16 month old with cough and cold totally gone off his food

[Ellarose85]

Just as the title suggest really, won't touch meals that I make for him, vegetables are out of the question, he won't even touch his favourites (toast and fruit) he normally has the biggest appetite so I'm a bit worried.

What would you guys recommend?

I'm thinking of picking him up some meal replacement shake type things so that he is getting some nutrients.

[LetsJunglyJumpToIt]

Is he drinking? As long as he's having fluids and wet nappies then don't worry too much about food. He'll start eating again when he feels better.

[ICSH1]

I posted something similar last week- my 20 month old was in exactly the same boat (cough cold and I think teeth) and just wouldn't eat a thing unless I seriously distracted him and shovelled stuff into his mouth. He looked pale and was grouchy and as a result I made him a docs appointment- I cancelled that appointment as a couple of days ago he slowly started turning a corner and by that I mean he started feeding himself, not huge amounts but he was at least interested in eating again. He's possibly not entirely back to normal but he's so much better. The tactics I resorted to were to feed little and often- so to give him as much of a main course as I could then get him out of his chair so he wasn't upset/ frustrated and then to put him back in about 30mins later for a pudding. Sometimes I put his chair in a different spot in the kitchen just to distract him! The rest of the time I left finger food around in case he wanted it and gave him plenty of formula and vitamins. My LO is particularly bad with food when he's chesty so it's worth just seeing if the cold has gone there. Oh and I also gave him a dose of calpol/ ibuprofen 30mins-1hr before feeding in case his throat was sore. Just some ideas but as long as he's drinking ok and still having wet nappies I would try not to panic. Oh and just to add to the mix now is the time when they can start cutting molars and getting fussy with food so it really could just be a combo of things. The important thing is to stay calm in front of your little on and try not to let them pick up on any stress...

Hope that helps??