OMG!! This is driving me crazy!!

[BareFootMomma]

DD is 21 months old, and her eating lately is driving DH and me crazy. She doesn't want to eat ANYTHING, and then she screams and cries all day begging for food. We ask what she wants, and she will sometimes tell us some things like noodles(pasta), bread(sandwiches), crackers, cheese, peas, corn, etc. When we offer her what she asked for she doesn't want it, or anything else. This has been going on for a couple weeks now, and I can't do it anymore!

Do I just insist that she eat what we are making for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and let her starve if she doesn't want it? I know she is hungry because she always screams for more after she gets her mild before her nap and bed. I give her about 4 oz each time and she pounds it down and asks for more. I don't want to give her more because I don't want her just filling up on milk.

She is starting to sleep badly too because she wakes up early from both her nap and in the morning STARVING....and then of course wont eat anything. Ok, thats a lie, she will eat either german pancakes or waffles....but nothing else, and I am NOT making those every day for the rest of her life.

What Do I Do?!?!?!?

[We Three]

Ok...first, take a deep breath.   (((hugs)))

 Could she be getting molars and therefore be having some pain?  Also, am I understanding right that she gets 2 4 oz servings of milk per day?  I might really consider giving her more. I know your concerned that she is "fiiling up" on milk, but the fact is she needs more than 8 ounces, for the calcium, the fat, the protein. 

 Tell me more about mealtimes...are you sitting with her? Do you eat too?  Put a bunch of things on her plate in the morn...some dry cereal, a few cut up grapes, some french toast pieces, maybe a slice of an apple.  At lunch, maybe a cracker with cheese, a piece of a soft pear, some yogurt. I think if she refuses all of those things, it might be telling. If she refuses, I would just make no fuss, take it away, and when she cries for food, just happily tell her "Ok! Well, her's some food!" and give her what she refused already.  Do everything you can to remain brezzy and calm...and do try to sit and eat as well.

  Is she in a high chair? Maybe trying a booster at the table would help...then she would feel like she is with you, and the cahnge of scenery might do her well. 

 And lastly....is there a food she doesn't ever refuse? I would offer her smaller bits of her preferred food along with 2 or 3 other things on her plate.  Also do you suspect a texture issue? Does she like crunchy things? Soft things?  Try to expand along the lines of what she DOES like...like putting blueberries in her pancakes, or maybe trying waffles, which are similar in appearance and taste, kwim? 

 This could very well be molars, though, if she has always eaten well before. 

[BareFootMomma]

She used to eat a variety of things, but not everything we put in front of her. She would go through bad eating days, but make up for it later. I think we have had 1 or 2 good eating days in the past three weeks!

Right now there is NOTHING she will eat 100% of the time. Some days she will love something, and only eat that the whole day, and other days I feel like I am offering her a bit of everything in the house with no luck. There doesn't seem to be a consistent texture that she will eat. It changes every day.

We sit together for meals. It doesn't seem to make any difference. Her highchair is one that sits on top of a regular chair and the tray is removable so I can push it up to the table. Usually, if she doesn't eat what I offer for breakfast, I keep offering the refused food until the next meal time. But she literally hasn't eaten hardly anything for DAYS, so I have been offering her anything I can think of to try to get her to eat. This past week she even refuses to drink water most of the time!

How many oz of milk should she be drinking? I cut her back to 4 because she used to be eating a ton of cheese so I had no doubts that she was getting enough dairy products. Now she asks for cheese a lot, but never eats any of it.

She has all but her 2 year old molars, and I keep checking her gums and it doesn't feel like anything is trying to come through at all.

So far today (it is 5:30 pm here) she has eaten 1 spoonful of oatmeal (her spoon so about 1 teaspoon), 2 tiny chunks of soft pear, and half a ritz cracker. I have offered:

Yogurt, banana, toast, mac n cheese, an apple slice, cheese, spaghetti-o's, peaches, rice, corn, peas, and little bits of grilled chicken from last night....plus those 3 things she "ate".

[speechie]

hmm, hug honey- It does sound possible she's got some teeth lurking below the surface,... we usually went through spells like this with my LO too- a few bad weeks of eating - From the BEST eater to just not eating, then boom- eating again.
? pain meds prior to meals/bedtime for a day or two to see if it makes a difference? if she is waking- you think she's hungry, but maybe uncomfortable too?
Also, it may be worth taking her in to the MD for a quick check on her throat- sometimes a hidden throat infection or ear issues can cause kids to go off their food.

I agree with Anne- given how little she's eating, I'd up her fluids/milk intake and make sure she gets one portion of something she WILL eat at each meal. I remember making pancakes for 1 week straight for breakfast!
Hugs!

[mum101]

Hi, just looking at your first post (not the responses).

My DS was very hungry, but had undiagnosed giardia, so he was in pain/nauseaus when eating.  Keep an eye on a possible cause of pain while eating, and perhaps drinking milk isn't as difficult.  
Teething, tummy ache, or something else bugging your LO might be happening.

Since he was treated for giardia, DS had a more limited diet. He does go through patches of not often eating and so I do pander to him a bit to get him eating something.  Then I gradually drift back to usual eating habits.  His eating style is a grazer, so he doesn't like to sit down and eat a whole meal. He is happiest strolling around with a snack in hand!!  So if he's not eating well, I tend to place a platter on the coffee table and allow him to eat at will, works a treat for him.    Then we go back to more formal eating.

[BareFootMomma]

Well, we got a good day of eating on Saturday, nothing changed except that DH was home. She woke up apparently ready to eat anything we put in front of her! She ate so much that she didn't finish either of her bottles! Sunday wasn't as great with the eating, she even refused the pancakes I made for breakfast. She was massively overtired that day because of our Easter celebration party on Saturday night, so I understand her not eating.

She is still asleep today, so I don't know what is in store for her eating wise.

[karendbrooks]

just my 2 cents: My son always stops eating when he has an ear infection.  Have you taken your LO to the pedi lately? 

[lainy]

BareFootMomma!!!! You have exactly described what my days are like! I am going insane!!! I am trying to stay calm and composed but she is REFUSING to eat. She has all her teeth, no infections, no nothing (got her checked as this has been going for a year now - since the day that she accepted bottle) - she has no food desire nor does she feel hungry like other children!
I have a new born now and i am just getting frustrated as i simply dont understand what i need to do. at the moment i am letting her watch telly while we are eating and i am not forcing her to try anything....but we have tears for the first 5 min and she goes all stiff when i try to put her into the seat. i just dont know how to get her to touch the food, to lick it, to try it....it is impossible. I am soo exhausted!