HELP!!

[shortie]

Having really bad time at mo with DD,she's always been a fussy eater but over xmas she had a REALLY bad tummy bug and since then getting her to eat is a nightmare!She'll eat a handful of finger food but won't eat meals that she DID eat before.She wont eat "messy" food herself anyway,i have to feed her.She had just started eating shephards pie,mash with veg mixed in like baby food but i didn't mind that as long as she eat but noe she just gags as soon as i put it in her mouth!!Any advice would be welcome!!

[ellisisamazing]

Having really bad time at mo with DD,she's always been a fussy eater but over xmas she had a REALLY bad tummy bug and since then getting her to eat is a nightmare!She'll eat a handful of finger food but won't eat meals that she DID eat before.She wont eat "messy" food herself anyway,i have to feed her.She had just started eating shephards pie,mash with veg mixed in like baby food but i didn't mind that as long as she eat but noe she just gags as soon as i put it in her mouth!!Any advice would be welcome!!

 

 

I know exactly how you feel, shortie!

 

But as long as your DD is eating something and more importantly taking fluids, try not to worry (I know it's not easy!)

 

My DS is extremely fussy and only eats toast, plain shortie biscuits, bread sticks, cream crackers, fish fingers, turkey goujons and fromage frais yogurts ( oh and crisps/choc if I allow them!).

 

Since he too had a bug at Christmas he has been really reticent to eat much, but I don't make a fuss of it at the table, I leave him to it and he will go back as and when for a little nibble!

 

He has Vits and is literally full of beans (not baked ones, though!)

[MichelleW]

J was like that also. From 6 months old he had continuous tonsilitis, and I assumed this was the cause of his continuous gagging. At 2 years old, he was alternating between 4 month baby food and 12 month baby food and some finger foods as long as they were dry i.e. biscuits and crisps. At 3 his diet was very limited but as long as he was eating something and drinking, I just let him eat when and what he wanted , within reason (i.e. no sweets). He is now 6 and still has a very resticted diet, but is much better than before.

 

I found that just asking him to try one little (I mean miniscule!) piece of food at a time - if he didn't like it, then he didn't have to eat any more - but sometimes he would want a little bit more. After about 3 years, I have just got him to eat a piece of meat, and he liked it. He'd had an incident a few years ago with a chewy bit of meat which stopped him eating meat at all until 2 days ago. I think you just have to keep trying and don't worry too much, as long as they seem to have enough energy.

[dooday24]

reece is a very picky eater also and at the moment will only eat choc spread and crisp sarnes together!

[krystaltps]

C went through a similar thing at 3. He was always fussy and restricted, but after a horrific tummy bug (that landed both the twins in hospital) he almost stopped eating completely, getting by on a handful of Frosties each day.

It does get better. Make sure she takes a good multi-vitamin, and try to get some probiotics into her (Kellogs multi-grain are good for this) as it will help boost her immune system.

C's diet still consists mainly of cereal (no milk, he wont eat dairy), but he does eat bread, rice and crisps. He ate an apple two weeks ago!!

We also switched to pure fruit juices, instead of diluting juice. I have three kids, so it does work out more expensive (they go through gallons of the stuff), but it certainly keeps them healthier. C loves apple juice. We buy about 12 cartons a week, and he's pretty healthy these days.

I know it's easy to say, but try not to worry... <'> <'>

Oh, two other tips: try sitting her in front of the TV to eat, I know it goes against all "good parenting" rules, but we found out by accident that C ate more when he was distracted....

and using a large plate and lining up the food (C discovered this himself), made a big difference too - he could see he was making progress, kind of like "start at this end and finish here".

Edited January 15, 2007 by krystaltps

[Emum]

Try not to panic! I had a really nasty tummy bug in the run up to Christmas and it took me several days to recover my appetite, so it may still just be that she is recovering from the after effects. She may also be associating the mushed up food with being sick, particularly if she had eaten this on the day she was ill for the first time. If this is the case, I think you need to be sensitive to this. I am not autistic but I remember as a young teenager trying to tell my mother that fried food made me feel extremely ill, and her refusing to listen and serving up very high fat meals 3-4 times a week. I was vomiting 2 or 3 times a week for years and ended up having to have my gall bladder removed at the age of 20, as I genuinely couldn't cope with digesting large amounts of fat. Since then, I've been very sensitive to my children telling me that any food makes them feel ill!

 

I would go with the little amounts to start, and build up from there strategy. Maybe try 5 small meals a day rather than 3 big ones, so its not so overwhelming. Try and include a mix of things you know she likes and will eat with one thing which she is finding more difficult, and lots of praise if she manages a very small mouthful of the problem food. If she gags, I really wouldn't push it, as if you try to force feed something which makes her sick, she is not going to eat it again ever! Maybe you could put a little of the food she is rejecting on a bit of the food she likes and entice her back to it like that - eg a small amount of the cottage pie (say a quarter of a teaspoon) on a chip.

 

I'm also a great believer in looking on the bright side with nutritional issues when you have a picky child. You might prefer them to eat more than fishfingers and chips, but if both are cooked in the oven, and you pick products with no artificial colours or preservatives, and maybe add some baked beans, your child is in fact having a fairly healthy meal of fish, carbohydrates and protein. If the child will only eat yoghurts, you can choose ones with low sugar and high fruit contents, cereals can be sugar free and wholegrain, etc. Its not perfect or the whole solution, but it stops you panicking about the whole situation, and often when everybody relaxes around the table, the problems solve themselves

[hedders]

Know how you feel my dd whos nearly 3 is awful at eating and has just got over a stomach bug.

I have been thinking for a while now that i might start at the beginning like when you introduce foods to babies and toddlers even with textures, feel that it might give me more of an understanding what she likes and doesnt like as were falling into the trap of naughty snack foods at the mo.

Good luck

[V1971]

My son is very picky too, I want to pull my hair out. He'd survive on dry cereals if I let him!

[MichelleW]

"try sitting her in front of the TV to eat, I know it goes against all "good parenting" rules, but we found out by accident that C ate more when he was distracted...."

 

I noticed exactly the same thing with my two. If we sat up as a family and tried to be "social" they would be distracted and wouldn't eat much. Now they sit at little tables in front of TV and eat so much better.

[butterfingersbimbo]

good luck i hope she starts eating more soon.... <'>

[dooday24]

reece also eats better in front of the tv. hes up and down from the table otherwise and crawling round under the table and ends up eating nothing so now he has his homer simpson lap tray and eats whilst watching ben10