Anyone with kids? Need advice about food

My kid is not eating. We try for hours to feed him, he just refuse to eat.
He is now -+8 kilos at 12 month and doctors start to think about tube in nose for feeding.

We Try to add coco butter in food, butter, peanuts things like that but more we add calories less he eat amount wise. He ate milk and refuse to drink, powder baby milk he just gag on it.

Friend advised me for some protein milk supplement for kids but can t get it in europe.

Any of you got good caloric recipe for kids? something to gain weight.

Add some sugar to some chocolate milk?

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Head_Less wrote:

My kid is not eating. We try for hours to feed him, he just refuse to eat.
He is now -+8 kilos at 12 month and doctors start to think about tube in nose for feeding.

We Try to add coco butter in food, butter, peanuts things like that but more we add calories less he eat amount wise. He ate milk and refuse to drink, powder baby milk he just gag on it.

Friend advised me for some protein milk supplement for kids but can t get it in europe.

Any of you got good caloric recipe for kids? something to gain weight.

I don't want to raise any alarms unnecessarily, but I'm going to mention some things you may have already looked at, just in case there is something that might help.

How long has he been eating solid food? I'm going to guess that you have tried a variety of baby foods with him? For many children, they may eat a tiny amount of solid food and then want milk again. Gradually increasing the solid food and slowly reducing the milk is common. Generally speaking - it is best to feed little ones when they are hungry and not try to work their meals in at set times - once they are eating well, the times gradually become more like small adult meals (with snacks in between).

Have the doctors examined his gastrointestinal track to make sure there isn't an underlying condition that is causing him pain or discomfort when he eats? Is he only eating small amounts, or does he try to go without eating at all for a longer period of time? Are there any foods he does like? (I wasn't sure from your post if he does like milk).

If he is diagnosed with "failure to thrive", then at least short term, Enteral Nutrition (feeding through a nasogastric tube)might be a very good idea, as you don't want his brain depleted of nutrients while it is developing.

Sorry, my intent is not to arouse anxiety or concern. If you and his doctors are pursuing all the relevant medical options in addition to looking for food supplements, he'll be ok. It is when some of the options are not explored that problems last longer or become worse.

Without more information, I am just speculating - but there could be an endocrine disorder - Adrenal Insufficiency, for instance, that could cause a loss of appetite. There are blood tests that can determine whether the pituitary, adrenal glands, etc are functioning correctly, and if not, the remedies for these are well known and effective.

While nasogastric tubes look terrible, many children can and do tolerate them. A co-worker had their child on NG tube feedings for the first 2 years. It took some extra effort, but the child is now five and is able to eat normally.

There are pediatric appetite stimulants such as periactin, which sometimes work and sometimes are not well tolerated by the child.

A speech pathologist - they are the medical experts on swallowing- (preferably pediatric or nutrition specialist) can examine how a child's mouth and oral cavity work and help determine if something there is causing pain or difficulty that might cause the child to resist eating.

Sometimes, trying to force food just makes the child even less likely to want to eat. Feeding times, distractions, picky eating - there are so many things that affect how children eat. Even under the best conditions, it can be a chore.

If you want to post any other info (here or in a PM), I can see what I can find out for you. What sort of commercial prepared infant/toddler supplements are available where you are at?

Hang in there, keep trying and you'll find a solution.

Kids are like plants you don't need to feed they are doing photosynthesis. Just plant them in the dirt and they'll grow up.

Trying to remember 12 months on my kids...

I think I transitioned them from breast to cow milk around that time. Also was attempting to feed them pureed foods, though the vast majority of their daily calories was from milk. Whole, fresh, cold milk, not any kind of powdered or skim milk.

For solids, mashed/pureed sweet potatoes were a huge hit. Sweet and starchy.

Another thing around that time was moving them from breast/bottle grazing to a more disciplined routine of eating times. Turn off all distractions, sit down in the same place at the same time, and make eating a priority (and eat at the same time as them).

Ultimately they figured it out mostly on their own, though, so I never had to really roll up my sleeves and debug it like you're having to.

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DalaiLama has great advice, and certainly if your pediatrician strongly suggests doing something, it's probably wise to heed that suggestion.

Best of luck.

He/she may be allergic to lactose. I would check his/her fever after eating. It happened with my sisters kid. Would puke, not estcetc... Turns out allergic to lactose. Only pediatrician can rule that out. But when feeding is there s fever? Babies immune system aren't fully developed anything esowvually good can raise alarms.

It was also recommended to feed small amounts through the day. Avoid feeding before bed... Hope that helps.

Edit: Lactose is in many foods not just milk

I'm not a doctor but have a 2 yr old and they can be stubborn sometimes. My advice is let that little guy get hungry then he'll eat. supply and demand. But again I'm not a doctor. Maybe see professionals.

Shackles + trough filled with lasagna + drums + ramming speed.

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Head_Less wrote:

My kid is not eating. We try for hours to feed him, he just refuse to eat.

My advice is to get in his mind. He is not too young to think, even if he's new at it. The temptation may be to assume there is some error in his thinking; if so, isolate the error(s); consider the possibility that there isn't one. Observe as well as you can; make feeding just as much about listening to him as it is about acting on him. Prevent exasperation from clouding your vision.

All this nutritional focus for a behavioral problem, putting the cart in front of the horse. *rolleyes*

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SkyCore wrote:

Add some sugar to some chocolate milk?

He actually dislike sugary stuff and won t drink milk