Suggestions on Getting My 18 Month Old to Eat Better

Dear C.,

As long as her physician isn't worrying about her weight, I'd say, don't worry either. She may just be tiny for a while and will catch up later.

My son weighed 28 pounds at two years old and at three years old he weighed in at 28 pounds. He started growing after three and is now average size.

The chemo may have caused her to be a little smaller, but I'd talk to her doctor if you are concerned.

Best wishes,
K. A.

Have you discussed this with her physician? Considering what she's been through, this is a serious issue and may need professional intervention.

Hi C.... my husband and I are also concerned about our little girl as well. She is 14 months old and also weighs 18.6 lbs! We are constantly hearing how "tiny" she is. That would be fine with me if #1 she wasn't such a picky/finicky eater and #2 she hasn't gained weight in almost 3 months! We too are going through the stress of having a child who we have to CONSTANTLY encourage to eat! We have tried a few things lately that have been working. The first is I started slowly introducing Pediasure in her milk. She HATED it at first, but she LOVED "VERY vanilla soy milk" by Silk (which is different that the Vanilla soy milk). I had several moms suggest this to me and it worked. But, it didn't have near the calories that Pediasure did so I started mixing the two. First it was just a splash, then 1/4, then 1/2 then 3/4 now she drinks it straight. It took almost 4 weeks to make the transition, but it's worth it. Some days it's almost all she eats/drinks. The other thing we have started doing is letting her make her own eating schedule. We always have food out for her to take if she wants it. She's a very strong willed little girl and wants to do things on her time, her way. So, this way she controls the situation. The other thing I give her everyday is a full fat popsicle. She's teething still so this feels good on her teeth and provides an extra boost of calories.
Although these situations can be so stressful, it's nice to know other people are going through it too. Be encouraged. God bless.

C.,
underweight is not a very big problem, my daughter who is 18 month old also had the same problem. I tried pediasure too but she didnt like the taste. Do keep trying with natural foods like banana(helps to gain a lot of weight) and rice in milk porridge, semolina in milk porridge. Try to give her natural foods as far as possible rather than processed foods available over the counter. Rice and pulses with stewed vegetables are good for children. Add some salt and a dollop of salted butter to taste and you have a delicious food ready for lunch. Try whole wheat products at dinner rather than foods made out of refined flour. Hope it will help. Do get back to me and tell me how these worked.......Bye and take care

I have seen that doctors will sometimes recommend giving vitamin supplements to stimulate hunger. I would discuss this with your pediatrician and oncologist to make sure the dose is right for your child and the timing of the vitamins wont interfere with chemo. It is a simple method that is used with the elderly when they suffer from poor appetite. Also, with our own child, I have found that if the right (Healthy foods) are offered she will eat twice as much as smething that doesn't please her. She could eat unlimited junk food if we let her. It is amazing though when she is so full and wont eat more, if you pull out ice cream or something else for desert,she instantly is hungary for that. She only gets desert if she finishes everything (we still give her small portions)

First of all let me congratulate you on keeping her well through this situation and for dealing the an extremely ill infant. It's tough! What I do want to say is I'm not qualified, as are few to give you the help you really need. But there is one place you might want to consider and it's a holistic specialist. Traditional medicine is wonderful at treating situations such as your daughters, but when it comes to nutrition, they aren't as good. We have a lot to learn about food, and from what I've discovered subtle food changes work miracles. My story is not mean to downplay your situation, but it may help. My dogs, yes I'm talking about my puppies, were having some serious problems. My first dog was diagnosed with Transition Cell Carcinoma about 3 months ago, and at this time I was told about some dietary switches that could help slow even reverse the process. These weren't weired changes such as using ground sea kelp during the full moon or anything; they were simple changes such as supplementing with yogurt. Guess what, they worked.

My next situation is my 9 week old puppy that we have bottle fed since he was 2 days old. He has had skin problems for about a month, and the Vet has tried everything. I finally turned to the holisitc side and changed his food to a holisic kind and added yogurt. Within one feeding things were better. I guess you can do some research on what natural foods could help her. When I read your posting I noticed that you were mentioning processed foods, which in themselves can cause problems. If she is not on immunosupression therapy, then you could try a more holistic approach using fresh foods, which may make a difference.

I hope this at least gives you a place to start looking; I used to make fun of my neighbor because of her organic food and her concious effort to eat only the right foods, but I'm slowly coming to her side. I've seen first hand the difference with a few small changes.

Keep a log of what she is eating all day. she might be getting enough calories throughout the day. This is a GREAT link for figuring out a toddlers perplexing diet/eating issues:

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/feeding_your_toddl...

I have this under favorites!

1st off I want to God bless you and you little girl for having to to go through something so awful at such an early age. Thank God she came through it ok. My little sister was and still is avery picky eater. My dad tried all sorts of stuff to get her to eat better...you know what he discovered she liked? Soy nuts and smoothies. You can get the smoothie packs at walmart in the produce section. all you have to do is add fresh fruit, milk or yogurt, ice and the smoothie pack and blend in the blender. but give her some time, she'll get her appetite back one of these days. also, don't get too hung up on charts and stats. some kids are just petite. my little girl is 2 and is only 27 lbs...like the 30% for weight, but she is tall for her age and it makes her look even slimmer. she is very active and eats a pretty balanced diet..most of the time. as long has your girl is generally healthy, then i wouldn't worry too much right now.

I have an almost 29 month old that has been consistenly in the 10th percentile for height and 3rd (but no more than 5th) for weight. She is also very very active and eats, but doesn't gain. I have talked with her pediatrician about it numerous times and he says there is nothing to be concerned about. She is healthy, she's just petite. She is just now starting to (seemingly) get taller and gain some weight. Talk with her doctors just to be sure, but sounds like she is just like my daughter.

C.,
Hello, My name is R.. I have a 4 year old daughter who just completed feeding therapy at Richmond Children's Hospital Day Program. You can see her at http://www.myspace.com/millerrenee. Her case is a little different she was totally g-tube dependent! She refused pretty much everything. However, in 7 weeks we were able to get her to eat 100% by mouth (all pureeds in her case because she doesn't have the chewing skills yet). Hope you can get some ideas from my videos! The biggest thing for Reanna is the rewards. She loves her DVD player. I reward her with each bite by letting her watch her video! You can also use toys at the table. You just don't give the reward until the bite has been taken. You would be suprised what rewards will do. You should think about joining my yahoo group at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/learn_to_eat/. This group was originally designed to share her feeding progress as we were in the program. However, others have requested to join and now it is turning into more of a support group where other people can join and talk about their own challenges with feeding their children.

Sincerely,

R.

I can't imagine what you're going through! I think as long as you try to push that pediasure (have you tried putting it in her milk? b/c my kids loved "magic milk" with the pediasure in it," and anything with that extra fat/vitamins that she needs, I think eventually she will start to gain. Her doctors would probably tell you if this was out of the ordinary for her situation/condition. I really think she's at that age, too, where the weight just sort of stops climbing b/c she's so active. I have an 18 month old son and a 3.5 year old and my youngest has been the same weight for months, my oldest was just the same. Once she gets a good appetite back, she'll probably be hitting a growth spurt; that's the best time to push the good stuff AND let her eat some cake, too. I was a "failure to thrive" baby (for different reasons than she) and I was that way all throughout life; in size 3T in kindergarten, smallest kid in my class all throughout school, and 100 lbs after two kids. She may always be on the small side of the spectrum, but she'll do OK, mom :) good luck to you and to your little muffin :)

C., I am so sorry that your family had to go through all that, but so glad that your daughter is doing well.
I am sure doctors are involved in the situation with her weight .If they want you to try to bring it up with foods and stuff, I definatly agree with going organic(if you can afford it)Other moms gave great ideas, yo baby yougurt has lots of fat in it(and also comes with vitamins......some kinds) , cheese, goat milk(I have found that it has more fat than cows milk and with some organic chocolate suryp(more calories and better tast if she does not like milk) can help your daughter....here is a link http://askdrsears.com/html/3/t032400.asp)
Avocados, natual penut butter, eggs, dried ftuit are high calorie/good fat healthy options.
Those are just ideas, but getting her to eat them is a different story:)
Some kids(people) naturally have very high metabolism, so she might never get to the 97th % .
Hope this helps :)

Hi C.-

What about whole milk yogurt and add some maple syrup to it, maybe with banana in it. It's yummy. What about eggs? How about raw milk cheese (raw milk is easier to digest) or regular cheese. My daughter like Mozzarella (not raw), she's a picky eater (11 yr old). She needs fat. You might be able to find a ginger syrup at the health food store - would help with nausea and help her tummy. I eat ginger candy (from health food store), but it's strong.
Also, her health may be helped by some cod liver oil (from health food store), put some in juice. There is some chewable Acidophilis at the health food store, one brand is Flora Bears by Renew Life. My daughter likes it. Acidophilis would help her stomach and also helps build back good bacteria.

Also, chicken broth (esp. homemade) is great health builder. My daughter loves it, even though she's a vegetarian. We put lots of butter in it and salt.

You can check out http://www.westonaprice.org for a healthy eating resource.

Hope this helps and hope your daughter starts to eat better.

love and prayers,

J.

Hi Connnie,
Just a thought. Not sure if it is ok for little ones but what about Boost the protien drink for adult who need extra nutrition. I know it is used to put weight on geriatric pts. I drank it after a jaw surgery and it wasn't bad. It comes in van. choc. & straw and has lots of vitamins-more creamy than carnation drinks. Not ideal but if she likes it it's better than nothing. What gilr can resist choc.
Also might you be able to slip some protien powder (soy not whey) into something like mashed bananas or yogurt (Stonyfield Farms has a french van. that is made from whole milk which could help put some weight on. I make waffles w/ all kinds of things my son dislikes but he has no idea. All he knows is it is a waffle.

I hope you found some good tips for your strong little girl!
Sincerely,
Val

Ms C.,

my son is 4 yrs old and he is not wanting to eat either. he just went through a bone marrow transplant in apr. he eats candy but no food if we are lucky he'll eat one bite. is the dr worried about her not gaining any weight??? my dr was but we tryed the pediasure and all that but it wasnt working. is she still on a bottle or a pacifer. if she has those then she wont eat. if she does take those away and try a sippy cup during the day and a pacifer at nap time and she might start eating then. see my son dont have either one but he dont have taste buds either and that may be her problem. the drs all told me that when they dont have taste buds then they dont want to eat because nothing has flavor. so everything may taste nasty to her. but try that and see if that helps you.. and if not talk to her dr and maybe come up with a plan to get her to eat.. i know my neice is a yr old. and she is tiny she only weighs about 15 pd and it makes me so mad at my brother in law and his girlfriend because they dont feed her right. i can just scream or something. but i hope you can figure it out. good luck... love K. if you have any more questions feel free to email me at ____@____.com

C., I have a problem with my child gaining weight also. He is a teenage boy though....ver different from an 18 month old. I am so sorry that you have had to go through chemo with your child. I know that you would take it all in a heart beat just to have her healthy and safe.
I hate to tell you this for an 18 month old, but if it were my little 18 month old who needed to gain, I would feed her ice cream... many times a day if she wanted it. I do that in the form of milk shake and a sunday with chocolate on it or bananas or whip cream.... whatever she liked. I know you don't want to get into that habit but that is the highest calorie food I can think of that she will eat quickly and volunteerily. It won't be a forever thing, just until she gains some weight. Offer her the good nutritious food at meal time but I would set something out for her to eat ALL DAY LONG if I were you. Also you may want to see if she will drink some Ensure. I really think that the milk shake or ice cream will taste better to her and right now it seems more important to get a little weight on her.
Also, your dr's office may have some suggestions or they may have something that they can give her to make her hungry for a little while till she gets in the habit of eating again.
I know how you feel. My teen was 131 lbs last summer and this summer he weighs 111 and looks like a toothpick. He is having tests run at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to see what the problem is. Everytime I walked up to his room when he was sleeping, I would look at his chest to make sure he was still breathing.
Good luck and God bless you and your little girl and family.
I hope everything turns out alright and she will gain some weight. Let me know if I can do anything to help.

Hi C.,
I am sorry to hear that you are having to go through that with your daughter. Keep pushing the Pediasure. My son loves the strawberry kind. He drinks 2-4 of them a day just because he "wants a strawberry." Maybe keep them at a level in the refrigerator that she can get to. That is how my now 3yr old son happened on to my Ensure, liked them, so I started buying him the Pediasure. Also you might want to go to the cereal aisle in the grocery store. Quaker makes a couple of types of nutritious Breakfast Cookies and you might try the variety pack of cereal and milk bars made by General Mills. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know. I will be praying for you and your daughter and the best of luck to you! Hang in there! Hope this helps some.
T.

I have heard that whatever it is that they will eat, let them eat it. It is ok if they like pb and j every meal as long as they will eat. Does she like grilled cheese? That is a favorite of most kids. What does the doc say??? I am sur eshe has no appetite after all she has been through, not to mention her stomach shrinking due to her weight. Does she like biscuits for breakfast? Carbs are fatty, make sure she drinks lots of milk. My daughter likes her milk with a shot of Danimals, the yogurt drink. Try that, a friend gave me that idea b/c her daughter would drink it up. String cheese is a favorite of kids, chk nuggets, yogurt, peanut butter on bananas, crackers, bread, etc Does she like eggs? My daughter loves eggs. Graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, milkshakes, ice cream? Try feeding her several times a day, at least 5 instead of just 3 sittings. Make her sit there as long as possible, maybe she likes to get down and play instead of eat? Try to feed her yourself. My daughter is 2 1/2 and I sit right next to her feeding her bite after bite b/c she eats too slow then gets bored and wants to get down. As soon as she is done chewing, stick another bite in. Can you bribe her? Is there anything she loves? Lollipops, etc "Eat all of this and you can have....this".

Hope this helps! W. M

My 22 month old also is around the 10th percentile on weight and height, but didn't have any medical problems and was around 10 pounds when she was born. We are wasting a ton of food trying to figure out what she likes. If she makes any effort to eat her meal she gets a good snack (Ice cream works well). We also found that she liked the Danimals yogurt drinks and the organic whole milk baby yogurt. That put a couple pounds on her in a month. Try chocolate milk as well. The healthier eating can come in a couple of months when she has gained some weight. My daughter is rarely sick enough to go see the doctor except for well child checks, but her pediatrician still complains about her weight. She is now 22 pounds but was only 17-18 pounds at 18 months old. Good luck!!

Wow, you have been throught alot with your daughter. Thankfully she is doing well now. My daughter had stomach issues and was also underweight and we started off slowly with her (adding the calories). One thing she loved was la creme yogurt. It is the only yogurt with fat in it. All of the others are low fat or fat free. Then we would make pasta with red sauce for her. She needs carbs to pack on the lbs. We give her string cheese or any type of cheese is also helpful because it has fat but is also a healthy source of food. I would go with foods that she enjoys and just try to give her more of them. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.