to be sleepless over my 2 yo eating habits

[godspeed]

Aaargh!
My 2 yo has reduced the range and amount she eats to almost nothing... today for example she ate
breakfast: one bowl of porridge
Lunch: one eighth of a scrambled egg
Tea: two strands of spaghetti
and that was it, apart from a lollipop and drinking two glasses of milk.
She has always been picky but would eat apples, pears and pasta and tomato sauce in which I could smuggle loads of veggies but now there is No Way of getting her to eat ANY fruit or vegetables and I am at my wit's end...
she seems healthy enough, is toddler-tubby, sleeps loads, has energy etc..but she is getting practically no nutrients other than from dairy and carbs.
I can barely sleep at this stage - wibu to bring her to a doctor? My ds went through a 'picky' stage at that age but nothing like this and eats really everything since he was 3

Some great posts here. If its any help OP, my HV said that a toddler will never let themselves starve, no matter how nerve wracking it looks. My friend and I both went through this with our DCs and we held our nerve. All is well now, nobody got ricketts or malnutrition. The "offer food, make no fuss" approach is bang on.

The advice about fortified cereals is good. I give my 1 yr old a handful of dry cereals which he plays with and eats.

mutznutz - I had thought of that! But she has also given up eating rice, bread, meat, cheese, fish, all fruit except sometimes raisins and just wants to eat butter porridge milk apple juice and lollipops!

You've had some great advice on here - it's hard to do, but staying unemotional and not seemingly bothered about it is the way forward.

And cut out the lollipops.

She will eat when she is hungry. stress can make your stomach clench and take away appetite. She may not seem bothered but is probably picking up vibes. Really these phases pass, but is so hard when in middle of it. Look at your DD, does she have good skin/hair tone, does she smile and laugh and generally respond as you expect? She is still tiny and has a tiny tummy. Maybe grazing would be better just now.
Agree with the cereals, cos give them a little bowl and they can suit themselves. This will pass!!! She sounds great!

So glad I found this thread.

My DS (2.11) is driving me mad at the moment. He was so easy to wean and veg was his favourite! I would never get to eat half of mine as he would pinch it all. Now he won't touch it. I blend some into his pasta sause but if he even thinks it is there, he won't touch it. I was firmly against letting him go without food but teatimes have become such a nightmare, we have had to start saying to him that he gets nothing else until breakfast. I also don't let him have any milk after 3pm as you can guarantee he won't eat tea if he has been drinking milk. I have stopped afternoon snack too. Yesterday he asked for jam sandwiches which was fine, he likes them, then he wouldn't eat most of it as "they are too big" even though they were cut into 4 squares like they always have been!!!!! Arrrggghhhhhh.

The only fruit I can get in him now is strawberries so it costs us loads as they aren't cheap.

my ds (almost 2.5) is doing exactly the same so very reassuring to see that its normal behaviour

Do you eat with your child? sit down at the table as a family and eat? This is a important part oflearning how to eat and how to have table manners.

If this is something you usually do then a tecnique I have seen working well is making a meal sitting down and making conversation. Casually say to your dd " eat your peas" then concentrate on having a plesant conversation. Do not get into further conversation about it but simply make it a plesant time. do not get into a battle do not get into anything else but it will teach her that this is expected of her. Do not try to feed them to her or even mention it again simply make it part of the meal " eat x" and she will eventually learn she wont get much attention if she doesnt eat and then she will start again.

IF she likes porridge mash up some banana into it that often works well

just ignore her.offer food,leave for 30mins then take away.no milk,juices or sweets in the meantime,just water. Works a trick! ;)

Two things to add - if she's podgey, let her manage her own appetite. By all means try and manage the quality of the food eaten by what you give her, but dont get hung up on quantities. This is how chubby toddlers become healthy normal weight schoolkids.

Re lollipops - whilst they are about the worst thing in terms of dental health (long time to disolve and right up on the front teeth!) they shouldn't "fill her up". She might "hold out for something better" though if there is too much fun stuff in her diet but otherwise, I can't see them causing her to actually eat less.

You sound health concious enough though so I bet that lollipop was a one-off post Christmas type thing rather than something you give her a lot of!