~Feeding Frustration~

[Lovingliv]

Hey Mamas,

The saga continues! Liv is 3 weeks shy of turning 1! Liv is steadily falling off her growth curve. We have been going to weight checks and she is gaining less than a breast fed infant should (O mom, I know you know the amount,,,I can't remember what exactly they are supposed to gain, but less than formula fed babies). I am so frustrated.
So ofcourse I have been offering her many types of foods and fortifying (with olive oil and butter) everything! I tried blueberry pancakes (thanks nfowife) and she loved them for a few days and now really isn't that interested. She eats hummus, but not like she used to. She really isn't thrilled with avocado either. All the things she used to really like she is just not eating.
I tried to go back to the staples, cereal and fruit. No go. She really does not eat enough.

We are still nursing but she is really not even interested in that. Tonight we were nursing and she reached for her sippy cup (from last night when Daddy was putting her to bed) of breast milk. I think she is weaning herself :(
I know it is a good thing, because we are trying for a year EBF. It just went by too fast. I complained a lot. :( Now, I realize I will really miss it. I won't miss the pumping :)

So, if you are still here, I guess I am really looking for any advice to get this kid to eat. I was offering her many meals daily, maybe 6. But, I don't have her sit for longer than 5 minutes. She is on the go, go, go. Sometimes DH holds her and we try to get extra bites into her that way.
She has had blood tests and everything looks good the doc says.

I feel like I should just let her do her thing (yes, I have read Ellyn Satter's book) and everything will work out. But what if it doesn't?

And she is meeting all of her milestones and then some. Any info you can offer is always appreciated!!!!!!

[mudder17]

As long as she's meeting all her milestones AND the doc says everything looks good, I'd try not to worry (although I totally understand not being able to not worry, IYKWIM). It is quite normal for a child that young to be interested in things other than food! In fact, in some ways, it gets worse when they start running around, LOL. At that age, Kaya really wasn't that interested in eating a large variety of solids. I think she was eating oatmeal, yogurt, and the occasional veggie (she didn't like fruits at that age), tofu, or other food.

The main thing that we've done with her is just keep trying and now at 2, she is actually eating more with a much larger palate. There are still days when she eats almost nothing, but other days she'll eat like there is no tomorrow. We just keep offering her different foods. One thing is that we're finally starting to eat together more often as a family and she's been eyeing what we've been eating. ;)

One other thing--have you had her checked out for possible food allergies? That can sometimes affect weight gain, especially if it's a food absorption problem or something along those lines. I have no idea whether those things would come out in blood tests, though.


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...pphire_24m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catca...-6_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[Lovingliv]

Thanks Eileen. The doc is worried...because her height is now declining a bit. Next is head circumferance...brain growth. So it is scary. You know, she has been tested for celiac,,,but nothung else. I guess I could call with that suggestion..thanks again!

[nfowife]

Rachel, I don't really have any advice because it seems you are doing what you can. But I did want to say I totally concur in regards to Satter. Her philosophy is so logical and enlightening, and it sounds so easy. But it is hard to stick to in practice! I am finding myself referring back to the book more and more these days, as I often feel myself wanting to run the show and push DD to eat in a way I *know* she doesn't want to. I'm so afraid to screw her up in some way!! Either I'll push her to eat too much and she won't learn to listen to her internal hunger cues (and become a plate-cleaner like me). Or she'll become picky and I'll ignore her requests and she'll starve. It's much harder to find a middle ground than she lets on in her book. Ugh! I don't think the worrying ever ends.
hugs mama!!

[kimbe]

I am so sorry that you have to deal with all this. Although my DD is still growing alright, she shares Liv's interest in food --- so I don't have any advice. We just tried pasta and were elated when she ate the total of two strands. Nursing has become a struggle too.

ITA with your opinion and Margaret's opinion about Satter's book. There has to be a point when a child just has to start eating!

I hope that you get some really great advice and I hope that things start to get better.

I get up every morning thinking, this is the day that Sarah is going to start eating --- I will hope that for you too now!

Hugs!

[Lovingliv]

Thanks Margaret! That is my biggest fear! That I will mess her up and stop her from listening to her internal cues. It is well known in my field that "mom" is the one who messes the feeding stuff up. I just want to be extra careful with this. I know all too well that when someone makes a big deal out of what you are or are not eating, it becomes a big deal!
Thanks for the support!

[Lovingliv]

Kim, Keep hoping! I will just wait it out-she goes to the MD in 3 weeks. I think I will call about any missed food allergies-just in case! Thanks for the advice and good wishes!

[mudder17]

I've tried to not push Kaya, and I think it's starting to pay off. She will now ask to try something when I'm preparing dinner or breakfast (for myself). For instance, I have recently discovered she likes the following: green olive tapenade from TJ's, Creamy Vodka pasta sauce (Master's Choice in this case), with and without shredded mozzarella cheese, a variety of hor d'oeurves (sp?) from TJ's, including quiches, stuffed mushroom pastries, etc., hummus, Daddy's cereal (one of her favorite breakfasts, she just likes to sit next to Daddy and eat some of his granola/fruity cereals while he eats his), bagel toast, ziti and other pasta with all sorts of sauces (she didn't like tomato-based sauces until very recently), taquitos, quesadilla's, baked chicken pieces, and so on. She actually prefers her food to be cold (something DH and I thought was strange, but we're going with it) and will sometimes want it frozen (frozen peas, carrots, beans, waffles, etc.). The main thing is that we just keep on trying and as difficult as it is sometimes we also try to listen to her cues. When she says she's "all done" we just don't push it even if she's only eaten a bite or two. And yes, that is definitely hard to do as a parent, but I try to remember what Ellen Satter says and not push it. As I said, it will eventually pay off, but it's so hard in the meantime, isn't it?

And Rachel, if your pede is concerned about her losing height as well as weight, ask him to do some allergy testing of various foods. So it's not celiac, but it could be other related things. You may try visiting the greentaramama yahoo group (if you can't find it, e-mail me and I'll send you the link) and asking them for suggestions. I recall a fairly recent (like in the last couple months) set of posts where a mom was trying to figure out why her DD was having so much trouble gaining weight, although I think her DD's case was even more serious than yours. Anyway, I remember there were a bunch of knowledgeable replies, so you may want to look into that.

Big hugs, mama! I know it's tough! But take comfort in that Olivia is otherwise meeting all of her other milestones.


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...pphire_24m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catca...-6_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[o_mom]

I am totally agreeing with PPs here - look at your baby, not the scale. She is healthy and meeting milestones.

They really do slow down alot around a year. It is hard when you are making food and they eat a bite or two and then run off. I throw away so much uneaten food, but I know that the more I push it, the less likely they are to eat.

You can look at the growth charts here:

http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/

but these are the whole population, not just BF babies.

A 50% girl would be 7.5 lbs at birth and 21.5 lbs at 12 months - almost triple the birthweight (300% increase) - a gain of 14 lbs. Now, contrast that to 12-24 months. A 50% girl at 24 months would be 26.5 lbs - only 5 pound over 12 months, just a 25% increase. That is less than 8 oz per month.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that they do slow down dramatically. You also need to keep in mind, that there are alot of overweight toddlers out there. The charts are made by surveys of the entire population - they only reflect the population, not what is considered healthy.

[babybunny]

My DS at 16 months is now down to the 10% for weight. He is VERY active. And a very picky eater. I am still pumping at work and nursing him. He doesn't seem to be interested in food in the evening (for dinner) which makes me a bit crazy. However, I am told that he eats quite well in day care.

We initially were dealing with adding Whole Cow's Milk to supplement my lower supply of breastmilk. He hated the taste initially and refused bottles . The switch over seemed to give him loose poops. We did have him allergy tested for milk, wheat, soy and egg allergies at 12 months. They came back negative. The sensivity to the cow's milk seems to be working itself out now, and we are using Lactaid whole milk which tastes sweeter than regular milk.

I just found out that he is allergic to strawberries (many symptoms). So we have taken out all berries from his diet including blueberry Yo Baby yogurt and blackberry cereal bars. This also seems to have helped his loose poops...

Needless to say, I am very frustrated when he won't eat his dinner.

Here are two things I have noticed....

If we give him dinner too late in the evening, we have passed the prime eating time and now he is ready to just nurse and go to bed.

He gets bored with his favorites. So just because he gobbles up green beans one night doesn't mean he will the next. And just because we have offered him two items of food to eat and he eats a little bit of each and acts like he s done, doesn't mean that he isn't hungry. More often then not, if I mention the waffle word....he now wants a waffle and will consume half of one.

My dr did not seem concerned at all, because he meets his milestones (he was running like an 18 month old at 12 months) and both my husband and I were extremely skinny as children.

I hope this helps