15 month old refuses to eat

FranticFrummie

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 8:49 am

OP, you seem to want to go as natural as possible. Adelle Davis recommends that babies be given a half a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses to combat iron anemia. It's also extremely rich in B vitamins, and just sweet enough to not make it horrible. Mixed with milk or formula, your baby will never know it's in there.

If your baby is not taking bottles, or you don't want to introduce bottles, either try giving it in a syringe with a wide tip (molasses is really thick), or a spoonful quickly down the hatch. Your baby will probably make a face the first time and try not to swallow, but eventually they start to crave it because their bodies are telling them that this is what they need.

I grew up eating molasses cookies made from my great grandma's recipe. I think they knew stuff back then that modern people have forgotten. Very Happy

amother

Royalblue

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 11:02 am

amother [ Pink ] wrote:

Is he in childcare? My son wouldn't eat hardly any real food until I put him in daycare at age 2. They offered him a bottle there, but he saw all the other kids eating real food and wanted real food too. Peer pressure at its best.

This! I used to take my oldest to my mom's house before started daycare so that he would see my little siblings eating and that usually helped. Up until today, that child basically eats in school only.

honeymoon

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 11:05 am

While I do believe in natural stuff, I think in this case you should find our if your child is anemic asap and give him whatever it takes to get his levels up. Lack of iron in a child this age can hinder brain development and growth. Once you get his levels up to par, you can go back to natural stuff for maintenance. But don't play around with anemia, you don't want to regret it.

ectomorph

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 2:39 pm

honeymoon wrote:

Yes. Feel free to PM me, lots of experience with anemia and feeding issues around here. Sometimes a kid needs a particular complex to absorb iron, and sometimes they might even need an injection or blood transfusion. It's very rare, but it happens.

Either way, this is not a time to go natural. Anemia can lead to permanent brain damage particularly in terms of sleeping problems and sensory issues.

mommy2379

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 3:16 pm

my two year old was also refusing food recently, took him for a blood test and his iron is really low! I'm kind of freaking out. how long after starting iron drops can I expect him to feel better/ have an appetite again???

ectomorph

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 3:27 pm

mommy2379 wrote:

Often just a few days! I suggest switching to a complex like the Vegan Friends Iron gummies if you don't see improvement in a week. A lot of anemic kids absorb it better that way. If you don't see improvement within a month, repeat the test.

Iron drops didn't do anything for us personally, but I saw a huge difference day to day with the gummies.

ectomorph

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 3:28 pm

When you switch to gummy, make sure the mg the child is getting is the same as the drops. So if the child is prescribed 15 mg, make sure they're getting the number of gummies that has that amount of iron