Major food refusal and getting thinner :(

[Hedgehog17]

Things have gone massively backwards with solids here  DS was never great at them, but now he's refusing almost everything and is getting thinner

All the finger foods he used to eat, including turkey and tuna, now get thrown straight to the floor. He will nibble at things if I hold them for him, but most of the time he spits out the pieces. He'll have a tiny amount of rice cracker that he holds but most of it he spits back out. He will eat raisins, but they just go straight through him judging by the nappies so no nutritional benefit there 

Spoon feeding is a battle. He cries and cries and pushes the spoon away. Then he'll take a little. Then cries and pushes the spoon away again. Then take a little. Then the spitting starts... Anything with even a bit of texture he doesn't want. He was eating mashed potato, mashed sweet potato, and scrambled eggs. Now it's all instantly refused.

He is happy to drink water from his sippy (in preference to eating), and is having most of his milk (from bottles) although he's drinking less than he used to. He will happily suck down the contents of a stage 1 fruit / veg pouch from the pouch, but not if it's spoon fed. His nappies are back to runny again (teething and too much fruit puree).

I tried finely grating some cooked turkey and mixed it with mashed sweet potato, but he wouldn't have it. I can only get milk into him for protein at the moment.

Is this all down to teething? He's only got 1 molar and 4 canines left to cut, and he's teething almost constantly as his teeth come in so rapidly. He's got very little energy and is sleeping a lot.

I don't know what to do anymore  HVs around here are useless and the GPs not much better.. and nobody knows how to deal with an MPI baby anyway, not even the ped 

DH says just keep giving him the fruit pouches as at least he's getting something, but I think it's not a good idea as it's giving him diarrhea which means he's not absorbing it anyway 

Something's wrong and I don't know what to do 

[Lolly]

Have you started weaning the reflux meds yet? My two refluxers both refused food of most kinds when their reflux was flaring. DS in particular would live off fresh air. He had a big flare up last Christmas which could have been caused by the H pylori bug and back on meds he really picked up on the eating.

Teething really makes things hard for them, canines and molars seem to be particularly bad and teething also causes the reflux to be worse. Depending where you are with the meds I wonder if it's worth an increase for a while to see if it helps.

Laura

[Hedgehog17]

Thanks Laura 

He's still on the max dose, I haven't tried a wean yet. I know his reflux has been flaring again recently as he's been getting hiccups 

I take him to be weighed once a month and he's not gained enough in the last 2 months to require an increase yet!

He failed a dairy trial on Saturday - 1/4 tsp plain yoghurt at lunchtime resulted in an eczema flare by evening 

I'm really worried that he isn't growing properly now due to lack of nutrition!

[Lolly]

What meds is he on now? How much does he weigh?

Laura

[Hedgehog17]

He's on 2.4ml of ranitidine 3 x per day, and weighed 9.3Kg (just over 20lbs) 2 weeks ago at last weighing.

He hasn't yet tripled his birth weight (3.4Kg) 

I was worried as he's started to fall away from the curve again, and he isn't growing much in length either (I think he's about 74cm but can't be totally accurate with a squirming baby and a tape measure...)

[Lolly]

I wonder if the ranitidine just isn't working for him now? It's quite common for them to get used to it and it doesn't work anymore. Would your Dr prescribe a PPI for him to try for a few weeks?

Laura

[Hedgehog17]

I doubt my GP knows what a PPI is!  I don't think reflux is the problem, he's only hiccuping very occasionally when the teeth are really bothering him and he's not obviously swallowing or coughing or anything.

Breakfast (small fruit pot mixed with 3tsp baby porridge) went down ok, but it took 45min and a lot of cuddling. He's still doing the eat for a bit, then start spitting and pushing the spoon away, then eat a bit more, repeat until finished..

I know mealtimes are taking too long, but if I let him down at first refusal he'll have eaten about 4 weaning spoons full at best 

He's recovering from yet another nursery cold, so he's a bit snotty and tired, but not that bad. I've got it very badly and am struggling - I've been ill most of the last 2 months with assorted viruses  I'm sure that's not helping but I struggle to be upbeat and chatty with him when I've got a fever, sore throat and lungs full of mucous 

[deb]

Natalie is ridiculously petite and when she went thru a food refusal phase - although not as serious as yours - we ended up giving her a daily drink of rice milk with protein powder to make sure she got SOME nutrients into her. Seriously, the kid had a breakfast shake every morning. We got her a sort of sports bottle with rice milk and a partial scoop of this stuff - http://www.rainbowlight.com/Categories.aspx?Category=5f3b5a56-22df-4199-8b9d-c276449ab643 (and it also comes in vanilla) - and shake the heck out of it and she chugged it down. Even now I use the stuff in my own breakfast smoothies when I have them.  

[Hedgehog17]

Thanks Deb!

I'll find a UK equivalent and give it a try 

[MommaBrooke]

We are having lots of troubles with solids as well...and it is definitely molar related...L is working on 2 molars right now   I had to buy some jarred food because she's just not eating much of anything these days.  She's been somehow surviving on applesauce and formula...and all her solid foods come out just the way they went in because she isn't chewing her food up so well.  I'm finding that keeping purees handy in the fridge has helped because she's more likely to eat them if they are cold, I just pull a jar out if she's having a bad meal. 

I think I mentioned in the birth club that I have been relying on formula a lot during these phases.  If L refuses to eat and I know she's hungry I will get a bottle warming up right away...just to get some food into her.  I generally go by her cues at meal times, if she's refusing there's a reason, so I just give her an extra formula feed instead (she's been back up to 6 bottle days during some of these teething times). 

I also find she prefers snacking while teething, so I try not to expect her to eat any big meals, and just keep offering little things through the day (sometimes she surprises me and chows down a whole container of yogurt).  She stops the snacking once her mouth feels better again, so I don't worry too much about turning her into a snacker. 

That said...if you think it is something other than teeth I would definitely bring him in to the doc.  We had the same solid refusal with L when she had the Roseola virus and a throat infection.  She also had a fever, so that was a big hint to us that it wasn't just teeth...I would say if you have a gut feeling that this is something else then it's worth a visit to the doctor.


Hopefully things start to get better soon, and hopefully he'll get a bit of a break once his last molar comes in...until then just know you are not alone in this battle    

[EllenS]

Have you tried very cold things?  When my toddlers were teething, they would eat frozen veg (or fruit but you dont' need that) because it soothed their mouth - peas, chunks of winter squash, I suppose you could even make your own foodsickles if it helps.

Also, does he do the spoon himself?  I found that my dd1 would refuse to eat unless she was in complete control of the process (can you say firstborn control issues?) 

How long has it been going on? Any chance of a virus like cocksackie?  I had no idea for days that dd1 had blisters in her throat, and it took her a good 2 weeks to come around with eating again.

This may sound simpleminded, sorry, but I figured it was worth a shot.

[Hedgehog17]

Thank you Brooke and Ellen 

Things have slowly started to improve - today he ate some boiled rice at lunch (I was having some too) although it only got eaten if I finger fed it to him  After that a box of raisins and dried apple pieces went down pretty fast (he picked them up and stuffed them in)  So no fruit puree thank goodness! No protein either  but if he's willing to do textures again I'll see if he'll take some scrambled egg tomorrow...

I'm wondering if a lot of this is developmental.. he's trying to assert his authority, and refusing food is a great way to do that when you're 12mo 

He will not feed himself with a spoon, to him a spoon in his hand is a chew toy, then it gets flung on the floor. Bowls are for tipping upside down. I tried to get him to dip the spoon and put it in his mouth (my hand over his) but he didn't like it after a couple of tries and the wriggling started...

He's never been keen on cold things for teething, and won't eat chilled food. Everything he gets is at room temperature (food, milk, water, medicine, toothpaste).

Heath wise he's ok, slightly runny nose still, very occasional mild cough, but no sore throat or earache or fever. I'd rather not take him to the GP as they really are clueless 

I think I'll just have to keep a careful eye on him, and ride this out. He's due to be weighed again just after he turns 13mo so I'll see how he's going.. DH and I think he may feel a bit heavier.. fingers crossed X

Thanks again for all your support, it really means a lot and it does help 

[Smurfette]

Hugs hun!

Can you get him into see a specialist if things don't improve? I am by no means an expert, but this seems like more to me than just teething.
It must be very stressful for you!

What is his temperment during the day when he's playing? How is his energy level?
When did he start to refuse to eat the foods that he used to eat, like the tuna and turkey you mentioned?

If you put him in a stroller and go for a walk and give snacks in the tray, will he eat them? Ie does being distracted help?

[Hedgehog17]

Thanks Smurfette 

He's not going to eat while on the move - there are far too many interesting things for him to look at (mostly cars - he's a boy!) and food flung out of the pushchair would have to remain on the ground. At home I pick it up quickly and wipe the floor underneath where he eats several times a day so it's pretty clean.

He is continuing to improve, and genuinely was hungry for breakfast today, and chowed the lot down with no complaints 

I have some steamed turkey strips for his lunch so I'll see if he'll eat those later...

He went off his usual finger foods about a couple of weeks ago, when he had 2 molars coming through at once. Last night he was up crying his head off from 1am to 1.45 (we gave meds and water) but DH thinks it may have been growing pains as there's no sign of any more teeth this morning... 

I'm still thinking this has been developmental - he's made a few leaps in communication, movement and co-ordination in the last few days 

[Smurfette]

He is continuing to improve, and genuinely was hungry for breakfast today, and chowed the lot down with no complaints

Awesome!