I have an 11 month old daughter who, up until very recently, has been a VERY easy baby. She followed a regular schedule like clockwork and has slept through the night since 4 weeks old. However, about 2 weeks ago, she got a cold/minor ear infection/cough. She has been on some antibiotics, which she has had NO difficulty taking, and is visibly feeling better. The problem is, she has stopped wanting to eat ANTHING solid. She used to eat VERY well, cereal in the morning, fruit and yogurt for lunch, and a good dinner (sometimes a stage 3 dinner and depending on what we ate sometimes some from our plates - she only has 2 bottom teeth so table food options are limited). Now, however, the only solid food she shows any interest in at all is her baby cereal (and sometimes, only 1/2 the amount she normally eats - which ain't much!) and plain yogurt. I worry that she isn't getting enough nutrition but I am hesitant to supplement her with more bottles throughout the day - she still gets 1 or 2 bottles during the day and one at bedtime. She seems to be getting MORE dependant on bottles at the age when we are going to be trying to wean her off of them. I just feel like this minor illness has completely thrown off our whole deal - meal times become a struggle because she fights us on eating anything, hoping that if she cries enough we will give in and give her a bottle instead - which we don't - which is why we are so miserable at meal times!! My other kids are 5 and 7 and transitioned sooooo easily from baby food to table food that I am in a bit of a quandry about how to handle it. I was lucky enough to stay home with my other 2 when they were young but they just seemed to make this transition so smoothly that I wasn't prepared for this bump! ANY advice or suggestions would be soooooo welcome!
Sounds like solid foods are causing discomfort actually since she will only eat the cereal and yogurt which is smooth.
It could be teething issues, maybe her gums are sore. Or, there could be a throat irritation. It wouldn't hurt to take her in to see her pediatrician and have her checked out.
Have you taken oral antibiotice recently enough to remember what they make your body feel like? I'm not surprised she's not very hungry - they make me feel gross for weeks.
In fact, the only thing I ever found that made that problem go away was eating natural yogurt (the kind without pectin, gelatin, sugar, starches or stabilizers added). Just a little bit at a time, a couple of hours after/before every dose of those nasty drugs and for about a week following.
Fresh, natural yogurt is often well-liked by babies nearing a year, so you won't necessarily even have to sweeten it at all, not even by adding fruit. Try to stick to the full-fat kind, as it's richer and more pleasant to eat (and babies need fat to be healthy).
T., I would try adding some childrens acidophilus to her bottles or cereal (you can find at a reputable health food store) in order to help balance out her tummy. Antibiotics are great at wiping out bacteria... the problem is that they wipe out the GOOD bacteria your baby needs for digestion. Give it a little time to work (a couple weeks or so) in the mean time, don't sweat giving her extra bottles. She should be getting at least 3 a day. It won't hurt her to do this for the time being and she may need the extra nutrition since she isn't eating the table food. She'll go back to the table food when she's ready and soon enough you won't be able to *keep* her from eating all the healthy foods the rest of the family eats! Besides, she could be avoiding the other food if her throat still hurts or if she remembers it hurting when she was sick. Over time, she'll get brave enough to go back at it again. It's not worth the stress of "forcing" her to eat table food.
Sounds like she changed after the antibiotics. She could be having a reaction to the imbalance that antibiotics cause in our bodies: yeast infections, stomach aches, bowel changes, behavior/mood swings, etc.
Best Wishes
I don't know if this will help, but we gave my older daughter a sippy cup from the time she could sit in a highchair. This way, you're still working towards weaning, but you can also rest assured she is getting the proper nutrition. It could be, too, that she IS getting what she needs. Just follow her hunger cues. If she's still wetting enough diapers and gaining weight properly (check with your pediatrician), she's probably okay. Maybe she's already starting to assert her independence. Like when a toddler only wants pizza everyday... for a week... She'll come around. :o)
hi. sometimes kids are a million piece puzzle aren't they? my kids always eat less when they're sick. maybe the infection isn't gone and she's just not feeling well. or maybe when she was sick you gave her more attention and were more lenient about what and when she ate and now she just likes having that control. or maybe it's just a phase. i know my kids eat really well for awhile and then out of the blue for a few weeks it seems like they barely eat anything. i think kids bodies are growing and changing so quickly that their eating habits can change at the drop of a hat, but in my experience it will bounce back to normal. they will eat when hungry and won't when they're not. i wouldn't worry about it too much, just keep her schedule and wait it out as far as the amount she eats. if she gets hungry she'll start eating at her next meal. best of luck!
My daughter recently went through something kind if similar. I found out she wanted to feed her self at her own pace. Try buying some noodles(ditalini-half the size of elbow noodles) and add cheese sauce or spagetti sauce and put it on her high chair(not alot of sauce) along with some cut up chicken or lunch meat, that did it for my daughter she didnt want me to feed her anymore not to mention she didnt want anything to do with baby food anymore.Good luck!!
She could have oral thrush, which makes if very uncomfortable to eat anything. If you see white in her mouth then most likely she has it. You could go to your dr to get a perscription, which you will have to give 2 times a day for 2 weeks. Or you could try Getian Violet, which is available behind some pharmacy counters. I know both in Holly have it. You just swab their mouth with it. It does turn threir mouth purple. I have only ever had to give one dose, but you may have to give more if it is really bad.
It could be teething that's making her miserable. It could be a side effect of the anitbiotics.
A B vitamin shot or drops could help her appetite. I'd have her pediatrition take a look see.
Don't keep giving in and giving her a bottle, tho. Who's in charge? You should be. And by "giving in" you're shifting control to her, and causing yourself excess grief. Sure all kids are different, and aren't going to make those milestone changes exactly the same. But you aren't helping her or yourself by going backwards with the bottle. Let her stew a little bit. Have the food ready and available. But definitely consult your ped.
dear T.,
All's I can say is this sounds so normal I've had 5 children and they all had different eating habits, I realize you want the best nutrition you can give your little one, but, sometimes when she's refusing to eat the foods you give her maybe her tastes are changing, try offering different kinds of foods, I know, you probably have already done this, so, if this is'nt the case then maybe shes not going through a growing spurt right now. babies and toddlers don't have appetites like us,ha ha, they only eat what they need or wnat at that particular moment , it's common for baabies to go 2-4 days without eating solids. Sometimes their bodies need a chance to adapt to what's been given to them in the last week or so, then, what do ya know , they start eating everything in sight, cuz, they are going through a growing spurt!!! that might last for only a week or two also!!! then your back to sqaure one!!!!!!!!! try just letting her nibble give her only 2 options item #1 or item #2 of the foods you know she likes , if, she refuses, don't worry!!!! she won't starve, your are her/his mommy!!!! and you know when she/he's hungry, they all hve them different crying methods that only you can figure out!!!!! I'm sure your baby is perfectly fine!!! as long as she's filling her diapers you have nothing in the world to worrry about! unless, though she/he is consistenly losing wt. every week and has fever or severe colic or maybe gastritis or a blockage gas is painful, she could be getting too much iron which could cause gas and constipation. try giveing her 1 teaspoonful of dark karo syrup in 4 oz's. of warm water and massage her belly, keep those diapers coming at you at least 4-6 times per day and sometimes even it's normal if they pee only up to 3 times a day and have a bowel movement 1 time every other day, it's ok
S.--- hope this helps/things will get better
