BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Eating For Toddlers => Topic started by: Tweakster on January 15, 2011, 17:58:11 pm
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We had illness, and of course teeth. He's lost weight and his pants that he finally grew into now are too big again :-\
And he just doesn't want to eat. He doesn't want to sit in his chair, it's hit and miss. He doesn't want anything he used to mow down.
Is this those final two teeth or is it some new fun and wonderful phase we are embarking on at the age of 2?
We don't push it (I don't push it I should say) and really don't make a huge deal over what he is or isn't eating.
But it's getting worrisome to me a bit now. Can't help it.
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Give me a moment to find my Toddler book, Wendy. I'm sure Tracy has some good advice in it.
Meanwhile anyone else chime in. :)
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Thanks for posting this Wendy...I'm in the same boat with my 19 mth old. He has NEVER ever been like this. Usually wants to eat all the time, and eat anything. I DREAD mealtimes now...I was thinking it may be teething with Tanner...even though there are no teeth yet, the times that I HAVE put my finger in his mouth to feel for teeth without being chomped on, he is very sensitive to me poking around back where the 2 year molars would be in.
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The 2 year molars put J on food strike (teething always does).
I'm sure that will be why honey. Will he have plenty of milk and smoothies???
J is eating a TON of yoghurt as well as it is one of the only soft things he eats.
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Yeah you're right. It's the teeth. He's struggling with those bottom two. They are 'stuck' - frozen in time.
He'll eat yogurt every morning and maybe a bite of toast. Daycare still reports he's eating good. Dinner he's just really not interested in. Last night I made bowtie pasta and he did eat quite a bit so I felt better.
I just struggle to get fruit and veg in right now which means his immune system is compromised. I think that's my fear, that he's going to get ill again and we all just want to be well!
I think he's probably eating more than many toddlers but it's just low for him.
Must stop worrying! Thanks :-)
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Hugs Wendy xx
I read somewhere, prob on here, that toddlers consume the most of their calories before late afternoon so not to worry if they nibble at dinner. So if he's eating well at daycare and having some breakfast he's prob getting enough.
M's just getting her molars now and have to say this is the first time I've noticed teeth annoying her. My normally fab eater is living on yogurt and fruit purée! Hopefully once these teeth are through she'll get back to normal. And same with Finn x
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Just wanted to send along hugs Wendy. We are having major struggles too. In fact about to start a new post when I get a chance!
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It def. happens. If he's eating some breakfast and at nursery...he's getting enough. He'll perk up again after the teeth. And his pants...I bet he's getting a bit longer again so "thinning" at the middle, then he'll go back to putting weight on and bulk back up and on and on it goes. Add some good calorie rich stuff to things if you think he needs just a bit more. Maybe even offer him more diluted OJ or things with that vit. C to help boost his immune system in the meantime!
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It's not even that he's not eating. It's how he's not eating. He refuses to use his own fork. 'Help mommy help mommy' for every piece. Last night I loaded two bowties on (yep I gave him bowties again lol) and he takes one off, the other one falls off and away we go again 'help mommy'.
He asks for more but only to throw it on the floor. I hate not giving him more when he asks for more but it becomes very clear that he doesn't want it and he just wants to play. Slam the fork on the plate. Put the food on the table and mush it around. Drop bits of food into his open water cup. Stick his fork into his open water cup. Throw his cup on the floor and say 'uh oh' and refuse to do anything else but look down at it and then cry when we won't pick it up. Same with the cutlery or pieces of food.
I don't enjoy mealtime at all with him anymore. It's long and torturous lol and at the end he's had about 4 bites. Is it all to blame on teeth do you think? Or more toddleritis?
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It is probably teeth - that help me sounds like a clingy pathetic teething toddler to me :( :-*
I would just help for now and see where he is going with it. Jacob regained independence as soon as his teeth were in (and I wish I had just left him too it a lot more at the time as really there was no reasoning with him when he was a teething mess).
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Ava started doing things like this AFTER all her teeth were in. So it wouldn't surprise me if it is some toddleritis as well. ;)
We have the pouring of water/milk from open cup into food. The fork into the open cup. The food on the floor. She does eat better on my lap with me feeding her. Sometimes she wants to be babied. I chalked it up to knowing I had a baby in my belly and I indulge her a bit. But it's SO annoying!
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Tonight I made chicken nuggets (they are non-breaded - it's a new thing) and oven chips. Now what kid won't eat that?! My kid lol that's who.
He's also far more interested in what is on our plate and pretends to want what we have, if we give him some he just plays with it. Grrr.
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Do you usually have different food from him?
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Nope we all have the same. It's exhausting - he keeps pointing at our plates and we keep reminding him that he has the same on his own plate. He will also ask for more of things he already has - like if he has a dollop of ketchup he'll ask for more just to get you to put it on the plate and then still won't eat it...
It's affecting his BM, he's completely constipated. Last night he hid under the table for like 15 mins working on a poo. When DH changed him it was all little pellets.
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Wendy, I know a PP already mentioned this, but will he drink smoothies? It is really how I get nutrients into M at this point.
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Yeah no I meant to comment on that. He won't. It's a texture thing I think. He'll only drink milk and water and juice at daycare. He's not a big drinker at all which is half the problem with the poop issue.
I guess if he's eating well at breakfast and daycare then it's not such a big deal. He's only eating well at breakfast because he's not having dinner though lol
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Can I join? I'm so there with one of my twins. And it's hard to watch as D's losing weight while J happily eats and since they're identical I can see D's genetic potential and she's lagging behind in her weight quite a bit. One will eat everything and the other one has a bite of this or that, asks for something and we give it to her. She has a bite and then says "yuck!" and puts it down.
I'm thinking toddler-itis too but this kid's gotta eat! All her teeth are in, they both have texture issues but J eats just fine. I tried milkshakes yesterday morning. J loved hers but D refused. She loves juice and that's about the only thing I can get her to have consistently. We're giving multivitamins (she'll eat half the time) and trying not to make a deal of it. Any time she asks for something (within reason) we give it to her nonchalantly but still she'll only have a bite or two.
Really at a loss :(
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Wendy, it could definitely have to do with both his ear infection and that he's tired by dinner time after a long full day. I didn't realize he was eating well at breakfast and lunch - if that's the case I think that's great! Most kids only really eat well 2 out of 3 meals IF you're lucky... Lately here we don't even get one good meal.
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Ok so DH talked to daycare, apparently he's hoovering up the food there.
Example:
Yesterday he had yogurt and toast before leaving the house
At daycare morning snack (it's more like breakfast) he had 3 pancakes lol
Then he ate quite a bit of lunch, she says he eats lunch fine
Then a snack at 3:30 and then again at 5 they throw them some Goldfish crackers and Cheerios.
And then I pick him up around 5:30
So it's not really a surprise that he's not hungry. I'm going to make dinner more casual I think, no big meals, until I get a signal that he's truly hungry again. I think I'm just going to do sandwiches and finger stuff - fruit, veggie sticks, cheese. We are just wasting food when I make a meal and there's no point.
@Vicki - we give Finn a multivitamin too...it's shaped like a star. He used to just eat it up but now he plays with it for half an hour, licking it, putting it on the table and picking it up again, carrying it around...arrgh - it's frustrating lol So if he doesn't eat it I have to throw it out. Ah well. Hopefully it's just a phase!
Have you talked to your doc about the weight loss? Finn is a big solid kid so it's not really an issue, our next appt. is in March for his 2-yr check. Just going to play it by ear here until then I think.
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Wendy - we'll probably mention it to the dr if she continues to really lose or refuse food. I did notice today though if I offer small things constantly that she'll graze. She won't sit for anything big so I'm going to try smaller portions more often. But for her to sit to a bowl of something is almost out of the question.
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Ladies, M won't eat his multi either. I mash it up and put it in his juice, despite the direction of needing to chew it. The pharmacist says this is fine. Maybe worth a shot to get the vitamins in them?
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I'm going to make dinner more casual I think, no big meals, until I get a signal that he's truly hungry again. I think I'm just going to do sandwiches and finger stuff - fruit, veggie sticks, cheese.
This is absolutely what we do when A is being super picky. He'll almost always eat at least a bit of bread, fruit, and cheese, so I don't bother to make a meal for him when he's not eating well. I'd rather do this and not waste the food or effort and hopefully get at least a few calories in him.
At least you know he's eating at DC - that's good news. ;)
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Yeah they told me last night that he's one of their best eaters - they put it in front of him and he eats.
Best eater best sleeper - who is this kid and why don't we get the same at home lol
In reality after reflux and sloooow start to solids he IS in fact a great eater - I think I am just panicking because a lot of friends I know have picky 2 & 3 year olds so I'm just worried that we'll lose our good eater. Just making mountains out of molehills I guess.
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Best eater best sleeper - who is this kid and why don't we get the same at home lol
They are always better for other people. M screams and fights us with sleep, but always goes right down for his grandparents and the babysitter. I just try and be thankful that he is like that, so others like watching him.
As for the food, even if he does become a typical toddler and get picky, it sounds like he is doing ok. The poor kid has been sick for such a long time and it is amazing that he even eats that much!
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Yeah it's true. Right now I am upstairs counting to 10 and DH is downstairs trying to deal with lunch. He's just an absolute disaster. Screaming in his chair about we have no idea what. He won't tell us what he wants, or what is wrong...he told us he is hungry yet won't eat. I got him some milk and he screamed when I brought him the cup and pointed to the cupboard, wrong cup apparently. He threw his fork of food at me, screaming for more of stuff he already has! He does this often 'more more' he signs more yet he's already got a plate full. He told me he wanted down then when I tried to get him down he was trying to buckle the buckle back up as I was taking it off, crying all the while.
We can't give him any painkillers because they said nothing a week before surgery (ok actually we could do Tylenol but it doesn't help him with teeth). Oy vey.
Nap time anyone? Please let it be a long one.
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Hugs Wendy. It is so hard when they are like that. I hope he settles down.
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Big hugs from me too
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Nope - nap refusal on top. 1 hr of him screaming and carrying on. I get that he's been ill and teething but he can nap and eat at daycare even through all if it, they haven't had 1 napping issue from him in the entire 10 mths he's been at daycare. So what's the deal at home - seriously? I find myself raising my voice with him today - PMS unfortunately.
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I wish I had a suggestion for you. My friend's LO only naps at day care. Her daughter won't sleep at home and it drives my friend nuts. I've got nothing but more hugs.
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Hugs Wendy :)
Tonight we sat D down to supper with an empty bowl. The rest of us with a meal and she calmly asked for more from me. She ate more tonight in that one sitting than she had in the past week of suppers. Just a thought, but maybe overwhelmed by portion sizes? Will he eat a bite or two of what you're having? Now this may be a fluke but I'm going to try it again tomorrow.
Just a thought but it really worked tonight for us. Not sure why but after the past few weeks of supper time fiascos I'm ready for a change.
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Sounds almost like he's frustrated w/ his communication. Like he wants something particular and can't explain it! Not sure if that's true though.
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We're all so frustrated by his communication. It's so hit and miss as to whether we understand what he wants. Hoping that improves soon - maybe after tubes are in and fluid is out. But also have to remind myself that he's not even 2 yet so we maybe stuck at this phase for a while.
The rest of the day we simply did snacks so it went pretty well.
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I think the phase of being grumpy/irritable with teeth and whatnot, combined with still learning to speak and get across exactly what it is you want is the HARDEST most frustrating time!
Glad the rest of the day went well. :)
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Hope you had a good night after all that! Big hugs.