I have a little boy who is going to be 3 at the end of March. He is tall for his age, but only weighs 26lbs. His waist can still fit into 18mo clothes and but he is tall enough for 3t clothes. He is a picky eater and very active. My current ped. is not too concerned, however, you can see his spine, shoulder blades and count every rib he has. He doesn't drink milk either. Yesterday, he had a cheese stick, a piece of butter bread and by dinner time I was really concerned so I bought one thing I knew he would eat, a McDonald's cheeseburger. He won't eat any fruits, veggies, or drink milk, as I said before. I asked my doctor about getting Pedisure or something like that to help supplement and get some weight on him. She said no. I do not even know if he will drink it because he refuses to drink milk. Should I try getting the Pedisure anyway. Is one a day the 'dosage' (for the lack of a better term? Any other help or advice is appreciated.
Thanks for your help. I do sit with the children when we eat, except for lunch when I am at work, and my husband sits with him. We do give him a well balanced meal. He just picks at what he eats. I do give him some stuff with the 'healthy' fats because I know he needs something. I am pregnant, and due in July but these eating habits have followed through his entire life. THere are no other problems at home. Husband and I are not going through any martial problems, or anything like that. Finally, skinniness is not a family trait LOL. We have all been 'meaty.' I had to work hard to loose 92 lbs through WW so I try to teach my children that way of eating to keep them from having any problems like my husband and I have had.
Different children eat differently. I was recently with my 3 year old neice and my 18 month old daughter ate more than her for the three days we saw them...and my daughter is in the 5% for her age. No matter of cajoling would make her eat. But she does like "shakes"...maybe you could try an smoothie or something like that. Then you could add protein powder, fruit, etc.
Good luck.
Hi J.,
I can totally relate to your concerns. My son is 6 years old and weighs 38 pounds. He wears 5T clothes that his younger cousin passes on to him.
My son was born having had a stroke. He had some eating issues, that he has outgrown now. However, the poor eating habits are still there. His eating is slowly getting better. I recently took my son to his pediatrician for his yearly checkup and voiced this concern. Our ped stated that he was in the 20th percentile for his age group, and there is no need to be concerned. But to not give up trying to introduce more variety to his diet. Since he was a year old, I have supplemented his diet with Pediasure (3 cans a day), and also Carnation Instant Breakfast. However, my son loves milk (still warmed). Maybe your little boy will like the different flavors of the Pediasure. My son is awfully fussy about what he likes and doesn't like, and he really enjoys the flavors of the Pediasure and the Carnation. I wish you luck in finding a solution. It's so hard to watch your little one struggle with eating. Good luck.
I've had some great results helping people with younger children with a problem called: Failure to Thrive.
I'd love to help. D.
Hi J.:
It sounds like you are really concerned about your son's lack of interest in eating and your pediatrician doesn't feel the same. If I were in this position, I would definitely get a second professional opinion.
I'm sure many will say that it's just a phase, but it sounds like his calorie intake is seriously low.
My son is just coming up on 2 years of age and is a good eater, so I cannot relate to your current situation. However, today more than ever, you have to own your own health and that of your children. I wish you the best of luck.
M.
J.-
I think your son and my daughter are TWINS!!! That is EXACTLY my same situation... my dauther will be 3 at the end of March, she weighs about 25 pounds and is a bit short for her age. She has not drank ANY MILK since we forced her to give up her bottle around 18 months. Her only form of calcium is the little bit that she gets from her apple juice, and cheese. (She lives for that stuff!)
Our Ped is always shocked when I tell her that she does not drink milk. Since shes continued to grow, they aren't all that concerened either, and suggested that I ONLY give her milk to drink. I just have not been able to bring myself to do that... plus, I really don't think it would work... she is very stubborn like me... ;O)
The other day we were at the zoo, and she slipped on the ice. That night she was limping... so I told her that she needed to start drinking milk. I thought I had her convinced, until she took about two of the tinyest sips on earth, and ditched the sippy cup.
So yeah... I'm with you... e-mail me if you'd like to talk it over further.... I can't wait to read what everyone suggests for you!
____@____.com
Jen~
I have a son who is 2 1/2 and is also not gaining weight. He has been a picky eater since 6 months. I tried pedisure with him at one point and he liked it, but then would not eat anything else. This was no good because he should be ating foods and not just on a vitamin drink. Doctors have also told me not to worry, so I kinda haven't. I say kinda because I still do and it is frustrating. Somedays he likes something and the other day he doesn't..and he always just eats small amounts. One thing I have noticed that works a liltle is eating with many people at the table, no snacks in between, waiting long hours in between meals, giving small amounts of some food and when he is done with that or seems not interested offer something else..and then something else...by the time he is done he has eaten ok. Also, I try to make eating fun like telling him that his cereal are fishes swiming in water and he is abig shark that must eat them. Anyway sometimes these things help and sometimes they don't but it is worth a try. My husband says that he will offer breakfast and he refuses to eat what he prepared my husbnad will then (instead of offering something else like I do) will let hours go by and when my son is very hungry he will eventually eat even things that he normally doesn;t eat--vegetables.
My son is younger than yours but he is also thin for his age. He never would drink milk either until we gave him chocolate milk. He likes that and the doctor said it is better than nothing. I would just keep getting him the McDOnald's cheeseburgers. Then at least he is eating something. I don't kow though. Maybe see another doctor and see what they say about how skinny he is.
My son is the same way - very, very thin. Consider your fanily history and that of your son's father... my ex husband is tall and thin with high metabolism. My mom is very thin and has very high metabolism.
Also, my son was 9lbs when he was born (before him, the biggest baby my mother, aunts, and sisters ever had was a 7lb baby). His ped said that sometimes when children are born as bigger babies, they dont grow quite the same as other kids.
Continue to offer your son a variety of healthy and nutritional foods - he will eat when he is hungry.
Maybe there is something going on in his life that makes him feel he is out of control. I know when I was getting divorced, for example, my son quit eating because it was something he could control when it felt like he didnt have control of other aspects in his life (like us having to move and adjust to our new lives).
That sounds like my neighbors son. He is very picky. Loves Mc Donalds Frenchfries. He gets Pedisure but I am not sure how many he drinks. Does your son like milk shakes? If so tell him that is what they are. Good Luck!
I had the exact problem with my son. He would not drink milk no matter what I tried and I tried everything from flavored milk to go-gurts (which he liked but he never ate enough to get his calcium in for the day). We also tried sneaking milk into his food that required water to make. Finally, I found some kids calcium suppliments that were in the shape of gummy bears and tasted like candy. I thought, perfect! But my son even refused those when we gave them to him (he needed like 6 a day to get the calcium he needed). At this point, though, I would not take "no" for an answer. I can understand not wanting milk but candy?
Finally, after about a month, I started noticing that he was growing. I don't know if it was a coincidence but it was interesting that he started growing once he got some calcium.
In the end, he hated the gummy bears so much that he started drinking milk on his own and if he drinks 2 glasses in a day, he gets a popsicle- which he never gets sugar.
Here is what the bears look like:
http://www.amazon.com/Lil-Critters-Calcium-Vitamin-60-Cou...
I would listen to your doctor. I don't think he is so far gone that you need to be worried.
Do not fall into the trap of getting "the one thing" you know he will eat. Then he will just eat that one thing, refusing other things because he knows you will get him what he wants.
Just be consistent and continue offering healthy choices. He will eat when he is hungry.
My daughter is a good eater, but at age almost six I'm pretty sure she could fit her waist in to 18 month clothes. She is just really skinny, better that than overweight. There is a lot of diaper room built into that size so don't sweat it. If he is healthy and active I wouldn't worry as long as you are not falling into the habit of giving less healthy food just so he'll eat.
My daughter had the same issues. What we had to do was actually get her off of ALL dairy and limit her bread/pasta intake. We then increased her protein. She did not want to eat any meat/peanut butter at first, but when we sat her down and explained that she would start getting ill if she didn't eat well she started to comply. In fact, she had to have some blood drawn at one point b/c she was so thin and we explained that if she ate better she wouldn't need to get "poked" again.
She has gained 5 pounds in 6 months! She now eats sausage, beef, pork, etc. The only dairy she is allowed is a little bit of cheese, butter or yogurt. And we limit the carbs that are high in sugar and processed grains.
Good luck...contact Dr. Mercola at www.mercola.com for some help!
I have a hard time getting my son to eat too, although he does drink milk. Personally if I was in your shoes I would do two things, 1) get a second opinion by another doctor, and 2) bring your son to a Ped. Nutritionist. They will be able to tell you what to do.
Good luck. My son and I battled this out last night which ended in him making himself throw up at the table because I made him eat two bites. He had only had a banana, some grapes, yogurt smoothie, and some popcorn all day. I wish I had more answers.
J.
If you are concerned seek a second opinion. Maybe if two doctors say not to worry it will be easier not to. Or if the other doctor is concerned you will be happy you didn't settle with one persons opinion. Also a nutritionalist maybe able to help increase your sons caloric intake. It isn't always the amount you eat but what you eat that is important.
Hi J.,
I haven't gone through what you are with your son, but thad a question: Do you and your family sit down together for meals? I have found my daughter is more into sitting and eating if we are together. I find it hard, especially when I am alone with the kids at breakfast and lunch, to have the time to do it. My daughter is old enough to complain that she doesn't like to eat alone.
I bet there are some books out there to give you some ideas; maybe you can try making a home-made pudding with milk, see if he will try a smoothie and you can make him a meal in a blender. A sweet drink like that with fruit and juice or milk in it (can be sweetened with maple syrup if needed) might go over. Would he noticed if you made him a veggie burger or veggie burger with cheese at home? We like the "Amy's" brand (Whole Foods or =).
It does sound like he may not be getting the nutrition that he needs and it's great that you are looking for advice. That being said, I can say that my daughter ate great food (brown rice, fruits, veggies) until we threw fast food in the mix. They really get hooked on bread and cheesy food and I am regretting that myself.
Good luck on finding some solutions. I bet you will get lots of good ideas!
Best,
Barbara
