ANW is fiercely independent, specifically about mealtime.

We began the switch from baby food to table food a couple of months prior to her 1st birthday and noticed that she wasn’t a fan.  When it came time to make the switch permanently, on more than one occasion she would scream, cry and refuse to eat.

Believe it or not, after having raised 3 kids and having done foster care for over 3 years now, I had never experienced a child who refused to eat, at least not to the extreme level ANW was refusing to eat.

After several days of only being able to get her to drink milk and having her refuse to eat about 90% of what I offered her, I decided it was time to get to the bottom of this problem.  Thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, I began to read article after article about this very problem and how most littles who refuse to eat do so because they want to feed themselves.

Seriously?!!!  A 1-yr-old would be so independent that they would refuse to eat unless they could feed themselves?  I didn’t believe it.

Yet, this is what a fiercely independent 1-yr-old looks like post breakfast.

This wasn’t too bad of a mess or at least not compared to other mealtimes.

Honestly, allowing her to feed herself has helped, but she continues to be a picky eater.  It is a battle anytime we offer her a new food.  She simply refuses to try it if she doesn’t like the way it looks or feels.  If I try to feed her, OMG!!!  We just can’t go there.

We’re hoping she will just outgrow this, but with her tough beginnings, we need to keep a close eye on it and won’t hesitate to get her some professional assistance if necessary.

There is always something new to learn and experience and that is why it’s never boring in our home.