Not enough fat in soy/rice milk for toddler?

[sgottlieb]

Hi,

My 19-month old is a terrible eater (I don't count the miniscule amount of food she eats at all) and is taking a ton of soy forumula (Isomil 2). I'd like to start giving her some soy or rice milk in at least some of her bottles, but none of the brands I see have enough fat (formula has about 6% and soy/rice seems to average about 2-3%). She's not getting enough fat anywhere else in her "diet" to make up for this shortfall.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to deal with this?

Thanks,
Sara

[Erin Pavlina]

What foods is she eating?

How about avocado, olive oil, canola oil, tofu, etc?

[sgottlieb]

The only foods she'll sometimes nibble on are slices of rice cheese (maybe one slice/day) and mini pretzels. I put all kinds of fruits, vegetables, crackers, pastas, peanut butter, you name it in front of her at every meal, but 95% of it ends up on the floor.



Sara

[VOW]

When she's hungry, she'll eat! Unless there is a physical problem with her, your daughter is at the age where she is starting to exercise her newfound ability to assert herself as an individual. Mealtime can be a power struggle, and that should be avoided.

Put her in her high chair, and place the foods on the tray. If she throws them on the floor, say, "Meal time is over," and remove her from the chair. No argument, no wheedling, no coersion. Turn and WALK AWAY. Remove all food/bottles/cups and go on about your business.

A few hours later, try it again.

When she finds out that you aren't going to pay attention to her, she'll get truly HUNGRY, and she will eat.


~VOW

[sgottlieb]

Already there - that is pretty much the scene at every meal and it always ends the same, with food all over the floor and very little eaten. We haven't tried withholding the bottle when she later becomes hungry, because by then she is to the point where there is no way she'll even let food near her. And we're not going to starve her just because we'd prefer her to eat solid food.

One positive note, she actually ate half of the tofu from my plate at dinner last night. A first!

Sara

[VOW]

If she likes the food from your plate, she might want food that has more seasoning to it! I'd be very cautious with salt, but even babies like pepper or spicy foods or garlic!

My daughter has always enjoyed SOUR stuff, even when she was very small!



~VOW

[Christa]

Could you possibly supplement the fat in soy or rice milk by mixing something into it? One possibility that comes to mind would be to add powdered, dried soy milk to regular soy milk & mix it up really well. It might be a tad thick, but would have more calories and fat.

[ThisChikMom]

How many ounces of formula is she drinking per day? Could she be getting full from the formula and just not hungry when it's time to eat the solids? I would try not giving her the formula for a few days and see if she starts to eat the solids.

My now 22 month old was taken off formula and bottles at 11 months and ate only table foods. But then when she was 13 months old, my second daughter was born, and she wanted bottles also! I figured it wouldn't hurt to let her have formula in the bottle every once in a while, but I noticed that when I did give her even a bottle or two of formula a day, she didn't eat her regular food. The formula was too filling for her. I don't know is this is what is happening here, but it's worth a shot!

Andrea

[sgottlieb]

She takes about 6 bottles each of 6 ozs. formula every day. Basically, she still feeds every 2 hours, just like an infant. If we try to give her solid food instead of bottle when she's really hungry she totally freaks out.

She is a real puzzle - very bright, quick learner, active, growing fine, but her feeding has always been a mystery. I weaned her from the breast at 11 months when she started accepting solid food 3 times a day, but soon after that she reverted to many bottles a day, and has pretty much stayed like that ever since.

[jewels]

Maybe mixing something with soy/rice milk would work like olive oil or some other fatty thing.

[louli]

It's a tricky one this....My 15month old still breastfeeds all day and night and eats too. He doesn't always eat what some would think as a meal but has a handful here and there. Sometimes babies don't like a high chair. Try sitting them on your lap at the table...or a picnic on the floor on a mat with a shared plate of food. My son loves what I'm eating, even curry. If he sees me eating it he wants it. HTH xx

[Fiona]

On the food front, what about giving your daughter an empty plate and letting her choose something from the table, with you eating your meal at the same time? That way, she might feel she's making some decisions. It's also hard not to feel hungry when you're watching someone else eat! You could halve the formula she has before a mealtime so she's hungry enough to be interested in eating, without feeling she's been deprived of her bottle.


Fiona