21 month old, soy and milk protein allergy and just won't eat!

[Needtogetbetteratthis]

I asked for help once before and thanks to all your helpful guidance my DS had a milk and soya protein allergy diagnosed and successfully started on neocate with omeprazole for silent reflux. This diagnosis was only received at 6 months so it was a rocky start.

Fast forward a year and we have failed to drop the night bottle (never slept through) due to screaming fits and what was a hit and miss approach to food is now dreadful. He will only take the baby neocate, we cannot find an alternative he will drink in the evening or at night.

DS is at nursery three days a week and eats okay (so i am told) there but it is typical nursery fare and I would like to improve the quality and variety of his food at home but he won't eat anything for me except toast and the occasional (homemade) orange ice lolly. This seems to be getting worse and i really don't want him to grow up with food issues.

Am I just aiming too high?, should I ignore (he is small, as are most mpa babies, but not losing weight). All advice is really appreciated.

When you say you've failed to drop the night bottle, is this really an issue? Between 12 and 24 months he should have a minimum if 300ml a day, so I know its not ideal to be on bottles at 21 months but if he's getting enough formula I'd just be happy with that.

As for the not eating, he could just a normal fussy toddler. See if your library has got a copy of My Child Won't Eat by Carlos Gonzalez and do all the usual things like eat together, don't comment on what he has (or hasn't eaten), dont offer alternatives however tempting it is and keep a food diary. The food diary will help you to stop focusing on each individual meal.

Other things to try are getting him to help with cooking. I've been making blueberry pancakes with almond milk, maybe he could help with the stirring and cracking the egg?

Can understand why you are so concerned though with such a rocky start.

have you not been referred to a dietician and/or nutritionist?

my gut feel would be to try and reduce the neocate and increase the food. I'm guessing that baby formula is pretty filling and if he's having a lot he is simply not hungry?

BUT, I wouldn't want to do that without first talking it through with a medical professional and finding out how much neocate he ought to have each day

and yes, def second "my child won't eat"

yy to blueberry pancakes. always been a winner in this family. most of my 'healthy' choices revolve around cheese i'm afraid. i did make a lot of the cakes in Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache for a while though (not really help-able recipes sadly as have a lot of different stages, although they can do a bit of stirring), which use ground almonds and grated veg instead of butter. they are surprisingly delicious, really don't taste weird or yoghurt-weaving. I think they have less sugary options like scones etc.
I also got DC onto plain cashew and pecan nuts as soon as was able, i think they are vaguely healthy!

My DS has CMPI & soy allergies. Also on omeprazole for reflux and has had poor weight gain until recently.

He's BFed and as much as I was reluctant to drop feeds, he has put on much more weight since dropping to two feeds a day. His appetite has massively picked up and he is eating much more solid food.

Saw a dietician who was pushing for the milk reduction. she said to add as many calories where we can. He has Oatly cream on cereal, olive oil added to baked beans, eats pretty much anything mixed in with mash potato (loaded with Oatly cream and DF spread). He has put on about a kilo in six weeks which is more than he gained in 8 months!

He seems to enjoy food a lot more too, which is a massive relief. Home is still trickier than nursery but he eats more from my plate, and will eat/ try much more that way. He was even licking a bit of pâté of some toast last week.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond.

We did originally see a nhs dietician who wasn't great but since going private I haven't seen one, I will get this booked in. I think one of the problems is that I keep kidding myself it will be over soon (so many people said he would be okay by two), however the signs are that these allergies are not going anywhere.

I will get the book and try the nuts (luckily ds was tested for a nut allergy) and the pancakes. I think a lot of this maybe just toddler related awkwardness but that doesn't mix so well with a limited diet. DS is only just getting 300ml a day with the night bottles so I think we will stick with that a little longer but I will stop giving in on alternatives to meals provided. I also love the idea of hiding veg in cake so I will be baking up a storm this weekend!

Thank you all again.

My youngest is exactly the same, he eats fruit & ham (at lunchtime), then nothing else all day. Thankfully he will have his milk (Oatly mornings & Neocate evenings), but any form of cereal/carbs, veggies, good fats - no chance!
He will eat mini muffins - everything possible goes into mini muffins in my house! Carrot&apple, courgette & cocoa powder (loved this one!), pumpkin (or butternut squash)&ginger, rhubarb cake, fruit loaves (sliced), banana bread... (Thankfully, all the above are freezeable too so a couple of baking sessions can set you up for a good month or more!)
Munchies get turned into 'needed food groups' & given at snack, or with lunch, just he eats 'something'. Tea time is the same meal as everyone else (df & sf), if he chooses not to eat (which he only will if its spag Bol), he gets nothing else, just his milk at bedtime.
I'll dig out some recipes if you think they'll help.

Forgot to say, he's 2.5yrs.
His brother went through this phase for about 5m when he was just 2, he now eats like a horse. Youngest however, is pushing 8m on this eating routine & it's dwindling weekly...
I know there 'should' be an end to it, I just hope he finds it before he runs out of the ability to be bothered to eat anything at all! :)

Hwhite6 yes please, all recipes much appreciated if you have the time. I really like the idea of the mini muffins, not sure the leftovers will be so good for my waistline though

Humour me needto you're avoiding all dairy & soya; but wheat & eggs & nuts are ok? I shall recipe-dig-out after I've (tried to) feed the kids

Thank you, yes wheat, egg and nuts are all fine luckily.

Pumpkin/butternut squash - www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1018/pumpkin-and-ginger-teabread

Carrot & apple, made in a mini muffin tray- www.piginthekitchen.co.uk/2007/05/bear-bears-carrot-cake.html

Courgette variation (add choc chips or just tbsp cocoa powder) - allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/3293/fruity-vegetable-muffins.aspx

Banana & date loaf - www.lurpak.co.uk/recipes/recipe/banana-date-honey-loaf/

Malt loaf (soak fruit in orange juice if you want, or red bush tea) - www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1411653/sticky-malt-loaves

Rhubarb cake (needs a bit more rhubarb personally though) -
allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/6737/favourite-rhubarb-cake.aspx

I tend to use almond milk in baking & the block baking fat (tesco own brand, 55p). Buttermilk is ~240ml + 1tbsp lemon juice, stirred in & left 5min. Always seems to work for me when needed.

Slice up loaves when cooled, wrap in greaseproof paper, put in zippy freezer bags & label. Take out a slice or two at a time.
Mini muffins either go in a take-away tub (single layer), or vaguely separated by greaseproof & again in a labeled bag in the freezer.
Take out night before for the morning, or in the morning for lunchtime onwards.

For a bit more carbs(ie cereal!), I'm going to try adapting these for mr.fusspot next, see if he'll eat them! www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/snack-food-trail-mix-bar

Happy baking & good luck!

These thick pancakes www.taste.com.au/recipes/5757/pikelets get cooked a fair amount too. Again, can be frozen, separated by greaseproof, & defrost in the toaster. I often grate fruit (apple/pear) or mash a banana into the batter for sweeter pancakes. Savoury ones have carrot or courgette grated into the batter. Courgette can make the batter mix cook green... Perfect for little monsters!
Serve them for breakfasts, snacks, at lunchtime (if they won't eat bread) & for pudding - very versatile food stuff!

www.taste.com.au/recipes/5757/pikelets

For mains, we've done these before with great success (again, they freeze once cooked, so you can use up the batter mix), I used a chipolata sausage cut in half in each bun-hole on the tray.
www.oatly.co.uk/recipes/main-course/porky-popovers

I think I'm done... :)

Wow, hwhite6 thank you so much for taking the time to do this, I will try all of these starting with the mini muffins

My ds2 ate really badly whilst he was on neocate. He would not eat voluntarily at all (once went 4 days without eating, before we decided enough was enough and insisted he sat down and ate something). When he stopped neocate and swapped it for oat milk (with a bit of added oat cream for the calories), he became like a different child overnight. For the first time in his life, aged 2.5 years he finally declared he was hungry. Could the neocate be part of the issues for you? (My ds2 is still tiny BTW at 5 years old).