My daughter is a year and 3 weeks and I'm still unable to get her on a bottle. I was wondering about meals. How much food/feeds a day should she be having? She is now about 17 pounds and has her breastmilk at 6am then a little yogurt at 7:30am. 10-11am she has milk, and at 12pm a jar of vegetables.  She then has milk at 1-2pm, a little fruit at 3pm then milk after that. She then has a 5pm dinner (1 jar plus breastmilk) and 7pm is bedtime. I dream feed her around 10-11. She has now been eating less for the last 2 weeks. Is this normal or should I be doing something different? Thanks in advance for your response, Sandra.
 

Hi Sandra,

The best person to ask about nutrition, portions, and meals is your little one’s pediatrician. As a family therapist, I am not the best one to ask, but I can answer as a mom of three myself. Your daughter should be interested in what you are eating and really can eat in smaller portions and pieces what the whole family eats. Some days she may eat a lot, some days she may not. Kids are funny at this age. If she continues to eat less or refuses food, talk to your pediatrician. Give her lots of chances to try different things and discover her likes and dislikes. Make sure food is nutritious and fun and be patient as she will be experimenting with not only the taste but the texture and feeling of the food. Get ready for the “throw food on the floor game” and for some messy meals! Have the wipes ready and don’t worry about manners for a very long time.

Mealtimes should be relaxed and associated with pleasant experiences; it is important to be neutral around eating never getting too upset or too excited about what she does or doesn’t eat. Food should never be associated with struggles or negativity. The Canada food guide clearly lays out how much of what foods toddlers should be eating and there are some wonderful recipe books out there to help you navigate through this new and exciting stage. 

It sounds like she will continue to breast feed so if she really does not want the bottle, don’t worry. She can go straight to a sippy cup at this age. If you really want her to take a bottle make sure not to force her to take it. Getting upset and stressed about it will make her associate those feelings with the bottle. Just be neutral and keep introducing it, try a couple of times then put it aside. She is lucky to have such a caring mom-- I wish her a happy lifetime of eating.