I'm not sure where to put this exactly but I thought here was the right one
As the title says my toddler DD (18 months) won't eat solids. She is still full on breastfeeding but she is now underweight and has stopped growing. My GP is concerned enough that he has referred us to a paediatrician.
I have tried stopping the breastfeeding in hopes that she would eat more solids but she didn't and just ended up screaming. I still give her food every meal but she won't touch it. At the most she has a mouthful and that's it. You'd think as she is my 6th that I would know what to do but I'm at a loss.
Her health is now being affected and I'm getting really down trying to get her to eat something. My GP has said she is probably anaemic (sp?) as my milk won't have any iron in it but he will let the paed do all the bloodtests.
Has anyone else been through this and how have you coped and is your baby ok now????
Do you have any sense for why she won't eat? Does she show any preference for particular flavours or textures? Is she particularly averse to specific textures, temperatures or flavours? Has she had gastro / intolerances / bad experiences with food? Does she do anything else that concerns you / is unusual?
A pediatric OT and/or speech path may be your best bet for a thorough assessment (will look at sensory issues, chewing and swallowing difficulties, behavioural/emotional causes) and strategies relevant to whatever is driving the issue.
Santosha there really is no reason why she won't. She has her teeth so it's not a teething problem and she is rejecting everything so it's not a specific taste or texture. She has had a hernia from birth and also muscle separation that my GP has said they can't do anything about until she is 5. I'm thinking there could be something there to do with that but not sure. She gags when she tries to eat more than a mouthful - even stuff like mushy weetbix.
I thought I'd be on 1-2 feeds a day by now not still fully b/f'ing and still even through the night I'm not complaining about b/fing but that it is still so full on iykwim. I know there is something wrong but I just don't know what.
She doesn't talk yet either. She started to before she was 12 months but only said "mum" and "dad" and then stopped. We haven't heard a word from her since. It's really doing my head in.
Oh that sounds stressful. Particularly when your gut says something's up, but you're not sure what, or how to address it. I definitely think it'd help to get some assessment and support around this. I'd follow up with that Pead referral, and then perhaps ask for a referral to a pediatric OT.
HUG
I would def go for the referral. If she started to talk etc the stopped, gags easily and wont eat- doesnt sound right.
Have you had a look at her tongue? she isnt tongue tied?
If she sits on your knee at meal times, will she mimic your eating or steal from your plate?
If shes not interested in food I would try to keep her on my knee at meal times, so she can get optimum smells etc and feels included.
My son is 7 months so alot younger than yours but we are seeing a speech therapist next week to assess what is going on as he refuses to eat. He has reflux so am wondering if there is a pain association going on, but will be interesting to see what the therapist says , e.g., if there is a muscle problem in his mouth. He doesnt babble yet so maybe this is related?
The paed will be a good start and a referral to a speechie may help too.
Thanks everyone. I'm hoping the referral won't take to long. We don't want her to lose any more weight than necessary.
BD she isn't tongue tied or she would have had problems with the breast feeding and she was eating (baby food) before but for some reason has just stopped.
I just want my baby fixed and have one less stress to handle.
Oh you poor thing, that does sound like something that would just weight on your mind and cause stress
My DD1 had a oral sensitivity issue when she was younger than your DD. Basically she didn't like anything in her mouth, she really didn't like spoons in her mouth but once it was pointed out we realised she never chewed on her teething toys the way they were intended, pretty much nothing harder than yoghurt got any further in than her front teeth. It sounds silly now but even eating yoghurt she would try to lick it like a cat instead of letting the spoon in her mouth. We saw a speech pathologist and we had some different toys and exercises and ways of feeding her and we managed to desensitise her mouth I guess you would say to the point that she would allow cruskits and spoons and toys get in there. She was (and still is) a crap eater but now it is just her being a little turd, not the sensitivity causing it But my point is that for us it was something that once the right person gave us direction it was relatively easy to fix.
The gagging sounds similar to something that DD2 has going on. She has a floppy airway that means she does tend to gag and choke on foods way more often than the average kid and it was taken a looooooong time to get her into foods that are more solid than mush. Has your DD even had tests for anything like that? We have just been told it is just a case of the airway being a bit 'immature' and she will grow out of it at some stage, most likely between now and 2yo. I mean she is keen to eat so it not the same problem, but her airway just gets in the way and often she seems cautious with some foods, I assume because she knows they might make her gag.
Both of these things are things the paed will be able to shed more light on and help with. Good luck....x
Toddler won't eat
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I'm not complaining about b/fing but that it is still so full on iykwim. I know there is something wrong but I just don't know what.
But my point is that for us it was something that once the right person gave us direction it was relatively easy to fix.
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