She Won't Eat

I am so glad to hear that I am not the only mom going thru this type of frustration. I too have a 19 mo old daughter who will not eat as well. She only has about 10 teeth and I have been told the same thing. She will eat when she is ready. My daughter is only about 20 lbs soak and wet and it scares me to death that she only eat five or six bites of real food a day. She will start out on the first bite like she really likes it and then just start spitting it everywhere. I am at my wits end with her and have decided that if she is truly hungry enough then she will eat. I have started making her things that are easy to chew and still gives her the nutrition she needs. It is a slow process and I hope it proves to be a success. I also give her a lot of things like cheese, pudding and yogurts which she really seems to enjoy because they go down easy. If you have any advice or have found something that is working for you I would be more than interested. I too live in the Spring area around 2920 and Kukendahl so trust me you are not alone in this venture. Hope things get better and let me know the progress. Good luck.

Hello T.,

My name is C. am a mother of 3 girls they are 15,13 1/2 and 11 years of age. when my daughters were going there am not going to eat so live the a lone stage the age of your daughter is the age that mine was going threw it. i was told to let them have what ever they want even if it junk food at least they will be eating something. trust me it was hard to let them just eat ice cream oor chips or what ever when my 13 1/2 year old was 10 we almost lost her she went from 89 pounds to 20 in a little of a year. she would eat 1-2 bite of her food and she was done and said that she was done. they even told me that if i don't get her to gain some more weight that they will have to put in tube's in her noise that scared the life right out of me . i went to the drug store and got the stuff call KinderCare it's almost like the stuff that an older person would drink. it comes in differnt flavors so i mix it up with ice cream and made a milk shake out of it she love it she started to drink that and with in a mo she had gain 5 pd not a hole lot but it was a start and know she 13 1/2 5'4 and 120 pds it took hera year to gain most of it back but with in a few weeks she was eatting more meats as long as she had her shake. am with you about the " expert" don't know jack from raising a child . just what studys shows .i say that you should let her have what ever she wants to eat at least she will be eating and gain weight. good luck if you need to talk e-mail back. and i will get a hold of you.the lady that had said about the reason why she will not eat might be very well the reason why i would look into. i lived her for 5 years and love it here just got to get use to everything. talk her to the dr and have them do a complete check on . if you don't have a good doc to take her to i use norhtwest ped's there number is ###-###-#### they have grreat doc's there they don't make the child upset about a place like some doc do . i like them very well Dr Ball is the best .

I went through a similar situation with my daughter when she was about 2 years old and one thing that aggravated the mess outta me was getting the same response from everyone that she'd eat when she was ready to. Fact was, she wasn't eating and she was starting to loose weight. Not much worked for me except forcing her to eat and even then, that was a battle I don't care to repeat. Then after she would eat more than a few bites, she ONLY wanted to eat noodles and cheese or bread, she started to crave starches, so there I went again, but I sat at the table and took on the tantrums and forces her to eat her food. She's six years old now and still battles the cravings for starches but I've learned to give her all of the good stuff and then a bit of noodles or whatever our starch staple is (rice, pasta, or potatoes) just do what feels right to you and she'll be just fine.

Does she have acid reflux issues? My son (2) still has issues with acid reflux..he's on two meds. a day. Maybe she's hurting when she eats and can't communicate that concept?? I know he's barely 26 pounds. Takes all our effort to get him to eat. Also maybe texture issues. Some kids won't eat b/c of textures of food. These are all things that have helped me help him. Is there an Early CHildhood Intervention (ECI)program in your state? They help kids here in texas with speech, developmental, eating issues ,etc etc etc.

Look for a pediatrician who is sympathetic and will listen. The allergy angle one mom suggested may be worth pursuing. I just think you need to find a doctor who will help you investigate possibilities. You must feel very frustrated. I hope you find a doctor who will listen to your concerns.

If your daughter gained 8 pounds in 6 months it sounds like shes eating good to me! My daughter is 27 months and only barely weighs 24lbs, although she was early and only weighed 4.2lbs when she was born. My lil one seems to go through spurts when she wont eat a thing either for days. It drives me crazy. But she will drink whatever I give her so the dietician told me to put cream in her milk but not to exceed 16 ozs a day of milk anf always just offer healthy foods. Hope this helps I know how worried it makes a mother, I am worried about my daughter as well. God Bless

I completely understand what you are going thru. I have a 7 year old that is only 48 pounds! When she was a baby she would vomit everytime she had a bottle. My husband and i literally had to drap ourselves in a towel to catch it when she finished eating. The doctors always said she was fine. Then when she got older she would barely eat. She would always tell me that her stomach hurt when she ate too much but she didn't eat! Even now, when I take her to the doctor, they say her weight is fine. They say as long as she is getting taller that she is growing. I would try some supplements like pediasure or something like that.

Have you tried just letting her snack throughout the day? That may help her get in some calories, since toddlers are big grazers, and it would give her more opportunities to eat. Sounds like you are doing a good job of providing nutritious food for her. At my house, our chocolate "milk" is actually chocolate soy milk - the 'lite' if I can find it, which has less sugar and calories - that will help her get some protein if she isn't big on eating meat, and it's not as thin-tasting as the regular soy milk.

My 3-yr-old is going through this phase right now. I don't MAKE her eat supper, but she can either eat what I make or can have some yogurt or fruit later.

That is GREAT that she has put on 8 lbs. in the last few months - you must be doing something right! If it is any consolation, my daughter hovered around 28-30 lbs. for a couple of years and is now about 32 lbs. She is tall and thin!

We had a very hard time with my son eating, he is 5 now and weighs 34 pounds, he is actually about the same size as the other kids in his class. We used to (and sometimes still do) give him Carnation instant breakfast. If you dump it into a sippy of milk and shake it to death it mixes better. If you are new to AR, she could have some allergy drainage that she is not used to and drainage does make the tummy a bit full. Even if her nose is not runny it could still be draining. Does your Dr. have her charts from before? I would really try to avoid force feeding, but encourage grazing. Eating small amounts all day long instead of at 3 meals and 2 snacks will help her get more down without having to eat too much at a time. Force feeding could lead to food issus later on, and it might make the food thing a battle of wills. I have lived in AR for 21 years, feel free to message me and please let us know how she is doing. I also have a daughter, 19 months, playdate?

My neice was like that until they found out she was allergic to eggs. Eating made her tummy hurt so she didnt like to eat. She rarely had real eggs, but lots of foods have eggs inthem that we dont know about. One thing she did was cough sometimes when she ate because it bothered her throat. Maybe she is allergic to something. I am allergic to bananas, cantalope, pecans, walnuts, and watermelon. They just make my throat itch and my tummy hurt. That is it. Maybe she is slightly allergic to or sensitive to several foods, so she would rather not eat at all.

Have you tried something like a Pediasure liquid supplement?