baby refusing to eat

amother

Thu, Apr 08 2010, 10:44 am

I have an eighteen month old daughter who has never liked to eat most foods. She weighs 19 pounds. She has reached all of her milestones, Walking, interacting with family members. She is good natured and alert.However she will never allow me to put a spoon into her mouth.She will eat very small amounts of american cheese,macaroni,cherios,little pieces of chicken,and avocado. But only if she can pick it up by herself. She was never a bottle finisher. She drank only about 4 ounces at a time Then she will throw down the bottle and be done.We now put her on pediasure .We have been to many doctors and no one can find anything wrong. Some say its psychological.I dont understand that.She doesnt enjoy any food. She wont try ice cream,or choc. pudding. Over pesach she ate nothing. Only drank bottles. We are very concerned and wonder if anyone has any experience with a baby who barely eats anything.
All responses are welcome.

sarahmalka

Thu, Apr 08 2010, 5:09 pm

Oh, much sympathy! I have a 23 month old son who is also very picky and I know how difficult it is. He's like your DD, in that he is spot on for social, cognitive and motor development: except that he is underweight (just under 21 lb now).
Some things to consider if you haven't done it already:
1. Have her evaluated by an Occupational Therapist, esp for Sensory Integration Disorder. Your suspicion of this would be higher if she had other sensory odd things besides food preferences, like if she doesn't like to be touched lightly, can't stand tags in clothing, seems overly sensitve to noise or light, or UNDER-sensitive to noise. SIT is very treatable. Kids with SIT sometimes can't tolerate certain food textures which is why I bring this up. Not knowing your child I don't know how truly relevant this is.

2. Find a skilled homeopathic practitioner to treat her homeopathically. Very safe and often very effective. If you are in North America I can help you find a doctor who does this. Also I know of a homeopath in Jerusalem who is reputable. Better yet, see a naturopathic doctor who does homeopathy and who can also test your daughter for food sensitivities. Food sensitivity (also called delayed food allergies or food intolerance) is different from the food allergies that an MD allergist tests for. Here's a link explaining the difference or just ask and I can explain further: http://www.usbiotek.com/Resour.....h.php

Here are some strategies which are working with us.
1. Offer new foods right along with the food the child already likes. Just add 1 new food per meal, along with the avocado or cheerios or whatever. Even if she rejects it once, it can take 10 times or more for a child to try a food so be persistent with offering.
2. I add things to DS's drinks to increase the nutritional value. Start small so she might not notice the add-ins. I will add things like protein powder, greens powder, and flax oil (though he sometimes rejects the flax if mixed in, but will prefer to eat it right off a spoon). If you want brand recommendations just PM me or certainly a naturopath will have good options.
3. I try to add diversity to my son's diet by varying the brands we use. For you, for example you could buy different brands of O's- like a gluten-free variety along with Cheerio's or whatever. Or "american cheese" slices that are soy or rice-based, so she's not just eating dairy all the time. The idea being more variety means more exposure to different nutrients.
4. I'm sure you've already explored this idea so sorry if this is annoying, but what about offering foods with a similar texture to what she likes, but not the exact same. Like: bananas cut up the same way avocado is; or whole wheat macaroni (or corn or rice-based macaroni) in addition to the regular macaroni. Like a bait and switch! Also, if she is eating mac and cheese, I know people who successfully hide pureed foods like sweet potato, carrots, and spinach in the mac and cheese.
5. One final suggestion is I try to make sure DS has a chewable multivitamin and chewable fish oil daily. I like the Nordic Naturals brand of fish oil, they have a product called DHA Junior which is little chewable balls that contain the strawberry-flavored fish oil that both my kids enjoy the taste and texture of. I'm not even sure about the hechsher but at this point, it's medicinal and you could get a heter- the health is the most important thing, as you know.

Again, I sympathize! Hope this info is helpful.