Costant Sick 20Month Old and Now Feeding Issues? Getting Upset Here!

The food thing could be a totally separate issue . May be due to his age , asserting his independence. I would do what someone else suggested, allow him to graze on healthy foods. You may need to experiment w/ new items.

I have Asthma.
Have had it since I was a child.
If you have asthma, you have it all the time, everyday, 24 hours a day. But, some days are better or worse than others, so you either notice it or you don't. But that maintenance for it, is everyday.

When sick with a cold, Asthma gets worse.
You can even get Pneumonia. I did once. From a common cold, that triggered my Asthma... that then turned into, Pneumonia.

Asthma, is a chronic condition.
People even die from it.
Since the lungs... are weakened... and if having been sick, the person can STILL just be sick... and never had gotten over their cold.
And the Asthma, is always, there.
Still.

What inhaler or medications is your child on, exactly????
Is he seeing a Specialist??? Or a regular doctor?
He needs to see an Asthma Doctor. A Pulmonologist.

Now, my concern here is this:
He is STILL sick, with a "cold" and it is chronic. To me, his cold just never really went away nor did he completely recover from the cold.
Thus, his system and lungs... is always in a weakened state.
Plus, he has Asthma.
Thus, his Asthma.... has been acute or in an active state... constantly.
Thus, his system is very... worn out.
Thus, he is weak.
Thus, he cannot eat.
Thus, he is not recovering well.
But he cannot eat well... because, he is sick. And has Asthma.
The thing is, when a person is ill.... their appetite decreases and/or they get dehydrated.
But, sure, they may crave 'junk' food... because, it is a quick way for the body to get in calories. Which they need.
When I get Asthma attacks and/or am sick at the same time... I am not hungry either. But would go for quick/fast/instant easily eaten foods. Because, I just did NOT have the energy, nor stamina... to eat... at... a ... table... like... normal.
Asthma... REALLY tires out a person. Their entire body.
Asthma... means, the body is not getting proper oxygen. Thus, the lungs is not intaking enough oxygen, and thus even the blood-stream is not getting properly oxygenated. This makes a person... very very very, fatigued. Enough so, so you cannot eat. Even if hungry. This is a sign... of being very ill.

I would, take your son to the Doctor.
And/or, have the Pediatrician, refer you to a Pulmonologist.

Your baby sounds quite sick.
That is why he cannot eat.
DO NOT confuse this with "feeding issues".... because to me, his illnesses... needs to be addressed first. Do not make it into a food battle or eating battle.
Eating... is just something that per age, a child will ALWAYS vary, in.
But his health... needs to be, treated. First.
Main thing is that he get: adequate intake daily and does NOT get Dehydrated.

AND when sick, secondary... infections can occur too.
Which to me, is maybe what is occurring with your child. Thus he always seems sick... but has just never fully recovered, from being sick in the first place. And keeps getting worse.

Keep in mind... that corticosteroids... does NOT 'cure" a cold. It helps Asthma... by reducing the inflammation of the lungs and its bronchial tubes and lining. But this is life saving... because if not, a person can suffocate, and not be able to breathe. And then due to lack of oxygen in
their bloodstream and system... it can be, fatal. That is why, inhalers and corticosteroids are used.

Has your child, ever gotten Antibiotics, for his colds??? Or infections???
What has been done, medically for him... aside from his steroidal based, Asthma medicine?
If I were sick like that... I would not want to eat either.
You can try give your child Pediasure. It is a meal drink for kids, which has protein and vitamins in it. You can find it at grocery stores. For example.

Lung issues.
Colds.
Coughing.
It can be, more than just a cold. Bronchitis, Pneumonia, etc.
What has the Doctor, actually diagnosed?

it is totally normal for 1 year olds not to eat. when they are babies they are growing super fast. They gain about 15-20 pounds in the the first year. they are growing and hungry. after they turn 1.. they slow down on growing. they only gain 4-6 pounds in the second year. not so hungry.

You do not have to feed him junk food. talk to your pediatrician about his diet. offer him good nutritious food. milk, meat, fruit veggies and grain. Do not buy the junk food and he wont eat it.

if he really doesnt eat nutritious food and he is underweight he may need a pediasure type supplement - talk to your dr.

if the baby is in day care he will catch colds.. if he has asthma most colds will cause his asthma to flare up. This is normal. When my kids started day care... they were sick from October through Arpirl all the time.. but we do not have asthma.. so they just got regular colds..

If you are not happy with his pediatrician see a asthma specialist..

I think you need to speak with your doctor about the fact that your son just has asthma.. it is not leading to asthma, he has asthma all of the time and he is just having worse times at some point than others.

Our daughter was like this at this age and finally the Doctor said to me, "you do realize your daughter has asthma all of the time? It is something she is living with and there will be times when it is worse than others?"

I had not really understood this was a chronic thing.
That is when I became pro active instead of reactive.

We pulled out all carpets, all window coverings, except the mini blinds. When people mowed their grass on the weekends, we kept her inside until the afternoon when everything had settled.

I made sure that her room was dusted and her linens were washed every week and her comforter every 2 weeks. Her plush toys were run through the dryer air cycle a lot.

We purchased a very good electric air filter just for her room and kept her door closed. We purchased excellent air filters for our air and heating system in our home. And, I changed all of the filters way more often than the manufacturer suggested because of all of the pollens and molds we have here.

We nebulized as needed, she was given inhalers.. It was just part of our lives.

Then the ear infections started happening and eventually we got the tubes put in.

The good news is that eventually she grew out of it about the age of 10 almost 11. But until then we learned and she learned that when she did not feel well, we needed to stay on a good schedule and she needed to understand we were sorry she was not feeling good, but she needed to use her words.

I learned to not push her. If she was not hungry, that was fine. She could drink juice, gatorade or milk if she wanted. If she only wanted toast with melted cheese that was fine. If you do not want your son to eat junk food, do not keep it in the house. And yes, it is ok sometimes when they just do not want to eat. He is like you, food can be repulsive when he does not feel good.

But whining was not going to be accepted because she knew how to say what was going on. And I learned to see or hear the signs that things were going downhill. Dark circles under her eyes, paler skin stone, moving slower, fussy or wanting to be close to me more often.. Yes, this meant we sometimes missed out on some fun events or gatherings, but We knew she needed rest.

Hang in there. I know you feel helpless. No one wants their child to always be sick, but it is what it is. Just do your best and not dread what may come.. instead deal with this moment or this day. It will get better as he gets older and his body matures.

Take him to a naturopathic doctor and have him tested for food allergies and food intolerances. A child that young should not have to be on a daily steroid.

It sounds to me like he is allergic to cow's milk. I am allergic to casein, one of the proteins in cow's milk. Since I have stopped drinking cow's milk and eating anything with cow's milk products, my astha, allergies, constant colds, yearly chest colds/bronchitis/pneumonia, and rhininitis/sinunitis issues have all cleared up. I even went off my asthma medicine.

I didn't discover my problem until I was 40 years old. I also discovered I have a whole bunch of food intolerance issues. If your son is refusing food, it might be because some food(s) is making him sick.

I would look for help/advice in the alternative healthcare community and not just with the allopathic community, since allopathic doctors don't seem to be able to figure out what's wrong with your son (and all they want to do is put him on drugs).

And remember: anytime you're on a pharma drug, especially if it's an antibiotic, you need to give the child a probiotic to replace what he's missing when taking the drugs. Any pharma drug you take will ALWAYS give you other problems/other side effects. Steroids can make your little one retain water/edema, which can also be bad.

So sorry your little one is sick. I agree with everything Laura A wrote. My only comment is if you haven't, you should take him to an allergist to see if he has any allergies. If he has allergic 'triggers' for his asthma and you know what they are, you can cut down on his exposure so the asthma doesn't flare up as much. So - allergy testing to figure out how to prevent his asthma flare-ups, and not just treat it with medicines.

Second - don't panic about the food. This is a totally normal progression. Babies start out eating anything, then get picky and also want to choose for themselves. They also naturally eat less as they get older - totally normal because they don't grow as fast. The trick is to just offer healthy food, and let them choose which healthy food they want (eg, do you want grapes or a banana for snack?).

Another thing that helped me a lot was to stop giving milk to drink starting 1 hour before meals. I only give water to drink before meals. My kids are much better about actually eating the meal if they don't fill up on milk before hand (they have a cup of milk with the meal).

Good luck!

Oh honey! You just described both if my kids. When my 15 yr old was younger I swear we were at the docs back door every other Sunday with fever. Now, he is hardly ever sick. My 4 yr old was the same way. Since before 2 yrs old she had strep about 6-8 times a yr and colds in between that! Last yr she had 2 sick appointments and this yr so far we've gone twice as well. I know lots if moms don't like to give juice but I started giving her full strength apple juice and all that vitamin c has helped. She is also somewhat of a picky eater too but will eat anything with sugar in it! Our rule, you don't eat food you don't get sweets. Its taken a while but she got with the program! Just put ur foot down and also get like a flinstone vitamin for him. His appetite will change and hopefully like my littles, the older they get the less sick they tend to be.

Dear A.,
So sorry for your little one. IT must be hard for him to be sick so much, and for you the momma!

My little one is 3. Like your son, he is always sick in the winter, so we really understand. And he also takes steroid nose drops. I will share with you some thoughts to help him be more comfortable:
1. Is your son getting enough sleep and fresh air.
2. Is he dressed warmly outside, but layers taken off slowly inside so he does not sweat.
3. Does he drink lots of liquids -- water, apple juice, cooled chamomile tea?
4. Chicken soup. You can even take the chicken broth, let it cool and put it in a cup.
5. Cold water humidifier in his room, or a simple bowl of cold water under his bed.
6. Plenty of fruit. Cut up apples. bananas, Strawberries. I would try to lessen the 'junk food' and use it as a snack once a day. Can you try also raisins or whole wheat pretzels? Dry cereal?
7. Applesauce.

I hope this helps. Keep us all posted. You are not alone.
Jilly

I can't say much about the constant illness, except that perhaps there are ways you can cut down the amount of exposure he has by reducing outings with him, and cleaning surfaces that he may touch in public. Many infections are transmitted by hands that have been coughed on, then touching surfaces like shopping cart handles.

I wouldn't push too hard on the foods he'll eat, but cut way back on how many 'junk' foods you give him access to, because they are designed by food scientists to trigger preferences for only the bad foods. If he's not filling up on junk but has an assortment of healthy foods to graze on during the day, he will eventually learn to like the good foods.

It may take awhile, though. This age is typically very conservative about what foods, flavors and textures they are willing to eat anyway. And they tend to eat far less than parents can believe will sustain them. But toddlers often need very little food unless they are in an active growth spurt, and many nutritional researchers believe this eating-resistant stage is a way humanity developed to protect toddlers from eating dangerous plants, berries and spoiled food.

So make a point of visibly enjoying a variety of foods yourself (don't make too big a deal of it), and put only tiny amounts of a variety of foods in front of him at mealtimes. Use a large plate so the food looks like even less to him. Use a small glass for his milk to make it look like even more. Suggest that he eat just one/two bites of each food you offer, then allow him to drink his milk. It is actually pretty nourishing. Give him a daily multivitamin, and maybe a lemon-flavored fish oil so he gets plenty of Omega-3 oils for good brain and nervous-system development (Carlson makes a good one that my grandson likes).

Another strategy that many parents find helpful is to put out small, attractive plates of cut up fruit, whole-grain crackers and peanut butter or a yogurt-based dip, cut up omelet or other healthy foods for him to graze on during the day. Keep quantities small to avoid waste and keep him from feeling overwhelmed. You might also be able to poke occasional bites of food into his mouth while he's distracted playing.

It's fine for you to gently urge your son to try just one more bite of something, as long as this doesn't turn into a major power struggle. He may be a sketchy eater until about 4 or older, and this really is pretty normal. My grandson is just suddenly turning into a hungry boy – he's just about to turn six. His parents could hardly believe how little he actually needed over the past few years, but he always had enough sustenance to play, grow, and sleep well.

Most steroids will weaken/dampen the immune system and cause weight GAIN without an increase in appetite or eating. It could also be playing with his taste buds - I'd talk to his specialist AND primary Pediatrician.

I will write you a message...and give you my number..my daughter was sick all the time... from 11 weeks to about 6 yrs old she would miss 50+ days of school... breathing treatments, for her asthma, steroids, it was my hell.