13 month will not eat anything. Help pls!

[Lemontea]

My girl eats very little. When she's hungry, she craves for milk only. She drinks 3 x 8 oz formula a day from a bottle. One after waking up, one midday, and one before bedtime. I try to cut the midday formula so she can eat more solids but she cries and cries and cries and will NOT eat anything from the spoon. I'm lucky if she takes more than 5 spoonfuls a meal. Same for fruits, etc. She likes bread and cherrios more but still doesn't eat a lot. She seems to think that only milk makes her full and has no interest or appetite for food.

Please help!! Any tips?? Thank-you!!

[sea princess]

My first daughter was the same. Would only drink breast milk until 15 months and I was lucky to get anything else at all into her!

From memory, I started to make soups and she liked these. Maybe it was the texture or consistency? And finger food, things she could hold like steamed carrots etc. to exert her indepenence. She also accepted food from my husband more ? Might have been because she associated me with breast milk and wanted that in preferenace? Not sure, but she was a good weight, so I tried not to worry too much.

Now she is a super eater and is tries all different cuisines. Hopefully you'll have the same luck.

[jvn]

I'd try to stop stressing about it, I know it's not easy but the milk she's having is a fantastic food it's has all the right vitamins and fats that she needs. As you say you can't MAKE her eat anything so the more you worry about it then the more of an issue mealtimes will become for both of you.

As sea princess suggests maybe try some different tastes and textures to see if there's anything in particular she will like more but a healthy child of this age won't starve themselves. I would only be concerned if she doesn't seem happy or energetic or if she is rapidly losing weight.

I'd also consider the possibility that she just doesn't need as much food as some other babies, some do eat significantly less than others without there being anything wrong, the same as with adults.

[lesliefu]

my daughter is similar...what i found out she likes is to feed her self (albeit most of the food falling on the floor) so i give her a lot of finger foods...she likes bread, so i got the cocktail buns for her to hold and self feed, cereal (not the healtiest) but when she eats a couple, i can time it so that she gets a few bites of "regular" food...what i find is that once her appetite gets going, then she will eat "more" - though she only has 5 teeth, she really likes bolognese with pasta. and i've started her on regular milk - which she loves...kiwis, strawberries, things she can hold and self feed she likes....maybe your baby wants to feed herself? when we feed my daughter she always wrestles with the food - we actually feed her pizza that day and she sat the whole meal without moving! OK not the typical baby food...BUT she's my 2nd and lets just say i'm more relaxed after #1...can't imagine what #3 will be eating - but whatever works for me!

[carang]

actually, i had the same problem with my son. we put up with the crying and after a couple of days, he started to eat. the problem was that if we gave in and gave him milk, then he KNEW that all he had to do was cry and we would eventually give in and give it to him. once he realised that we weren't going to give him milk, then he started eating.

i do agree with jvn that some kids just eat less. to this day (my boy is 6.5) he is "skin and bones"... not an ounce of fat on him. he eats just what he needs and not a spoonful more.