Feeding My Daughter - Tempe,AZ

Is she so full at night that is why she is throwing up the milk? Give her less and see if it helps.
Have you seen a GI Dr to rule out any digestion issues?
You can try things like nuts, avocadoes, coconut ice cream, sunbutter spread for high calorie, but nutrient dense foods.
Does she like smoothies? Whole milk, bananas, strawberries, and add in some ground flaxseeds for some more calories too.
You can actually make breads and crackers from ground flax seeds and almond meal which is also very caloric and nutrient dense.
Good luck!

Why do you feel like something is wrong with your daughter's weight? She sounds perfectly normal to me.

Roughly 2% of the population falls beneath the 5th or above the 95% percentile for weight normally.

Rather than encouraging unhealthy habits, resulting in a child who may be thin but still at the same risk for cardiovasvular disease as a fat child, encourage healthy eating habits, and allow her to develop her own eating pattern. She may be a 3 meal a day kid or a grazer. Either is normal!

Also, I am not a fan of carnation instant breakfast or any other meal substitutes, like pediasure, in a child who is developmentally normal. All that stuff is really just whole milk with sugar and vitamins, and, in the case of pediasure, some artifical fat. It is really all just a bunch of processed food that you are giving your child for no real reason. Much healthier would be to promote natural and healthy fats. For example, if she eats rice or pasta, a tablespoon of organic olive or canola oil is a much healthier substitute and she will get 14 grams of fat from that, plus antioxidants. If she eats pancakes, a tablespoon of organic butter will do the same thing (minus antioxidants).

Finally, watch for the amount of juice and milk she drinks, both of which blunt the natural appetites of many toddlers. No more than 4 ounces of pure juice and 16-20 ounces of milk a day. She still needs whole milk, but after the age of 2, 1-2% will be recommended. If her weight concerns you it won't hurt to keep her on whole milk even after two years old.

And one more thing...keeping your kid on a bottle will not promote weight gain, you know. It will not really encourage her to eat more calorie dense foods. You know this! Are you just holding on to it because you are anxious about her weight? No judgements here! I did the same thing, actually, even though I knew better. But in any case, it is to her benefit to at least switch her over to sippy or (oh, heck, why not?) a cup sooner rather than later. The fight you don't want to face today will become a monster of a fight tomorrow. I say, get over your anxieties and get rid of it. Your daughter really does sound like a perfectly happy, healthy, and beautiful child.

Our daughter is small too (but tall) and she is close in age to your daughter (she's 20 months). She also is very active and does not eat much. She would rather do things than eat I guess. She will eat about 5 tiny bites and say "all done". We cannot get her to eat more usually! It's very frustrating. She is also taking a bottle but only before naptime and bedtime. I decided that she needs to drink less bottles bc I believe they were making her full and that is one reason she never would eat much. So I switched to only these 2 bottles a day (much to her dismay, but she handled it pretty well.). She'd rather have more and asks for them regularly. I have noticed she eats a tiny bit more now. Things we do to "fatten her up" are give her a "shakey" every morning with breakfast. This is a Pediasure vanilla drink we put in a sippy cup she likes. We just started this and she likes it a lot! She has never eaten much for breakfast but I just keep serving it to her every day and I hope she will eat more. If I hold her and put little pieces in her mouth (at any mealtime) she will eat more for me that way. It's frustrating but I will do this sometimes. She likes certain fruits and veggies and she always gets some at mealtimes. I always put butter on her veggies or rice or noodles. Anything with calories! She also gets cheese (I cut it in sticks for her to hold) and avocados a lot. She does not like meat much yet but I keep trying. I have started making a LOT more baked goods with lots of good things in them for her as well as high fat smoothies. I make them with high fat yogurt and whole milk and fruits. I try to get her to eat peanut butter on her fruit and sometimes she likes that. Of course we always also give her whatever we are eating for lunch/dinner too to see if we can find new foods she will eat. The other day she really enjoyed little bites of a tuna salad sandwich. I made it with plenty of mayo! The other thing I do is we give her multiple meals since she eats so little at one time. Two breakfasts, two lunches, dinner and as much of a snack before bedtime as possible. Good luck w your daughter. I'm sure she is fine but just small and is just showing toddler behaviors with her picky eating. I guess lots of toddlers just pick at their foods and don't eat much at one time.

Our daughter will throw up her anytime she is upset so we have had a LOT of experience with throw up this last year! yuck. We just do our best to not let her get upset which means no sleep training so far. I just lie down with her every time, sigh. I have noticed that in the past if she drank a big bottle of milk and did not burp that sometimes she would then throw it all up immediately afterwards. The last time this happened was probably 3-4 months ago. Maybe this is what your daughter is doing? Perhaps give her less milk before bedtime and don't lie her flat right away. Give her a chance to get it all settled in her stomach first. I wish you luck!

All my grand-kids stayed on the bottle until they were done with it and there were no fights or hard times. J just came up to me and handed the bottle over and said he wanted a cup.

If you were nursing everyone would be saying good job! and all kinds of good things. Staying on the bottle is not a bad thing if she needs it. And a drink is a drink is a drink is a drink...it does NOT matter if it comes from a bottle, a cup, or a bag.

I think the carnation is a wonderful idea. It has added vitamins and nutrients. It's a great source of nutrition.

I would also add that the burping up or whatever she is doing could be reflux. If she has reflux or a hiatal hernia it could be uncomfortable for her to eat, the food stretches out the esophagus and it hurts. If she has reflux drugs before meals kind of numb the stomach and allow it to open sooner, it is very relaxed so it just opens better, and the food goes down quicker. She may find eating painful for several reasons. An upper GI might be something to consider too.

My daughter had similar issues but she was well above the weight curve. She would rather drink milk than eat food. I started giving her a powdered milk with a nutrient rich chocolate mix (not the Nestle Quick powder kind)...there are other flavors as well...in place of the milk. I only gave her milk in the night. By giving her the powdered version, she naturally felt more hungry and slowly started asking for food. It didn't have overnight, it took a few weeks but the point is that it worked. At first she wasn't eating meals as such but she snacked a lot on strawberries, yogurt, and almonds. She still drinks her milk but she drinks it an hour before bedtime in a regular teacup with a straw and she's a happy camper. Hope this helps but don't give up and have tons of patience. Good luck!

I have a child (now 11) that wasn't growing when he was young (until age 6). The Doctors were on my case to get more calories into him etc. They made me feel like this horrible mother because I couldn't get my child "to eat more so he could grown more". We went to the endocrinologist and she was the first person to talk sense. She said "of course he isn't eating. He isn't hungry because he isn't growing". She told me to stop force feeding him or he would just get overweight and learn bad eating habits. I could have kissed her. My son did have an underlying medical issue which we have since begun treating and he is growing fine now and consequently eating great. Your daughter will eat when she is hungry. If she isn't hungry, that is normal when she isn't in a growth spurt. If it lasts too long, don't be afraid of the specialist - they see things in a different light than the pediatrician. If you need a great endocrinologist referral just message me (we went through 3 horrible ones first). Chin up - you are a great mom!

I think I have read here that a child's stomach is the size of his fist. If your daughter is tiny then her stomach is also tiny! When you have a mental picture of how big her stomach is you should not present her with more food than her stomach can hold. I would make small meals available several times a day. If your daughter is going to be a petite person all her life you won't change this by feeding her more now. My own daughter had a friend in grade school who was like this. This child had a sister who was of average size and weight but D. was like a miniature version. Doctors told her mother not to worry and sure enough, she grew up to be fine and healthy, although petite. You say she is energetic and busy, so I wouldn't start any food fights with her. Hope you get some good information from the endocrinologist so you can stop worrying and start enjoying your daughter. This is a great age.

Just because your daughter is tiny doesn't mean she's unhealthy :) Is she following her curve steadily? Or has her %ile dropped? Is the pediatrician worried? If she's following her curve and hasn't dropped off it and the ped isn't worried, then you should relax a little. Kids don't starve themselves. Keep offering her healthy things in small quantities throughout the day. If she seems hungry and gobbles it all up, offer her more. Don't give her bottles at the same time as food, or she'll fill up on the milk and not want to eat anything else. Good luck to you!

Have you tried Pediasure? One of my close friends had a similar problem and it worked great. She gave her those instead of milk. Good luck and keep us updated!

Has she been diagnosed with acid reflux? Maybe try zantac or pevicid. Ask your doctor. Also ask for a referral to a nutritionist. Some foods a more easily digested so you can do smaller meals more often. Maybe juicing vegetables?
Good luck
D.

Updated

Has she been diagnosed with acid reflux? Maybe try zantac or pevicid. Ask your doctor. Also ask for a referral to a nutritionist. Some foods a more easily digested so you can do smaller meals more often. Maybe juicing vegetables?
Good luck
D.