When Lucas falls sick, I just let him eat as little as he wants and just give him his usual bottle of milk. His appetite picks up a few days after that and he’ll want his usual porridge then. Since my Mum cared for him then, she found that his *favourite* was the steamed pomfret and spinach as he’d willingly open his mouth and would finish in record time

Try adding a lot of soup to his rice because Lucas is a huge fan of soup – the food always goes down easily! Also, stick to REALLY simple stuff. I once slaved over an aromatic beef stew Hubby salivated over but the tot refused it after one whiff…

By the way, here are some thoughts:
a) Rice cereal is kind of dry and “heaty”. My boy only had it when he first started solids but soon, we felt that fresh and real rice grains are much better than processed ones?

We always ensured that he’d get iron from greens, ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and also red meat used as stock for the porridge. Also, the paed mentioned that formula fed babies would be getting enough iron and will not need “iron fortified” cereals.

b) Carrots are also “heaty” and may cause constipation if consumed in large amounts.

I hope you see the connection between (a) and (b) because many babies develop constipation and also fever once they start solids unless they are water guzzlers. Thankfully, both my kids drink a lot of water and I do try to fit in fruits and veggies in their diet that both of them are quite “regular” i.e. first thing in the morning.

I hope this helps

Like Joseph, I bumped into this site while googling (what else) “feeding fussy toddlers”

I’m just curious as to how old Lucas was when you did the Military Mum thing on Lucas? Aidan, my 15 M.O just got out of a 3-day fever from a throat infection. His temperature is normal and he’s back to being jolly but he’s still being picky with his food. As a mum, I need to offer him healthy foods as he’s just gotten out of illness but now he clamps his mouth shut and cries if he sees rice cereal (mixed with veg and steamed fish or chicken) coming towards him. He’s also rejecting bread which he usually loves.

Prior to his illness, he was eating chicken/beef/fish porridge like a horse but this is only at the sitter’s! I’d make the same kind of porridge (even let the sitter try it) but he would only take a few bites. It’s the reason why I continue with rice cereal for him during lunch. Dinner wise, I’ve been transitioning him to rice and stir fried vegies and chicken/fish since he turned 1. He was doing so well until his illness whereby he would just pick out the carrots. His favourite green beans – he now spits out. Even pasta with beef bolognaise…some days he would like it, some days NO THANKS MAMA.

I thought I’d write to you as Aidan used to take a bite for a “taste test” around 9-10 months to see if he liked what he was eating. If he didn’t, he would screw up his face and spit it out. And this would happen with both new and favourite foods depending on what day of the week it was. I knew he’d be a fussy eater then (LIKE HIS PAPA). And since I’m a stay-at-home mum, I’m sure he’s learnt to twist me around his little stubby fingers (read: bullying me by choosing what he wants to eat).

What do I do? I’m not sure if he’s now fussy because his stomach is still unsettled from his bout of high fever, or that he’s just being a fussy toddler at the moment!!