Hi,
I have a 13 month old girl baby.Till now her eating habits were ok and good. For the past 15 days her eating has become very slow. I have noticed a change in her taste. I try to give her as per her taste. Yet still she has started eating very slowly. It roughly takes half hour to 45 mts. I am very concerned about this. Is this the case to worry about.
I request all mums to give me some tips on how to make the feeding time a playful time. Till now I managed it nicely but now I feel I need some guidance and advise.Please help me out and let me know about my baby' s eating habits.

Her eating schedule
breakfast(8 am): Idly
lunch(11 am): Rice with cereals and vegetables
2.30 pm : Ragi
5 pm : Apple/banana
8 pm : Curd rice lina replied. sorry i forgot to mention, give her 1cup of milk after dinner too.
milk is very important at this stage. she should have 3cups of milk during the day. if you are breast feeding her i request u to stop. it is not doing any good to her. she is on soilds and at 13months breast milk works only for desserts. i fed my daughter till 1 and stopped right away.
she will do alright. lina replied. she is only 13months old. don' t interduce her idli,dosa or whatever.
you should give her cereal not the same one every morning, with 1 cup of milk/breast milk.
at lunch give her different veggie boiled or mashed or pasta or little bit of rice with dal or sabji. little bit of water with meal and 1cup of milk again.
let her take a nap for 2 hrs.
snack time give her cheese, fruits yoghurt. little of milk or juice deluited with water and dinner time give her different meal than lunch. if she had roti during lunch give her rice, if she had pasta give her roti vice-versa. babys like change, if she like eggs you can give her that during lunch not more than twice a week. give her meat/fish during lunch/dinner. stay away from strong spicy food. don' t give her too much cookies or chips or candies. encourge her to eat fruits or crackers.
i live abroad and it is different routine here than in india. i have a 2years old too, don' t give her adults food yet. wait until she is 18months old or u can interduce her on and off.
i hope i have helped u. take care. Mel replied. Even my son is (according to me) underweight. He is 2 years old now and barely 11 kgs. The doc says it' s ok, but I don' t agree.

Even my son' s birthweight was 3.2 kgs. I also think that 8.2 kgs is a bit low for a 13 month old girl. Weight triples by the end of 12 months, so technically, she should have been 9.6 kgs.

Try introducing bulky foods (Rice & Idli are both rice-based). Give her rice / idli once a day and try giving her bits of roti once a day. Try giving her a mixed veg pulao made with lots of different veggies and rice flavoured with vegetable soup cubes / chicken soup cubes. Kids love this.

About making meals more enjoyable... don' t entertain her too much during meals, as it will become a routine. Toddlers can easily become manipulative, and will enjoy making us perform at meal times if we let them. If she eats by herself / let' s you feed her, just keep mealtimes stressfree. Keep chatting with her as you would if you were eating with your spouse or other family member. Speak about her day or yours. Keep the conversation light and relaxed. If she eats slowly or eats less than normal, don' t make a fuss or look annoyed. Just be normal, and end the meal.

I think half and hour to 45 mins is a very reasonable time for a toddler meal. My son' s mealtimes sometimes go up to about 1 1/2 hours, and at the end of it, sometimes, just two small bites would have gone in.

All the best. Mel replied. Is that what you give her everyday ? Or just a sample menu ? Because if that' s what you give her everyday, then maybe a bit of variety might be needed.

As babies graduate from infants (0-12 months) to toddlers (1-3 years), their eating habits change considerably.

They may eat only ONE item 3 times a day, may want different items at each meal, may eat ONLY ONE bite at each meal, may miss an ENTIRE meal, may miss food for a whole day (and just have milk). But, we just need to let them be. If weight and development is ok, oblige them. Let them miss a meal if they want. The more we force them, the more averse they become to food.

So, try offering her something else for breakfast. If she has it, then include more variety. If she prefers her usual idly, then stick to that, but keep offering her new foods every now and then.

Options:
Breakfast: Sooji, Ragi, Idli, Dosa, Bread + Cheese, Roti + Butter, Eggs, Porridge
Lunch: Rice / Roti + Veg + Moong Dal + Chicken / Eggs (if you are non-veg)
Dinner: Same as lunch.
Morning snack: Biscuits, Finger chips, Pretzels, Crackers, Cheese cubes / slices, Toast + Butter
Afternoon snack: Fruit is perfect. Try a few more fruits.