To feed DS whatever he likes today?

[listsandbudgets]

DS (2.2) has been ill with various things for a week and bar the odd piece of fruit and a little bit of rice now and then had more or less refused to eat. Getting him to drink wasn't easy either. First he had a sickness bug, then croup and now an awful cough. I haven't weighed him but lifting him I can tell he's lost weight.

This morning he's been asking for food. I've just come off the phone to my mum who rung to see how he was. I told her he's asked for a satsuma, a weeetabix, 2 chocolate mousse and a chocolate cereal bar and I let him have the lot along with lots of weak orange squash. She gave me a lecture about the amount of chocolate saying i'd make him ill again and I was spoiling him. She actually really upset me :(

I'm just glad to see him eating anything. I know its hardly the perfect diet but AIBU to let him have what he wants today?

Of course YANBU, just be careful he doesn't overdo the rich foods after not eating properly for a while because it may be a bit heavy in his stomach. But if he seems fine then let him refuel

YANBU, I have done the same, he is just catching up on what he has missed.

Yanbu. He's clearly been very poorly.

I'd probably draw the line at more chocolate for today, but if there are other things he fancies, go for it.

YANBU - my son had sickness and stomach troubles for a long time after an infection, and the GP advised us to let him eat whatever he wanted in order to get calories into him and keep him hydrated. He went back to eating normally as soon as he was better, so it didn't 'ruin' him for proper meals, and it meant that he recovered much quicker than he would if he hadn't had anything.

YANBU - when DS2 (now 2) was ill a few months ago with a sickness bug, that left him without much appetite for over a week, I was more than happy to let him eat whatever he fancied in that period and when he became hungry again. Luckily for me, he didn't go overboard on the chocolate/sweets - MIL had the same bug and was able to tell me (unlike DS2) that she felt nauseated for a week after the bug's worst effects had passed, so I guess chocolate etc. would have made him feel more sick.

I don't think your DS needs any more chocolate today either, but I don't think you've done that badly either! he's had fruit, he's had complex carbs (weetabix and the cereal bar), and he's had some dairy in the mousse - what he's missing at the moment is protein, so maybe try and get some cheese or egg into him?

You're not spoiling him and even if you were it sounds as though he's had a rough time so a bit of treating is deserved!

The only caution I would say is what a previous poster said. Watch the rich food in case it upsets his tummy.

I wouldn't say your spoiling him but would be careful on the chocolate front that it doesn't upset his stomach as it could be a bit rich. Biscuits could be good?

Thank you everyone.

He's now scoffing a slice of cheese and a couple of crackers :)

Just be careful about too much chocolate because it might upset his stomach again. And try not to let him eat too much at once- little and often is the way forward. But no, you can't spoil him- that's ridiculous.

YANBU. Ds was in hospital with a similar bug. The first day he started to want to eat, he asked for an apple, round crisps (no idea what he meant or where he had seen them!) and chicken nuggets from McDonalds.

The nurses said to give him whatever he wanted as a treat to make him feel a bit happier and also because DCs do tend to self-regulate so it's highly unlikely they'll eat enough to make themselves sick.

YANBU, I might try and gently steer him to something else now but if all he can stomach is chocolate mousse and weetabix then so be it. If nothing else it must be nice to eat something he enjoys after being so poorly.

Around this age, ds1 had loads of stomach bugs. Every time, he would do catch up eating. Often he would eat more than me!!

It actually makes sense to feed someone high-calorie, high sugar foods after they've had a period of not eating, it makes them feel a lot better (as the body craves energy after a period of low sugar) and it builds back up any lost weight. There is a slight danger he'll overeat and then feel a bit sick from it, but your mum is being very silly to say you'll "make him sick" by giving him the food he wants - food doesn't make you ill generally unless you eat a whole lot of it very fast, or it's poisonous in some way. Unless you're feeding him mouldy chicken I think there's no need to worry about "making him sick."

Is your mum normally so critical?