We are starting to get a little better at getting Adria to eat. There are several tricks. The big one is the obvious one: figure out what she likes (see the list below).

Another interesting trick is to ignore her. We set her in her chair, give her some healthy food choices to eat on her tray, and then ignore her. You know, watched pot, and all that. We do dishes, laundry, cook, eat, etc….but if you aren’t paying her too much attention, she seems less likely to do playful things like toss her food or utensils, and more likely to try things both old and new.

One of my tactics of last resort is to eat with her…in fact, to let her feed me. If I get down at her level, she’ll take a carrot, waffle, string cheese, etc, and try to put it in my mouth. I’ll take a playful bite or two, and eventually she sort of gets jealous or wants to imitate or something, and she does it herself. And often, once she gets started she’ll go for a while on her own (we call this “priming the pump"). Back when we were feeding her baby food, sometimes this would involve tricking or surprising her into the first bite, which she would actively refuse…but then she would smack her lips a few times and get a taste, and eagerly take more.

Here’s a list of things that Adria seems to like to eat at the moment. We would love to hear your suggestions as well…anything that your kids particularly liked to eat around 14 months?

• waffles (Eggo brand, but we’re not sure that matters)
• oatmeal (adult oatmeal, flavored…like cinnamon and brown sugar)
• corn flakes
• rice chex
• cheerios
• blueberries whole
• scrambled eggs
• sweet potato pancakes
• whole grain pancakes
• goldfish
• cheese its
• snapea crisps
• chunks of apples and bananas
• yogurt (almost any flavor/brand without fruit chunks in it)
• string cheese
• rotini pasta with alfredo sauce
• rice cooked in chicken broth
• ground turkey seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and peas (thanks Emilee!)
• steamed carrots
• mighty minis popsicles
• soups or stews drained of the liquids