Help My Baby Wont Eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi K.,
My daughter does the same thing. Rarely does she eat 3 meals a day. It started when she was about 12-15 months old, and now she's 2. She eats great at breakfast, some at lunch, and usually almost nothing for dinner. At her 2 year checkup, I was afraid she'd be underweight, but she was in the 50th percentile! I keep offering her veggies and meats but she usually is not interested. She does ok with fruits though, which isn't surprising. Don't worry, I think 9 kids out of 10 that are like this will eat when they are hungry. It's up to us to keep offering healthy stuff and not cave with junk that they would definitely eat!
Good luck, and try not to worry!

K.,

Calmness. It happens to lots of children (and parents!) My son is a 'grazer' too. There are days when I can get breakfast in him and that's it for the rest of the day! There are days when he will walk around all day with his mouth open like a hungry baby bird! LOL Sheeeeesh, and don't get me started on trying to get fruits and veggies in him. That takes an Act of Congress in itself!

If you little girl starts losing weight (more than a pound or two), consult your pediatrician immediately. Consult your pediatrician on using suppliments like vitamins and "PediaSure." Be careful about giving her foods that have higher allergic reactions....such as peanut butter and eggs. Wait until she is 2 years or older to offer these foods to lower any risk of developing a food allergy in your lil one.

One tip I use regularly is a cookbook called, "The Sneaky Chef." This cookbook teaches you how to add fruits and veggies into dishes - so when your lil one DOES decide to eat....at least you know its something healthier than a chicken nugget or a french fry.

Best of luck and hang in there.

That happened to my daughter around that age. Before then she would eat everything I put in front of her. She's 3 now and is still that way she is considered underweight at her doctor's office.. she's 25 pds. I'm lucky to get at least one healthy meal down her. She's more into snacking now.

Oh girl don't freak your self out. It is totally common. I have a little girl who hasn't eaten in months. But it always changes and they get an appetite and then eat like cows for a while. It is perfectly normal and even at 15 months they tend to know what their bodies need. And right now hers doesn't need much. It will be alright. Don't worry!!!

Don't freak out! She will eat when she is hungry! My toddler went through the same thing, lasted about a month or two, then growth spurt, she got hungry again and started eating. She is three now and still has days when she barely eats. Just make sure when she is hungry to offer her healthy foods.

MannaBears from Mannatech will make both of you feel better. They have the phytonutrients from fruits and vegetables but taste like candy. They are sweetened with tapioca syrup and pomegranite juice, so they are healthy, even though they are sweet. They are the texture of gummy bears, so if she can eat those, she can eat MannaBears. Your daughter will love them and you can rest easier knowing she is getting nutrients she needs to grow. Also, the Mannatech children's vitamins, GlycoBears, are terrific. Most people don't know that most over-the-counter children's vitamins (adults, too, for that matter) are synthetic and of very little use to the body. Mannatech vitamins are natural and plant-based. If you are interested, contact me and I will tell you how to order them easily from the Web site. I know a trick to get them cheaper. Nutrition is so important!
S. B.

Hey, I just wanted to add one thing. When my son refuses to eat, we make him a smoothie. Blend some fruit, yogurt, or peanut butter (or all of the above) with some milk and ice and you have a little nutrition that most kids will drink. If she isn't drinking out of a straw yet just make it thin enough to pass through a sippie cup.

Good Luck,
S.

This is completly normal! My 2 year old has been going through this stage for a year if not longer, she is tiny and i worry about her, but Doctor said if she was hungary she will eat. My other 2 went through it at about 15 mths and it cont. with them till they were about 2. I wouldnt worry about it to much. Does she drink alot? One thing I have learned with all 3 of my girls is I had to take the cup away from them more.. They relied on their cups!

My son did the same thing and still continues to do so from time to time. I've talked to my pediatrician and her advise was to not worry as long as they have what amounts to "one good meal" every three days. He was still drinking his milk and "juice" fine, so I tried not to obsess about it. The bigger a deal you make it, the more they are likely to rtesist.
You may want to try and sneak some boost or ovaltine in his milk if you are worried about him not getting enough nutrition.

Stand by cause you're going to go through this a lot. At 15 months, she is probably in between growth spurts. Soon she will be getting ready for another one and she'll want to eat all the time. Kids and their eating habits fluctuate wildly while they are growing up. Offer healthy food she likes, let her eat as much as she wants, and let it go. As a wise pediatrician told me, she won't starve herself. But, don't freak out and start feeding her whenever she wants. Offer food at appropriate times and keep the routine the same. She'll come back to eating when she's hungry.

Nutrition needs vary so much in toddlers. Just make sure you are offer healthy finger food choices at each meal and snack. Maybe she will eat all of the graham crackers and raisons for morning snack and just play with lunch - fine, as long as she is eating something. Her stomache is small and it really doesn't take much to keep them going. She is probably very busy and excited about her world right now - stopping to eat keeps her from exploring.

This really does come and go - next month you will probably be wondering why you have to feed your toddler every hour!

Hi K., trust me it is just a phase that your daughter is going through. I have four children and all of them went through the exact same thing. Their doctor always told me that the child will eat when they are hungry and not to force it on them. The only time to get worried is if she starts losing weight dramatically. You might also start giving her a daily vitamin. They have childrens gummy vitamins that my children loved. At least that way she will get the vitamins she needs. Other than that, as scary as I know it is, there is nothing you can do. Just keep an eye on her weight and if she starts losing alot then get an appt. with her pediatrician. And by the way sometimes the phase can last a while. One of my daughters lasted for approx. 6 months but she is fine and healthy today. I hope this helps you and good luck!! V.

It is ok, dr.s will tell you they will eat when they are ready to. My son is 3 and if he starts doing that i make sureto cook something he loves. Make sure yours get lots of liquids. And try something they loves even if it is junk food or not so healthy food atleast get them thinking they want to eat and i try to make a big deal about how good something is. Also i left my kid at the table and i watched him around the corner to see if he would eat while i was not looking and it took a while but he started eating. I don't remeber how long these spells last but they happen all the time with both my kids

My son is 15 months and he's entering a grazing stage, where he's eating maybe half of what he used to eat at a meal. We're fortunate he likes fresh fruits and veggies, as well as dairy, so we generally get some produce and cheese and yogurt in him, but some days he hardly eats a thing, just plays with it. But he's healthy and happy and active, and I figure it's just a phase he's going through, just like with reading where sometimes he wants to be read to all the time and others he just can't sit still for it. Hang in there! She'll likely go through this sort of thing several times over the next couple years. Good luck with your classes!

My son did this every time he was teething hard. He would stop eating all meat and anything not mushy or liquid. You can try foods like applesauce and yogurt to see if that helps her take in more calories. The higher fat cottage cheese and scrambled eggs were helpful to us as well. Good luck.

Don't worry. All children go through this stage around a year or so. I have 4 kids, and I call it the 'bird' stage because they eat like a bird, and I don't know how they manage to survive...but they do! 3 of my kids grew out of it around their 2nd birthday, 1 of my kids stayed in it longer, she is just a skinny kid to begin with.
I fed my kids high fat foods when they were in this stage: full fat milk, cheese, avacado, ect.