[Anita02]

Hi Ladies

I seriously don't know what to do-my DS2 is 15 months old (13ths corrected) and he is a NIGHTMARE to feed. He was born 8 weeks early and was IUGR, so underweight at birth. He was doing so well with his feeds and then onto solids, loved his solids and was so adventurous until he started teething back in June.

That's when it all went to hell!! (I posted about it back then). Since then he's developed an aversion to food, wouldn't touch any finger foods and I had to go back to pureeing his food. But he just hates food-quite happy to put whatever crap there is on the floor in his mouth-but at mealtimes, he spends the entire time gagging, retching and then makes himself sick!!

We're seeing a dietician (adding extra calories to his food) and a speechie (to ensure nothing physical is an issue in swallowing)and trying all the tricks they recommend.
Nothing seems to be working. I am in tears as I type this as I just don;t know what to do, what more I can do. I feel so defeated, so tired and just want to give up. But of course, next meal time, I'll put on my smiley face and start all over again.

has anyone experienced this with their bubs? Any suggestions/recommendations?

TIA

[MissM86]

My daughter was similar with her food - it turned out she had low Iron. The paed recommended Incremin (just over the counter from the chemist) and her appetite increased dramatically. In fact, she became such a good eater I couldn't keep up!

It does sound like you are getting help from specialists though - just keep following their advice. The Incremin is like a multi-vitamin and Iron supplement and it says on the bottle 'For Tardy Eaters' which is exactly what my DD was!

[divineM]

i second the PP's suggestion. has the dietician you are seeing recommended your LO to be tested for deficiencies? my DP is a dietician and sees a lot of cases where people have seen health professionals and gotten poor advice!

[MissM86]

For my DD, the problem arose because she had severe reflux and so then became afraid of eating. This in turn caused her to end up with deficiencies due to not eating enough. So it became a bit of a roundabout in terms of cause and effect. I could see this scenario happening for your son too, if he doesn't eat he gets low Iron and then he won't have an appetite so doesn't feel the need to eat and on and on!

Good luck OP, I really feel for you. Its frustrating and anxiety-inducing, isnt it!