Refusing to Eat

Ever since we travelled to Europe 12 days ago, one of my girls is basically refusing to eat. For breakfast she used to eat oats w/ fruits followed by a slice of bread with butter plus a bottle of milk. Now she has either zero oats or maybe 2 teaspoons, refuses the bread and drinks only 2 oz of milk. She refuses snacks before her nap and NEVER had more than one teaspoon of whatever for lunch in 12 days. She will snack on raisins in the afternoon, sometimes a breadstick but that's about it. For dinner she will eat some yoghurt, sometimes applesauce and maybe 4 oz of milk. She has had ZERO protein (except for the little bit of milk and yoghurt), ZERO vegetables and only a handful of fruit. It doesn't matter what I offer, she turns her head and screams NOOOOO. She is not lethargic or acting sick, but I'm very worried to say the least. Do you think it's just a phase? Could it be the stress from traveling to two places in ten days (2 plane rides, train rides, bus rides, new surroundings, tons of new people)? Should I take her to a doctor? TIA.

 

Could be a phase, could be teething. I know my twins went through this and my singleton son is going through this right now. He only eats dry cereal, yogurt, soup, crackers, and milk. It is very frusterating, but I usually just end up giving him the foods I know he will eat. A lesson learned with my twins... you can't MAKE a toddler eat!! Keep doing what works and watch her weight and behavior. Her doctor will let you know if there is reason to be concerned at her next check up.

 

COuld it be that her ears hurt from the flight? Infection? I've had kids be diagnosed with ear infection not showing any signs. :hug: Mealtime can be so stressful! :hug:

 

I was wondering about this as well - might be worth a trip to the pedi.

Also, it's possible she picked up some kind of stomach bug and has an upset stomach - maybe not enough to throw up or have loose bowels, but it could be making her not want to eat.

It could also be the travel. I know when I travel, my stomach tends to get out of whack and it takes me a couple of weeks after getting home to get back to normal.

If it were me, I would feed her whatever she will eat (yogurt, bread, applesauce, etc.) and call the pedi to see about getting her checked for ears or other issues.

 

18 months old??? Yep if ears are clear its a phase. Mine are in it right now and their ped says every 18 month old she has ever treated as well as her 4 kids all did this at this age. She told me to let them eat whatever they would, within reason of coarse. Mine are on a mac nad cheese kick, so I make homemade mac and cheese for lunch every day, got a recipe off pinterest so I can control the type of pasta and the fat and cals that is in it. she says its a phase and won't last forever. Keep offering them other choices so when the phase is over they will start taking other things, also something else i am trying is new recipes using things I know they love. LIke they LOVE banana walnut oatmeal but part of this new phase is not wanting to be fed so I am making their oatmeal into bar's or cookies so they can hold it stuff like that. GOOD LUCK!

 

My doc told me the same thing about my kids - that it is normal and it is a phase. My kids have gone off and on with doing this...for awhile they ate almost everything presented to them, then they would stop and eat hardly anything. Right now they are almost 4 are back in the phase of not wanting to eat much. I try to persuade them to eat at least a few bites. Other than that I figure, if they are hungry they will eat. They aren't going to starve.

 

I guess I am the odd one out on this one... I do not agree with just allowing your kids to dictate what they will eat. That is how you get kids who will eat nothing but chicken nuggets or mac and cheese or crackers. I do think all kids go through phases of liking one thing better than another but I never let my kids dictate their diet. I offered them the same foods as always adding in new ones but always healthy foods. They were offered fruits and veggies and grains whole yogurt etc. They might not eat all that was offered at one time but if they were hungry they ate and it was healthy food not just fillers. I guess I just never really allowed picky eating and all my kids are extremely healthy eaters and not picky at all. If however, if she starts to lose weight or act ill, I would take her in for sure, especially having just traveled over seas.

 

My new trick for getting in protein and veggies is to make pasta and then grind it up with chicken, spinach (or other veggies), parmesan cheese or mozzarella and butter. Yes, they're beyond baby food but I find my picky eater does not like textures very much so the ground up stuff is what she'll eat. I know this doesn't solve the problem though of getting her to at least try it... but once she is feeling better, this is a way to add some protein.

 

momOf6 has it right. They won't starve themselves. You give them a great meal/snack and if they don't eat it they'll be hungrier next feeding. I'm a stay-at-home Dad and I get in fights with the wife because they don't eat ANYTHING that she gives them. I put it in front of them, and they eat it. They know if they don't eat what I give them, I'm not going to feed them a "filler". It sucks at first, but you reap the benefits later on... Just my 2 cents. And I was one of the Mac n Cheese kids growing up. I was TINY and I wished my parents gave me more options. I don't eat fish to this day because I was never introduced to it as a kid. I may gag while I make tuna for my little sweeties, but my kids sure as sh*t will get that meal...

 

I totally agreed with pps. Dont worry too much. Your job is to provide enough healthy nutrition, their job is to make sure they intake enough. Thats it.

My kids grow with their own paces. Some months, they dont grow an oz. But just in a week or 2, they grow lbs!!! Some weeks, they dont care much for food just milk milk milk. Some weeks, man have to go grocery shopping many times/week. We are out so fast of everything. They eat eat eat all day long!!!

I know how u feel. I used to worry how much my kids ate. Its hard not to. Try to relax and have fun with your kids. Im sure they are healthy and growing well.

Another trick that helps is let them exercise alot. They will get stronger and their appetites will get better, sleep better as well.

 

I have been going crazy with frustration because my boys are refusing to eat just about everything...even what used to be their favorites. I have heard and read it is normal (they are 21 months old) but still needed to call my pedi just to be reassured. She said it is absolutely 100% normal...especially between 18 months at 3 years.

She said to just make sure to offer them healthy foods and go with the flow...but NEVER get up and rummage in the fridge trying to make them happy...she said that will make for picky eaters. They should eat healthy meals that you yourself would eat and that is it. If they don't want to eat it then they wont and they will have to wait until either snack time or the next meal to eat. SHe said it is important to offer them 3 meals and 2 snacks per day which we do.