Milk and food for 12 month old!

Today Chelsea had her 12 month check up. CHN was very happy with her progress.

Length under average, as is her weight..i wasnt worried..she has been like that every check up since birth.

Any ways the nurse asked how she was going eating wise and if i was still giving her milk. To which i replied yes she still has 3 bottles a day and eats pretty much what we eat for dinner.

Well the dinner comment went down well...but not the bottle one. I was told she shouldnt be having bottles anymore as she does not need them. When i said she refuses cows milk that was ok.

Apprently as long as she gets 3 serves of dairy a day then thats all i should be concerned about.

My problem is Chelsea will only eat yoghurt or custard. Hates cheese, hates milk (other then formula).

So what other dairy products can i give?

My other question is....Chelsea is a bit of a fuss pot with foods thru the day. She lives on vegemite sandwiches so it seems for lunch. Today i gave her noodles...which she spat back at me. So i gave her some left over spag bol and she loved it.

What else can i give her for lunches?

Fruit wise all she will eat is oranges and apples and watermelon.

Vegie wise only potato and pumpkin...sometimes carrot and beans/peas but must have gravy on it.

Im not to concerned on her food intake...she is gaining weight and very healthy....but it must be boring her with the same foods all the time.

Id prefer her to have what we eat so im not making 2 different meals all the time!

Im lucky i dont have a super fussy child like some poor mums....i feel for u! guys.

Have you tried putting cheese in the spaghetti? Zander has always loved have "powder cheese" (parmesan) on his spaghetti like daddy. Try cutting pieces of cheese into shapes as well, that one worked with Zander - he has stars, flowers or men, all cut from cookie cutters.

Also corn on the cob is a good one for a new vege to try. We had corn on the cob every day for about a year because Zander loved it. He enjoyed being able to eat it himself, made an awful mess but he liked the independance & it gave me some time to eat my dinner while it was still hot ;)

Milo was on 2 bottles of formula at 12 months. I started "watering" them down with cows milk after he was 12 months and offerin him more food. he cut out he day bottle quite quickly, but he still has a bottle of milk at night even now.

DS is a vegemite lover too.
Here are somethings that milo has for lunch sometimes, most can be made in large quantities that you may have it for dinner with enough left over for a few lunches, or made ahead and frozen for later.
vegetable lasagne - this one is good because there are a few different food groups in there, even more if you add beans (like four bean mix etc) to the sauce
stir fry - Milo is much better with rice than noodles (though he'll eat spag bol)
fried rice with vegies
tempura vegies
frittata. I'm working on this as Milo wont eat eggs but will sometimes eat quiche or fritatta
sausages. You could do a stew with them or BBQ with salad?
risotto

sandwich ideas
deli meat - strass, chicken/turket breast
avocado and tuna mashed together
cream cheese
hommus


Just keep trying to inroduce a new food/fruit every couple of weeks, even ones she hasn't like in the past. It took months to get Milo to eat grapes, and now he loves them.

ETA: further to Sarah's suggestion, there are all kinds of cheese option markted at kids in the dairy section, i.e. animal shapes, cheese sticks etc.

Tori is still having 3 bottles of milk a day, although I may cut out her morning one now and just give it to her at lunchtime (nap) and night time.

Have you tried Toasted sandwhichs for lunch, it is a good way to get cheese in.
Quite often for lunch Tori has a platter for lunch with, ham or tuna, or egg, cheese, tomato, cucumber,dried fruit, I usually cut a some fresh fruit and put it o the plate too.

Matilda had 3 bottles a day until she was 2 yrs old...