healthy fats too which should help to cut down on some of the cravings. Try putting some virgin coconut oil in a smoothie and start from there. Also if you just don't give him the options above that you mentioned then there is nothing to argue about. It will take some time but he will come around. Three is still very young.

Yes.  I agree with getting rid of the non-options.  And don't fight about the food.  "This is what we are having, you can choose to eat it or leave it."  End of story.  Don't make it a battle, refuse to let him draw you into a fight; he will always win, because it's his body.  I would also add that popsicles, pancakes, waffles, etc. aren't necessarily bad; you can learn how to make them yourself so they are a healthy food.  It may take some trial and error to figure out how your family likes them, but don't give up!  It is def. worth the effort.  

Maybe have a plan for phasing out the foods you don't want him to eat, and gradually introduce foods that you want to replace them with.  And keep offering.  My 4 yr. old will tell me "I don't like that.  That makes me sick.  That is yucky.", and then, once I convince him to try a couple of bites, he will tell me more often than not, "I like that!  Can I have more?"   Not every child is like that (I have one who isn't), but many children are convinced they don't like something, just because it's new, or they don't like how it looks, so keep offering.  And make sure *you* are modeling good eating habits.  If you won't eat something, chances are, neither will he.  

Please don't beat yourself up over this.  It's not your fault that your child is picky, or has a sweet tooth, or only likes "junk" food.  You didn't make him this way by starting solids with fruit.  (I have 5 children, all have started solids with fruit, all eat most everything I put in front of them, most days, lol.)  Like a PP said, breastmilk is sweet.  And like a PP said, 3 is very young, there is still lots of time to shape his tastes.  You haven't ruined your child, lol!  (I'm sure there are things we all do that we worry have ruined, or are ruining, our children!) 

WRT to homemade formula, I don't see a problem with it.  I can't see how it would harm him.  You could treat it like a smoothie, and throw some fruit in it or something, make that part of your breakfast options.  Just a thought.

Hang in there, mama.  You are going to get to the other side, and it will be all right.

[TonyaW]

If he is picky, then I don't think he would drink the formula. What about smoothies, sweet with raw honey, milk, banana, berries, you can usually add a touch of mild flavored greens in there without noticing. You can add sweet potato, coconut oil and other good stuff like raw eggs. he might like a raw eggnog smoothie with egg yolk, raw milk banana, vanilla, honey if necessary. Smoothies are a wonderful way to get nutrition into picky kids if you make it taste sweet with with a good quality raw honey and banana. Also, if you add flax oil into the smoothie you have a way to get some omega 3 without the taste of fish oil. They have omega gummies made by nordic naturals which are basically candy, but if you feel it is absolutely necessary to get fish oil in, then this works. Also, I make salmon with honey mustard dressing and my son likes that.

[TonyaW]

Also, I was going to say that if you make the kinds of foods he likes yourself, then it is a healthier option than the store bought stuff. I know sweets aren't great, but try a homemade version of all the foods he likes. Brown rice pasta is really good and I think taste much better than whole wheat pasta. Also, there are recipes which you can make Popsicle with yogurt or coconut milk.