NO desire to eat

[KathrynK]

Hi Zoey

Sophie is the same age as Owen and had phases just like this on and off when cutting her molars and eye teeth. She's a big girl too- same height and weight as O! LOL at your 4hr feedings from birth- us too! Are you sure they're not related???
Things that work for me are:
Timing breakfast right. She gets up normally 6.30am and has about 4-5oz milk. Breakfast at 7.45am sharp. Any earlier and she isn't hungry enough. Any later than about 8.15am and she is so hungry she's gone past the point of eating and just wants out of her chair. No snack from breakfast till lunch.

Definitely cutting down pm snack. She has lunch 11am and naps from 11.45 till 2. Size of snack at 2pm varies depending on how she's eaten at lunchtime, but if she's had a normal decent lunch then she'll just have some fruit at 2pm, maybe a small peach, or a dozen grapes. Any more than this and that's dinner out the window. Dinner's at 5/5.15pm.

Making portion sizes smaller- this is a total winner. I make her the same amount of food as always, but put only maybe half of it on her plate. She loves to finish it and ask for more; she's much happier this way than if she gets a huge plateful and feels defeated when she can't eat it all. She tends to eat more overall if she starts off with less.

Watching how much she is drinking and when. I make sure she has a good drink with her snack after her nap at 2pm and then she doesn't drink much at all after about 3.30pm. Means her tummy's not full of liquid come dinner time. I drink loads just before a meal when I am dieting- it's a great trick to fill me up so I follow the same logic with Sophie.

don't know if any of this will help- it may just be teeth. hang on in there xxxx

[Zoey]

Hi Zoey

Sophie is the same age as Owen and had phases just like this on and off when cutting her molars and eye teeth. She's a big girl too- same height and weight as O! LOL at your 4hr feedings from birth- us too! Are you sure they're not related???
Things that work for me are:
Timing breakfast right. She gets up normally 6.30am and has about 4-5oz milk. Breakfast at 7.45am sharp. Any earlier and she isn't hungry enough. Any later than about 8.15am and she is so hungry she's gone past the point of eating and just wants out of her chair. No snack from breakfast till lunch.

Definitely cutting down pm snack. She has lunch 11am and naps from 11.45 till 2. Size of snack at 2pm varies depending on how she's eaten at lunchtime, but if she's had a normal decent lunch then she'll just have some fruit at 2pm, maybe a small peach, or a dozen grapes. Any more than this and that's dinner out the window. Dinner's at 5/5.15pm.

Making portion sizes smaller- this is a total winner. I make her the same amount of food as always, but put only maybe half of it on her plate. She loves to finish it and ask for more; she's much happier this way than if she gets a huge plateful and feels defeated when she can't eat it all. She tends to eat more overall if she starts off with less.

Watching how much she is drinking and when. I make sure she has a good drink with her snack after her nap at 2pm and then she doesn't drink much at all after about 3.30pm. Means her tummy's not full of liquid come dinner time. I drink loads just before a meal when I am dieting- it's a great trick to fill me up so I follow the same logic with Sophie.

don't know if any of this will help- it may just be teeth. hang on in there xxxx

Lol maybe they ARE related!  This is brilliant advice, thank so much.  I'll stick with the smaller portions, and less liquid too.  You guys are so fabulous. 

[franchick]

I also notice that drinks can make a big difference - we usually let Katie have a small drink (maybe 3oz) of watered down juice at 4pm then nothing till dinner time at about 5.30 / 5.45. Then, when she has her meal, I don't offer a drink until I notice she is slowing down, then I give water, then she tends to speed up again! 

As Stacy said, as long as he has one 'decent' meal a day, it probably won't matter much the quantities he has at other times. We will forgo breakfast in lieue of a small snack and a 'big' lunch, but a lot of mums find that breakfast is the best meal of the day (which it probably 'should' be so they burn off the energy through the day).

Oh, and when Katie is teething, she eats about a *quarter* of what she normally does (yes, really) and this lasts for about 10 days to 2 weeks at a time - just when we wonder if there is something 'wrong' she goes back to eating 'normally'. She is 75th percentile for weight and height, so she is not fading away either!

Yes - they do start to 'thin' out and stretch up at this age - Katie's cousin, Myka (now 4yrs old) stretched out so much all her trousers started to fall down 

[Zoey]

Hi, it's me again....

So today and yesterday he has had practically no intake.

*Monday he got a head cold - it resolved quickly.
*The two top 2yr molars are a tiny bit through the gum, barely feel a point.
*He will eat an apple, or graham crackers like a champ.

It seems this is getting worse not better.  Today he climbed into his seat, I gave toast (usually a fav) a plum (again fav) and offered a bite of oatmeal.  He threw the plum on the floor, tried to stick the toast to his chest and tummy as if it were a sticker, and turned his head away from the oatmeal and said 'all done' - he ate nothing. 

I called the doc, the nurse called back and asked me 1million stupid questions.  Spent 20m on the tele with her and hung on knowing nothing more than when I started except for a headache from her stupidity.  She thinks perhaps this is all from my giving him Motrin this morning before his breakfast... yes lady that's why he hasn't been eating well for 2 weeks, because of today - absolutely.      I told her I am brining him in tomorrow morning if he doesn't eat today. 

For lunch he ate 6 bites of soup that he usually loves, and 1 tub of tapioca before telling me 'all done'.

He has lost 2lbs in 2 weeks.  He seems otherwise ducky.

Can anyone fix this?  Please?

[aisling]

Oh poor thing.  Sorry Zoey, only time will fix it.  ((((HUGS)))  If the teeth are popping through, hooray, you are on your way. Nello lost weight too those 2 weeks and lived off of yogurt, milk, and Popsicles/Ice Lollies. The cold doesn't help as you know yourself, you don't feel like eating as everything tastes yucky.  Nello had a head cold with his top 2nd yrs and hand foot and mouth with his bottom 2nd years. Teething really zaps there immunity and resistance.  Some kids like ours are hit so hard.  At least he is ducky, Nello was.... and to cheer you up sweetie, I'll use a classic George Costanza via Larry David's writing analogy...Nello was.. "ANGRY... like an old man trying to return soup at a deli!" 

HTH,  more ((((HUGS))) it is hard when you see them usually so robust getting "skinny."  Get well vibes for your Lo as well. As  long as he is drinking, he is ok.  One thing, I didn't even bother giving any motrin etc...with these last top 2nd yrs, I was sick of him drinking that stuff and it didn't even help, he made it through without it this is the only time round we didn't use pain relief, I did use the Hylands teething tabs though.

Aisling x

[Colin Macs Mom]

Zoey, Colin's also working on those two year molars and he is hardly eating either. Cold apples, watermelon or peas he will eat but not much else at all.

[Peek-a-boo]

Zoey--this is way out there . . . but, any chance his reflux is acting up?

[binxyboo]

The molars are a PITA all around, but I would be concerned about the weightloss, and would get him checked out, if it were me. Chances are he is just fine, but always better to be on the safe side.

[Zoey]

Zoey--this is way out there . . . but, any chance his reflux is acting up?

Oh goodness I hope not

[Angelle]

did you make an appt with the doc after the stupid nurse's input?  i wish i was more help z. 

[BabyBsMommy]

Hugs, Zoey!  Do you think the cold symptoms may actually be from the molars (ie. the runny nose) - all of that is probably compounding the problem right now.  Have you given him any PB yet?  If so, maybe he'd eat some on the graham crackers.....  I am lucky the DS is a really good eater and only stops when something is really bugging him but his preferences definitely change.  Sometimes he will only pick at his lunch but then eat a whole apple afterwards.  I look at it as, wow, he ate a whole apple, and leave it at that.  Sometimes he just doesn't feel like what we offer, even if it's a fave, but can't tell us what he'd rather have, kwim?  At one point, he loved a full plate of food.  Now he prefers to just have a few bites of each thing on his tray and then asks for more so I agree with the advice to try a bit less in front of him.  We don't do a morning snack unless he didn't go for any fruit at brekkie, in which case he may get a little bit of it for a snack.  Most often, breakfast is a big meal, there is little interest in lunch, he gets a teeny snack after his nap (a few bites of fruit, 1-2 ww crackers, etc.) and then dinner usually goes well.  Just hang in there.....  you shouldn't be afraid to bring him in about the weight thing though(I know, of course, that you won't be afraid to do that at all!).

[Janet]

Zoey... my pedi has always told me at this age (and on up) that if they get one good meal every 3 days that's pretty normal. Doesn't help you much with getting him to eat... but maybe look at his meals over a couple of days rather than one day at a time. Julia goes thru these phases also... but I don't weigh her (unless we go to the pedi) and I can't really fixate on what's she's eating b/c I have another one to distract me.  I do think he'll be okay.

[Mom2katiebug]

Zoey - Just power-read through everying, but do you ask him what he wants to eat?  We try to engage K in the food decisions for brekkie and lunch (easier to be flexible) and stand firm on dinner.  She also gets a bedtime powershake so I don't worry if she turns up her nose at dinner.  We get a better intake if she's engaged, but we're probably creating a monster in the long run...

[Zoey]

Thanks again everyone.  I tried letting him choose, he picked an apple lol -he always picks an apple, too many apples and he gets loose poops.   I' just going to try and stay unstressed about it.

thanks again.

[Mom2katiebug]

Will he take applesauce when he says apple?  If so, could you mix some other good things in?  Maybe some protein powder or some vitamins?