What He's Eating (at 14 Months)

My friend, Laura, recently posted on her blog about what her triplets are eating. Inspired by this idea, I wanted to document what kinds of things Banner is eating these days. Once upon a time, I had a boy who would eat most anything I'd offer. These days, like many other moms with kids Banner's age, I have a hard time getting him to eat what I've prepared.

Banner used to eat veggies like a champ. Then, he turned one, and since then he's been a bit pickier. He used to love broccoli, zucchini, carrots, corn, peas, etc. Now, he mostly just plays with the textures - especially with peas and corn, just pushing on the skin to get the inside to explode out. He throws broccoli on the floor, and carrots he likes to just mash up on his plate. I've reverted back to baby food veggies which he'll take more willingly (because he can't play with them on his tray!). When offered veggie purees, he'll take peas, corn, broccoli, zucchini, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, spinach, etc. I hate going "back" to this, but at least he gets the nutrients from these foods. The only solid form of veggie that he'll eat right now is squash. Tonight, though, he surprised me and ate cooked carrots without a fuss.

He is still my amazing fruit eater. He loves all fruits I've offered. He asks for "nananas" almost every morning. He loves biting into pears and peaches. He also loves blueberries, strawberries, apples/applesauce, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, raisins, cherries, and - on occasion - raspberries. We'll be trying plums this week.

Banner still really likes all carbs/breads and grains! Tortillas, bagels, waffles, mac & cheese, spaghetti, barley, rice, pizza, rolls, crackers, rice cakes, toddler cereal bars, Cheerios, Puffs, etc. He also likes cheeses and yogurts.

Protein is another difficult area for me when trying to give Banner a variety. He typically spits out chicken - but not always. He will never eat leftover chicken. He loves beef - just like his daddy! He'll eat hamburger meat, beef hotdogs, beef bologna, salami, meatballs, and steak. He has tried fish, but it's just "eh." He won't even give eggs a taste... no matter how I've made them (scrambled, fried, hard boiled, in a quiche). I bought some tofu to try this week, so we'll see if he likes that - but my guess is that he'll throw it on the floor simply due to its texture.

We've learned that Banner really appreciates eating off of a fork. He's much more likely to accept a food if it's offered to him on a fork, so Sam and I always try this method first when starting a meal because Banner's much more likely to keep eating it after tasting it this way.

Every morning, Banner has an 8 oz bottle (yes, bottle - if not in a bottle, I'd spend hours trying to get even a couple ounces down using a sippy cup, and we'd never reach the 16 oz minimum per day!). Then, he has 2 TBSP of oatmeal (mixed with more whole milk). He'll also eat a few Cheerios and usually a few bites of banana. At either (or both) lunch or dinner, I try to offer a meat, a veggie, grains/bread, and dairy. He typically gets a fruit as his "dessert." He will have one or two snacks a day (two if he skips morning nap). At all meals, we offer water - which he loves - out of a sippy cup. After his afternoon nap, we always offer a sippy cup of milk; some days he downs it, other days he only takes a couple of sips. Every evening, Banner has another 8 oz bottle to ensure he reaches his 16 oz minimum. One day - hopefully one day soon! - we will try to wean him from the bottle. But, I'd much rather him have the calcium than the sippy cup!