[Tari Mithrandir]

DD is almost 13 months. Currently she is still breastfed on demand and she gets breakfast, lunch and dinner. Her meals consist of one or two fruits/veggies and/or yogurt/cheese/cottage cheese, and this week we intro'd chicken, so now she will be getting meats too (going to intro ground beef soonish, but beef isn't something we eat a lot of). We occasionally throw egg yolks in as a meal, but she tends to dislike it and throw it on the floor or push it away (scrambling them is even worse in her opinion). I let her eat until either she won't open her mouth for more, or she is playing with the food and no longer eating.

Now that she is a 'toddler' I am reading stuff that tells me she needs 1,000-1,200 calories a day and addresses baby being fed table food and milk, but nothing includes info for babies still nursing and not getting cow milk. I wasn't planning on introing cow milk until the end of her second year... I understand parents who use formula introing it at a year, but why does my girl who still gets mama milk need it? How many calories is she getting from breastmilk?

Anyway... I would love to be able to just give DD whatever we are having, when we are having it, but she has shown reactions to some foods in the past (i.e. oatmeal, hence no grains listed above. I am worried it is a gluten issue and am tiptoeing around there) that makes me wary and I am still applying the 4-Day Rule and making her her own food 3 times a day. With everything else we have to do, especially when we are out, that is a bit of a pain.

What do you do for meals for your LO? Do you give snacks throughout the day, and if so, when/how did you know LO was needing the extra? And how do you deal with prep time? (There are some things I am still making and freezing in batches, but a lot I make on a per meal basis)

TIA for any help!

:

(Also, how did you intro foods with a lot of ingredients/spices? Like pasta sauces or roasts... )

 

[jecombs]

My DD does not get much cow's milk and she is 21 mo. old. She is still BFing 3-4 times a day. My ped said cow's milk is unnecessary if LO is nursing at least 3x a day. There is really no way to know how many calories is in BM, because the composition of it changes constantly throughout the day. It sounds like you know what your DD's "I'm full" cues are. Just let her eat until she's full. She knows how much she needs better than any calorie-counter out there.

DD does get 1-2 snacks per day. We usually do crackers, cheese, fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, and stuff like that. If DD is fussing, it's usually because she's hungry, so I offer the breast or a snack. Avocado is one of her fave snacks! DD will not eat if she is not hungry... she will "finger paint" with the food. If she finger paints, I get her down from the table and we do something else.

My DD is allergic to corn products and pears, so I avoid those things at all costs. As far as introducing multi-ingredient foods like pasta sauce... well I stopped being really careful after DD was a year. I also try to do as much home-made stuff as I can, so I know what is in all our food. I haven't noticed any other food-reactions besides corn and pears. I think being allergic to spices is pretty uncommon.

I get a lot of good toddler food ideas from Wholesome Baby Food website. My DD loves their baby meatloaf and baked sweet potato fries! I do make and freeze a lot of her food in large batches, so I can just pull it out of the freezer if I need to. But at this point (21 mo. old) she mostly eats what DH and eat.

 

[Tari Mithrandir]

Thank you so much

I am also pretty sure spice allergies is rare... The only one I have tried was cinnamon, and shortly after giving it to DD she started having little poops (was about 6 in as many hours) and got a flaming red diaper rash (the only one she has ever had). It was not pleasant! So it has made me a bit reluctant to try again. I guess I am just going to have to bite the bullet though and start doing it

I also use the WBF website and have recently started looking at the Wholesome Toddler Food as well

 

[AutumnAir]

Pop over to kellymom.com and search toddler cow's milk. They generally say that as long as baby is nursing 3-4 times a day you don't need to bother with cow's milk at all. Unless you want to of course!

 

[Tari Mithrandir]

Thank you for mentioning that section of KellyMom. I have used their site a lot in the past year, and you would think I would automatically do for solids what I did for breastfeeding exclusively... but the realm of solids just seems so overwhelming to me that I didn't think about it!

I found the page on it, and that is helping a lot!

 

[flower01]

I don't think you need to be too concerned - you definitely don't need to calorie count. My experience with my child and reading this site has shown that all babies are different and really start eating solids at different ages. As long as she's BFing on demand the food you offer her is really a supplement. Once we were past the stage of introducing one food at a time, which we definitely stopped before a year, we just offered her whatever we were eating (minus dairy).She still wasn't eating many solids until I would say 18 months or later. Now at almost 2 I would say she is a good eater - I feel like she's eating constantly sometimes! But, don't be worried - I think weaned & spoon-fed babies eat more than BFed ones.

 

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I let ds eat whenever he is hungry. He nurses a least a million times a day lol, so I don't really worry about that. Around 11-13 months I just started letting him eat whatever we were having (he can't do sesame, thank you projectile vomiting more than once!) but besides that he eats everything (well were veg so no meat, but he eats whatever we are eating)

He has lots of snacks, some that he can reach himself, and others he has to "ask" for (like fruit that needs to be cut). I usually have one or two "snack cups" in rotation that have crackers, dried fruit etc in them for him to eat when ever he wants.

we just follow his cues (his cues are usually that he would like to eat however lol)

 

[Tari Mithrandir]

So I bit the bullet a bit tonight... Gave DD carrots and potatoes from our roast (so was cooked in with the beef and seasonings). Mostly she is just playing with it and spitting it out, but that seems to be common the last few days (I think because of her teeth). I am proud of me

 

[Macnamara]

My DS is more a grazer, so he eats alot of cheese, crackers, fruits, vegetables and yogurt. He still nurses 4-5 times a day, so I just let him lead the way as far as hunger.

 

[jacobsmommy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flower01 I don't think you need to be too concerned - you definitely don't need to calorie count. My experience with my child and reading this site has shown that all babies are different and really start eating solids at different ages. As long as she's BFing on demand the food you offer her is really a supplement. Once we were past the stage of introducing one food at a time, which we definitely stopped before a year, we just offered her whatever we were eating (minus dairy).She still wasn't eating many solids until I would say 18 months or later. Now at almost 2 I would say she is a good eater - I feel like she's eating constantly sometimes! But, don't be worried - I think weaned & spoon-fed babies eat more than BFed ones.

I just wanted to tell you that your post is helping me right now as my LO is just 16mo and doesnt eat much solids. He is extremely picky and only eats a very small variety of things which are mostly dry crackers or puffs and a few fruits. His weight is on the lower slow side too. I have been making myself worried sick over it. He still nurses a lot like 7+ times a day so I know he is getting the good stuff which makes me happy but sheesh....who knew I would worry so much about this.

 

[Theoretica]

Honestly, our kids eat pretty much whatever we eat from the time they are interested in having it. We start by chewing it up a little for them and 'de spicing' it a little, but otherwise that's how they get introduced. By 12 months they are essentially eating everything we do, minus some more intense heat level foods. They've eaten curry, tamales, chili, bulgogi, fish stew, and we've had no real problems.

ETA: One thing I always do is breastfeed before the meal/snack so that the primary nutrition is from their boobie juice...HTH

 

[ashleyhaugh]

my 18month old has an allergy/intolerance (not sure which, they wont test til hes older) so he doesnt get any. he occasionally has a cup of soy or rice milk, but mostly his milk comes from me, lol. he eats anything and everything we do though. aside from the dairy, he hasnt had any other food reactions. im not sure about calories either. i feed him when hes hungry, and he either eats it or not. i figure he wont let himself starve, lol. hes a good eater though.