Support from momīs of non great eaters please?

[Mom2X&F&V]

Hi there... my dd is not a great solid eater or formula drinker...  I hate it! I feel so desperate when she doesnīt eat or drink. I feel so stressed out when she only eats 2 oz and then none of her formula. Ok solids 1 or 2 cubes per fed at most. 4 pm bottle is impossible for her and me. I do not like to make her eat but then what do I do? Leave her? It has been terrorific months for me cause she simply does not like to eat. Why is it? Any advice on a schedule or anything I can do please... As for today she drank 2 oz of formula at 8 and thats it. She wonīt have her milk right now and doesnīt want solids either. No sign of teeths yet, but I know she is on that period. Any help please??? I am desperate now.

[~tess~]

perhaps the formula you use hurts her tummy?  if she is refusing food, i would suspect a tummy ache...maybe ask your dr about switching formula?

[Beata]

Oh Daniela {{{{ hugs}}}}...Have you talked to your doctor? Is she losing weight?

My dd bf well, but not solids, but now as bad as yours, and I know it's stressful and not always EASY!!!

[Mariek]

Hi Daniela

Just moving this over to the feeding forum.

love

[small1]

Hi, my lo was a terrible eater, but it has gotten better over time, but it did take time.  She probably put on 2oz per week as a lo, on a good week, but if you saw her now you wouldn't believe it. 

What really helped with us, was my unstressing, dealing with her constipation (which we hadn't thought was a problem) and seeing other children eat.  Have you tried at all letting your lo try to feed herself (messy but could work), or try feeding with other lo's feeding will often help.   If you are anxious then your lo will pick up on this, have you considered letting someone else feed her?

It is hard, but if your Dr isn't worried, and you feel your lo is bright and alert then you will have to try to be less anxious.

Best of luck
Ali

[declanjoseph]

Ali - you posted that your lo was a poor eater, low weight and that dealing with her constipation helped - I'm in the same boat - my ds has been constipated for on and off for a while now - he has a tiny appetite and his weight is only in the 4th percentile for his age (9 months).  What did you do for the constipation - I feel like I've tried so much but we're not having very much luck.

Thanks,
Lisa

[small1]

Hi there, just replying on the constipation front. 

My lo was constipated the moment I started her on solids, nothing helped, prunes, only veg, more water..... we tried it all.  At first adding prunes to everything she ate helped, and using the occasional suppository but still it wasn't that great.  It got to a point that her nursery asked us to take her to a specialist as they were getting upset at her distress when passing stools, and she would bleed most times.  The Dr wasn't too helpful and gave Lactulose, which is very good, but the constipation had gone on too long and the thought of going due to the pain meant we had to give her Senna as well (this makes her contract, and the lactulose is a stool softener) so with both of these it started to get better.  They can both be used with no adverse affects (we had been seeing a specialist for this, but you can actually buy both over the counter).

But then we read that a trial had occured where some babies were taken off dairy and put onto soya, as she is old enough now we thought we would try for 2 weeks, and it worked for us. With no need of other medication.  We have to be careful as we give her dairy milk with her cereal and all other is soya.  She doesn't take too much soya (we use unsweetened), but the specialist said so long as she is having a healthy varied diet, eating meat, beans, veg and fruit etc. then we have no worries.

Hope this helps, well worth getting it sorted before your lo even hates the idea of having to go.

Best of luck
Ali

[Cecilia~Olivia's mom]

Hi there. 
Ali had some great advise.
We had the same problem with Olivia at about the same age - she was Lactose intolerant, we switched to a Lactose free formula, not Soy, & by the second bottle feed things went great.  She started drinking much more milk, slept better, thus her solid intake inproved drastically by week 2, with the help of allowing her to make a mess while discovering food on a plate infront of her to access.  Placing her at the table while we had family meals helped a great deal too.

Teething could play a big role as well.

Oh, about the constipation - we used baby OVAL, few drops with her milk, every other feed day one , no more than 3 times a day, worked like a charm, pain free for baby.  I found the Lactulose gave her really bad gas cramps -nice warm milk with Oval would go right through her in no time - huge poop within 30 min to 1 hr - then she would nap without discomfort & wake up nice & hungry, that's when I'd try a bit of solids followed by milk 40 min later - don't worry, those feeds will soon become one feed & milk will be a "snack" soon enough. 
We still use Oval once in a while & it always delivers :wink:

HTH & good luck -

[declanjoseph]

thanks for the information.  i'm in the US and haven't heard of Oval but will look into it.  we will also ask the pedi about stool softeners.  we have been adding olive oil to his vegetables hoping that may help lubricate his system.  we're also being sure to cut out all rice/bananas and the like.  i had heard somewhere that peas help act as a natural softener so we're trying to add peas every day and do mix prunes to his oatmeal each morning.  the constipation has been going on for months and we're hoping for some relief for him soon so he has a better appetite and gains some weight.

[Arwyn's mom]

Hi there...

I also have a terrible eater... won't eat much at all and it really stresses me out. The only thing that keeps me from worrying so much is that she is alert and active. She loves to feed herself and while it takes sooooo long and is sooooo messy, it makes meal times fun for her, so... I put up with it. Even then though... she doesn't eat much.

About the constipation, DD was all stopped up and it coincided with a doctor's visit so... I asked him about it. Turns out that she had a fissure and that was causing her to hold her poop in. He recommended some prescription cream and to feed her orange juice, with lots of pulp. :shock: It kind of freaked me out but I tried it and it works... so, worth a shot.

Good luck!

[Cecilia~Olivia's mom]

Pulpy orange juice!  Wish I knew that. You coulds also try pear nectar, not so acidy & not to worry about a milk feed afterwards, especially if tummy is a little upset.
Peas(peas n carrots mixed)are great too, Olivia eats about a full can a week as a side or mixed into meatloaf etc. (green beans canned are very tender & no strings/tips, so mushes easliy when gummed if lo has no teefies)  The frozen peas tend to be harder & don't mush too well, even after I boil/stir fry them.  Canned is definetly the way to go (or from your garden)