Eating - Elkton, MD

This is not ment to sound rude, so please bear with me. At the age of 2 years old and the weight of 64lbs before the 10 lb weight loss, at 54 lbs. he is considered morbibly obese. If they were concerned about his thyroid or any other metabolic disorder in conjunction to his illness they would run blood work and investigate. It sounds like they are more concerned that he continue to take his medication to clear his infection. Also, it could be that your son is not hungry or interestd in food anymore due to the pain in his throat. Antibiodics are needed to cure the infection, but have some side effects. They MAY include (as I do not know what specific drug that he is on); loss of desire to eat, diarrhea, gastric upset. These are common with all antibiodics. If your child was a lower % of weight group they would be more aggressive to make sure that he is getting adequate nutrients, however fat is stored energy. So in "real terms" he has plenty of stored energy to use to help get himself well. Its more important to keep him hydrated then to worry about food. If his infection doesn't clear with the ending of his medication, get him back to the ped. and work on another game plan to cure the infection. I hope that he is feeling well VERY soon :)

With tonsillitis you shouldn't expect him to eat or drink very much because it hurts. Keep offering small amounts of liquids very frequently (like an ounce every 30 minutes). If he is really dehydrated (lips and inside of his mouth are dry, no tears when he crys, not peeing or peeing a lot less) you can always take him to an ER for evaluation. Offer him soft foods too, things that will go down easily like ice cream, yogurt, jello (counts as a liquid-so do ice pops). Your pediatrician probably isn't worried about the weight loss because he is overweight to start with (sorry about the brutal honesty!). Most 2 year olds weight around 30 pounds...so a 10 pound weight loss could reallly be good for him in the end. Anyhow...keep trying small, frequent offerings of things to eat and drink! Good luck!

If the doctor isn't worried then I wouldn't be, as long as it doesn't last too long. Antibiotics can upset your digestive system. I always give yogurt to my kids after they have been on antibiotics. It regulates the good and bad bacteria in the stomach that are messed up by the antibiotics. Have you tried things like apple sauce or mashed up banannas? Also rice cereal like Cream of Rice is a good nutritious food that the stomach tolerates well.
Pedia sure is also good. You can make yogurt smoothies in the blender by mixing plain yogurt, milk, a banana and some kind of frozen fruit. We like strawberries. You can experiment with the amounts of each to make it thicker or thinner.

I think I would have to agree with the Doctor. If your 2 year old was 64 pounds and lost ten, I think sounds like a good thing that he lost that weight. My 2 year old weighs 31 pounds and is in the 90th percentile for her weight and height.

I saw your post yesterday about this little guy and his weight problem and need for a diet or new eating habits. I wouldn't worry about his weight loss at all! It seems to me that maybe it was a blessing in disguise since he does need to get to a healthy weight.

I'd use this opportunity to start trying new healthier things for him. Spring is just around the corner so maybe getting outside and being more active will be good for him too.

My cousin had the same problem with her 6 year old who is now 76 lbs and overweight, he really needed a new eating plan, good, healthy foods with natural sugars, not processed foods with tons of fat and all sorts of bad stuff.

The problem my cousin's son is now facing is being teased at school because of his weight and his lack of energy, she is wishing she would have started the new eating plan years ago so he didn't get to this point.

I wish you luck.

Hi A.;

I am going to mention something I did not see in the other replies... since he is on antibiotics you should give him some yogurt each day... he probably might not eat a whole container... unless you get the little ones for him, but the cultures in it will help him to not get diariah (I know I can't spell it, but you get the point I hope.)... My boys were always husky too... you could think about his diet, but remember he will be running more and just make sure he gets physical activity... he may grow out of it 3 out of 4 of mine did...

good luck and God Bless
S.

I am hoping this a typo where you said your 2 year old wieghed 64 lbs. No 2 year old should weigh that much. Is he peeing several times a day, is he just listless and laying around or is he bouncing around like a regular 2 year old usually is? These are all factors that your Doc will take into consideration., and why he/she may not be too worried at this point.

Didn't you complain yesterday because your son was overweight and you wanted to put him on a diet?

Give him less food more often. It has been proven to be more healthy for us to eat that way anyway. We are natural grazers. Give him treats in between meals such as carrot sticks, celery, and apple slices, all go well with peanut butter to dip into. They have a lot of good peanut butters on the market now that are just peanuts, no sugars added or anything. Lots of fruits and veggies.