Failure to Thrive & Mealtime Battles

Have you thought about having her tested for Celiac disease? My 3 yr old daughter was finally diagnosed after 1.5 years of trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She was so skinny, couldn't put on weight. At 24 months she weighted 24 pounds. There are many symptoms for Celiac Disease, one is failure to thrive. Celiac is an autoimmune disease where the body (the small intestine) attacks gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats). Maybe your daughter doesn't like to eat because it makes her tummy hurt. Your dr can do a simple blood test. After a month of gluten free eating our daughter was so much better and after 6 months, people can't believe she's the same person!

Hope things get better, hang in there.
K.

top ramen. My son was like that for a while, and top ramen has become the only thing I can get him to eat most days He is getting better though. I have also started giving him vitamins in the morning and putting a thin yogurt in his sippy cup. he is 27months and weighs 29 puonds. when we started he was 19 months and 15pounds so its goin good

god bless
R.

Could be an ear infection or throat infection and it's painful to swallow. Take her to the doctor. Better safe than sorry!

If your daughter is allergic to dairy, I'd also suggest having her tested for other food allergies, including gluten, if you have not already done so. Celiac disease or gluten intolerance does not always show up on blood tests though. My daughter's severe celiac did not show up on her initial blood tests. Also, my now three year old niece showed classic failure to thrive symptoms for the first year and a half. After her diagnosis with celiac (following my daughter's), she began eating and growing and is now healthy. Good luck!

Hi M.,

Have faith you will figure this out....Meanwhile has your daughter been to see a pediatric gastroenterologist, if not I would get her to one as soon as possible. She may be having heartburn (silent reflux). Kids with silent reflux will refuse food, because it causes pain and are thus conditioned to not want to eat.

Hello!

I just read your post and can relate. I just went through the same situation with my daughter. At 19 months she was just 18 pounds and had not put on any weight for several months. At 12 month she became a VERY picky eater and just seemed to lose interest in food. I couldn't even tempt her with her favorites. Other than that, she is extremely active and healthy.

As worried sick as I was, I was determined not to make it a battle. Luckily, she still loved her milk, so I knew she was getting fluids. As far as food, some days all she got down were a few bites.

Slowly, she has regained a bit of her appetite. She is 21 months and this just happened over the last two weeks. Last night I noticed she had three new molars that broke through and I see several smaller teeth about to break the gums, (she is a late teether). I think this may have been our problem...although she is still small (and picky) so I still worry.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know I understand what you are going through. I honestly beleive these things work themselves out in time. If it becomes a battle, it will draw out longer. Hang in there and good luck!

You might appreciate the book "My Child Won't Eat!" published by La Leche League. You could find it online at www.llli.org or Amazon, or borrow it for free from your local La Leche League group. I know SLC has a large and actice group, so I"m sure their group library is well-stocked. You can find your local Leader's number on the Web site and she could help you get your hands on that book.
Best wishes!

M., I am a speech therapist and was wondering if this could be a texture thing with her. Have you had her evaluated for that? She could be having a sensory issue with textures in her mouth. I would suggest you contact a speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding and swallowing (yes, this is in our scope of practice) and see what they suggest. They can do some testing with different textures, and then give you ideas and such as to what you can do with this. Stay in contact with your dietician for the calories also. Also, how are her communication skills? Does she tell you anything when she does not want to eat? Yucky, no, please, etc? Good luck!
Lisa

I would talk to your Dr about supplements at this point. The main thing is liquids if she is refusing and she cannot boycott liquids, if she is getting dehyrdrated she will end up in the hospital.

Kids go through picky stages, you have to offer it and then if she plays with it do what you are doing. Take her down, she won't not eat because of this, the two are seperate issues. It is only a battle if you make it one. She has a choice to eat or not, period. If you are inconsistent on the throwing food thing she will be confused on when it is okay to listen to you. If she throws it, take her down from the table. If she sees you stressed about her eating it will cause more problems. Be matter of fact about it, if she doesn't want to eat say "well it is here if you get hungry" and put it up. She needs to see you relaxed about eating and meals.

When she is refusing anything nutritional for days on end you need to talk to your Dr. If is just a few days don't worry too much just make sure she drinks.

When my kids went on mini food strikes, I would give them pediasure mixed with regular whole milk, since she is allergic to milk you can try soy. They have yummy flavors and I knew at least they were getting the calories and vitamins they needed. Or go look at a health food store for maybe the equivilant of the pediasure without dairy.

Another thing is you can try too is smoothies without dairy in them. Just add apple juice (Or better the V8 juices with veggies in the, cut up bananas, carrots, ripe peaches or whatever her favorite fruit is and blend up with crushed ice. Add soy milk if need be for more texture.

My daughter was only 16 lbs on her first birthday and has continued to be petite. I used to worry a lot and the Dr reassured me about it. Is your Dr the one concerned? If so you need to talk to them about what a good plan is and your concerns always.

Offer higher calorie and nutritious stuff however don't let her play with her food either. She very well could be teething which causing big changes in what they want to eat and appetite. Try seeing if she is cutting molars. I know during that time my kids just weren't interested in food.

Make sure she is hydrated always though. She should have five to six pee pee diapers a day and there shouldn't be color to her urine (unless she has taken a vitamin).

Good luck, I will pray for you it is a phase.

I wonder if the problem is a texture thing. When our son had failure to thrive we saw a feeding therapist who was tremendously helpful. It sounds like your daughter may be taking advantage of you and playing you. I'd stick to table manners as much as possible, and maybe just offer food more often. Failure to thrive is no fun. We were so excited the first time our son was on the growth chart (3% -- not really there, but such huge progress). I hope your daughter starts gaining soon!

As far as mealtime battles, keep up with your rules of not throwing food. My 20 month old was doing that for a while but we would use the Love & Logic method of saying Ah Ohh! Looks like a little bedroom time is coming up right here for you - it is so sad. Then we would put him in his crib for 3-5 minutes. We would leave a timer and when it went off we would go get him and say looks like you are ready to be sweet. Bring him back to the table to try again. This way he is not missing meal-time but understands there is a consequence to throwing food.
Check out www.loveandlogic.com for great parenting tips, book, and classes.

You may still have some food or medical problem, but your child doesn't have to throw the food.

Good luck!