munchkin meals: 19 months
MacKenna is now 19 months old and I think I am FINALLY starting to understand her eating habits. Well, at least a little bit. She surprises me everyday with what she will eat and of course, what she won’t eat. There are things she used to love that she will now pull out of her mouth (mostly fruits + veggies) and things that I can’t believe how much she likes (she’ll eat anything off of our plates, of course).
But, the big thing we have figured out in the past 2 weeks since being home with her is that she is a grazer. While her likes + dislikes certainly don’t take after her mommy, her frequent snacking definitely does.
We sit down for breakfast in the high chair usually between 6:30 and 7. (She’s decided lately that 5 AM is a great wakeup time – Mom + Dad are not impressed.) Breakfast is always a waffle and yogurt. I started adding peanut butter to her waffles after reading Jen’s post and she is loving it! She usually eats about 3/4 of her waffle and lately ALL of her yogurt. She is LOVING her Little Green Pouches to feed herself!
By 10 AM, she is usually hungry for some sort of snack. We tend to go for easy things, like raisins, Cheerios, and crackers, but we’re trying to get her to eat more nutritious now that we’re home. Matt is usually sitting down for breakfast at this time and I will usually have a snack, so she gets bites of fruit, yogurt, eggs, cheese, and deli meat. It’s about the only way I can get her to put a piece of fruit in her mouth. (She’s also forcing me to share, which I am not good at. Mommy doesn’t share FOOD! – name that Friends episode…)
Around 12 or 12:30 we eat again. Must less this time around. I am trying to give her the tasting plate, but surprise, surprise. She usually only eats the raisins, crackers, and cheese. I don’t know why strawberries and deli meat are so much different when they’re not on Mommy or Daddy’s fork.
Naptime is between 1 and 1:30 and on a good day, she will sleep at least until 3 PM, if not longer. Most days are good days, but she’s been throwing me a few curve balls with her sleep patterns and only napping for 45 minutes to an hour. We have another snack after naptime, but it’s usually just cracker, cereal, and raisins.
Dinner has evolved to whatever we are eating. She is getting a fork or spoon every night at dinner now and is getting better at actually getting the food into her mouth every single day. Her favorite dinner is still pizza, but she loves quinoa as well. Dinner is always hit or miss. Sometimes she will eat her entire plate and ask for seconds or thirds. Other days, she won’t touch it and will throw a tantrum until we give her yogurt. Such a brat.
Even over a year later, solid foods has not gotten easier. I will keep introducing fruits and veggies and pray that she will eventually choose them over everything else.
Make sure you go check out what the other moms are posting over at Brittany’s blog! I always get great new ideas from their posts! Brittany is doing a before and after of what her little girl eats on a regular basis. MacKenna’s after pictures don’t change much from the before… *sigh*
Other Munchkin Meals Posts:
18 months
17 months
16 months
15 months
14 months
9 months
8 months
Is your child a grazer or do they stick to 3 meals a day? How do you get your kids to eat healthier foods?