Q, for mum's with older premmies - Help with very fussy eater

At Gus's MCH visit yesterday he weighed in at 5.55kg and measured 64cm long. Agghhh. He is slipping further and further away from the 3rd percentile for his corrected age. We are continuing to have a terrible time getting him to eat - both with solids and milk feeds. Have any of you with older premmies experienced anything similar - and when did your darling bubba outgrow their problems and catch up? :help: Our feeding issues are complicated by Gus's food intolerances (to the proteins in eggs, wheat, dairy, seafood, nuts and soy).

Kirsty, Alex was about 6weeks prem and weighed 1.9 kilos at birth. He is lactose intolerant.

Just an idea, have you tried goat's milk?

Alex didn't even start on solids until 8.5 months of age. (7months corrected). He didn't really start eating until he was two. We've had him at the paed a number of times, but he still didn't eat. He has a restricted diet even now, ie won't eat meat unless it's ****tail frankfurts, will only eat plain pasta and rice, won't eat any vegies except peas and corn and only sometimes, etc etc etc.

The paed said he's just small and will always be like that. I spent years worrying about him, but as he meets his milestones and continues to grow (albeit slowly) I'm becoming more confident that he's just little.

Is Gus meeting his adjusted milestones? Is he actually LOSING weight, or just putting it on very slowly? Has something changed in the last month to cause him to stop putting on weight at a good rate?

If he's not losing weight then i wouldn't worry and if he's doing nearly everything at the right again then don't worry.

Kimberley was born weighing 2.216kilos and is now 3.5yrs old and a very fussy eater won't eat much at all. She now weighs 16.6kilos and is 91cm tall.

Alexander was born weighing 2.660kilos and is lactose intolerant but he's always managed to put the weight on well. But he eats a little better than kimberley does.

Has your MCH not booked you in to see a dietition to talk about what other things you can try.

Would he be able to have rice milk ? Not sure what is in that but it might be worth a look. What about any of the lactose free products you can buy ?

Hi there,
I'm having similar problems with Kyla and solids - although she is ok with drinking her milk.
Kyla is not at all interested in solids - the pead told me that basically she will eat when she is ready to and just to keep offering it to her. She is also involved in a prem study and they suggested stipping her down and letting her play with her food.
I do understand how frustrating it can be and worrying.
As the others have said - as long as he is putting on weight and not loosing, try not to worry too much.
You may also get some advice on Austprem - from people with older bubs who have had similar problems

Thanks guys. While Gus is not losing weight he only puts on something like 10g a week at the moment. From a feeding perspective we have the following people advising us - the neonatal paed, a paed dietician, speech therapist (for feeding), allergy immunologist and tresillian all helping us. All are saying they are concerned that Gus is not tracking in a constant line below the 3rd percentile but rather moving away from the curve in a downward line. We've tried adding calories to EBM with Polyjoule and Neocate formula - without much luck. He just drinks less - it's like he knows how many calories he needs and stops once he's got that amount. I guess he'll get better as he gets older. It's just quite bizzare to be 2 weeks away from his first birthday and still having people in the street saying (when they see him sleeping in the pram) "ohh he's a newey". he ha!

Thank goodness for this thread!!!

Seren is 14 months old now, and weighs only a tiny 16lb1oz at clinic today - she has been loosing weight! DH and I are frantic with worry.

The paediatrician took blood from her to check for intolerances (which was so upsetting, I had to stand out of her view because I couldn't stop crying I felt so awful for her). I also have to take a urine sample from her, which i'm not quite sure how i'm going to do that yet..>!!!

The dr was also concerned for her development, and said even at her corrected age, she is not doing so well. We are so shocked.

The problem is her appetite, - she will just pick at food. She doesn't even like milk, so it's so worrying.

Her poos are like sheep droppings too - has anyone else found this???

Seren, have you checked whether or not she's constipated? Alex was constipated for AGES and hardly ate because his belly was so sore. Check with your GP and go get an X-ray. Alex had laxatives for nearly all of 2005 because of this problem.

Alex STILL picks at food. Ned, at ten months, eats more than Alex at a little over three. Some kids just don't eat.

That's a good idea - will ask health visitor about that tomorrow.

Thanks :)