2YO DS Not Eating 2 Months After D&V Bug

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

My 2YO DS contracted a nasty D&V bug in November – it was the first time he'd ever been sick and I think it frightened him a bit. We ended up in the local hospital as he was dehydrated and he was understandably completely off his food for a few days afterwards.

Once he was better he slowly started eating again, but he's never gotten back to his pre-illness eating habits (i.e. – eats anything and everything). DH and I have been really chilled about it so far, but I weighed him last night and he’s lost 3lbs since Christmas and now I’m starting to worry.

He often asks for food and when I'm preparing food he appears keen – he gets his bowl out and puts his cutlery on the table and so on. Then I put the food in front of him and quite often he sticks out his bottom lip and cries. Sometimes he will eat whilst crying. Sometimes he just pushes the food away and doesn't eat anything.

There’s no pattern to what he'll eat, so it's not as if he's picky about what I’m giving him. He’s just as likely to refuse cake as carrots. Nursery have commented as he used to have 2 (or 3) helpings of lunch whilst he was there, but now rarely finishes one.

He’s now waking up in the night asking for milk, so on top of not eating he’s tired. What do I do? Do we need to see the GP?

Sounds like you are doing everything you can so might be a good idea to speak with gp or health visitor for advice.

Is he eating snacks during the day? Perhaps "little and often" might suit him better for a while and let him get used to eating without the trauma or fear of being sick again.

I'd speak to the gp. It could be behavioural, or it could be medical. Does he ever complain of tummy ache? Is he constipated, or have diarrhea?

Thanks khalua, it's the same story with snacks unfortunately, he asks for food them more often than not just sits and looks at it. He looks so sad.

barbarian he doesn't complain of tummy ache or have constipation or diarrhoea. Aside from being tired from waking in the night he seems fine.

Is he old enough to talk to him about it? Can you ask him why he's feeling sad when you're sitting down to a meal? It sounds like he's worried about being sick again, it might help if you could explain that it's not the food that makes us ill.

Oh bless him the poor little boy. Is there anything in particular that he does like and will always eat? Even if it's ice cream you could give him some and then have a talk about how that hasn't made him ill and how other food won't either. He must be scared about being sick again.

Perhaps try letting him prepare his food - buttering toast, making scone mix with his hands, chopping soft fruit. If he has it on his hands he might start to lick his fingers and then progress onto eating it?
Just a though - I remember seeing a supernanny or something where the kids got really hands on with food to get over a phobia

Thanks apple. I talk to him at meal times, ask him what's wrong and so on. If he cries and pushes the food away I offer an alternative (usually something on toast). Sometimes he says he would like the alternative option but again won't eat it.

He's only just 2 and his language skills aren't quite good enough to have a full conversation - he's only just starting to put 2 words together.

purple there's nothing he will definitely eat. He used to love fajitas and risotto in particular but now he's just as likely to turn those things down as anything else. He ate a massive bowl of pasta on Saturday but hasn't eaten anytimg since - not even the same pasta dish which I offered last night.

We do lots of cooking and baking - he loves it, but he won't even stick his fingers in the cake mix any more. We made pizza last week, he still wouldn't eat it.

Yes there's a pretty big language difference between just 2 and nearly 3. I think I would be pushing for a referral to a paediatrician in your situation given that he's losing weight. It seems like he's developed a fear of eating, I think a professional opinion might be helpful.

Yes I also think that, as he is loosing weight, you should talk to the GP. But also bear in mind that it is totally normal for toddlers to get much fussier about food between 1 and 2, reject previously favourite food, have days and days where they hardly eat etc etc

I am not saying that is all that is going on here but it will account for some of it.

You will also need to be an excellent actor and pretend to be totally relaxed over whether he eats or not as any anxiety on your part will only enforce his own.

One last tip - keep a food diary. Record what he eats and roughly how much. You may pick up a pattern of hungry days when he eats lots followed by a run of days where he hardly eats at all but you'll be able to get a better idea of overall intake this way.