13Month Baby Used to Eat Now Won't Eat ANYTHING

My son was very tiny and only weighed 16 lb. 8 oz at one year. He only weighed 13 lb. at 6 months and they started doing tests then. He had: salmonella at 9 mos., heart defect diagnosed at 11 mos., H-flu at 11 mos., roseola at 12 mos., and open heart surgery for the heart defect at 17 mos. At age 3 his growth chart started to level off, so we had to see a pediatric endocrinologist. They did a wrist bone x-ray - it showed his bone age was behind his chronological age. He is still thin for his age - he is 21 years old now and weighs 120 lbs. - just like his Dad at this age.
How is he on the growth chart? Have they suggested a pediatric endocrinologist?

M. in EGV

Has anyone thought of food allergies? My son has an egg allergy and that caused him to be real picky because he didn't want to have the same reaction again. He also didn't want to eat solids because fuilds were easier. He lived on keifer and milk for months. Have you tried offering him bits of whole food like peas and cheerios? I would assume you have but your message doesn't state so.
Best wishes
S.

Dear H.,
I had the exact situation with my 1st born (now almost 10 yrs.old). He was three weeks early, had sensory issues, worked with therapists from early intervention until he was three, did the MRI, saw a neurologist & other specialists and did not walk until 16 mos. He stopped eating at 9 mos. until I started letting him feed himself. Once I started letting him feed himself he began eating again, it took several weeks with some help (getting used to finding his mouth) and was pretty messy (I put a plastic art mat under his high chair). Also, if you haven't switched to a sippy cup that should also help (I had to buy quite a few until we found a brand that he liked). Hope this helped.
PS- He has always been small for his age, but is very healthy and I no longer worry about his weight.

Mention it to your EI team--esp the OT.

Just based on what you say about him not sucking quickly and such, have you seen an ENT? Maybe he has trouble swallowing. A nutritionist will be a great source but if he won't eat, it won't do any good.

Make sure the opening on the cereal/milk bottle is not too large. Make your son struggle for that food. He needs his sucking muscles strengthened. If you slowly pull back and forth on the bottle and/or side to side, it should cause him to suck harder to hang on to the bottle. You don't want to ever let a bottle drip. Kids can't develope those sucking reflexes unless they have something to suck. Good luck.

I would say that two of my four children had no interest in baby food at all. I have ask my pediatrician and she just says not to worry about it. I started feeding my babies noodles, cheese, yogurt, small bites of veggies around 8 months. They love the independence and won't let me spoon feed at all! Hopefully, it's is more of a independence problem than a feeding problem. If he won't eat table food, then I would be more concerned. I couldn't tell by your "story" if you had tried that. Good luck!