Almost 2yo hardly eats / vitamin deficiencies

[emsjs]

Hi all

Looking for any advice - our daughter is almost 2, has a milk allergy (managed to get about 3 steps through the milk ladder) and until recently she's been on omeprazole for reflux - this seems to have cleared up so we've weaned her off the meds,

The issue we're having is she hardly eats, she'll have fruit, chips, crisps, toast or milk (everything apart from milk is in small amounts). She's waking me up all night for milk as presumably she's hungry but I water milk down for the day when given so she wants to eat. She's average weight, she's slightly petite for her age. Dietician has said keep at the eating techniques they've provided but nothing seems to be working.

We've been offered blood tests for her to check for vitamin deficiencies - have any of your children been through this and gone through with bloods to find any issues? I've read that low iron can cause lack of appetite so i'm just curious.

TIA

It is easy to get in a cycle like this - my dd loved her nighttime milk and cuddles.

Is this really about it milk/sleep or weight? Because “average weight” sounds fine I was always told the most important thing is your child is tracking their own normal- regularly measure height and weight and they should “follow the curve” in the WHO chart for their gender. It’s only if they plummet down that you need to worry.

I was also told a toddler’s stomach is the size of a fist so you don’t have to hit every food group at every meal, and you can give Abidec if you want. Obviously best to stick to healthy food but an occasional treat is ok.

However if you have a dietician there’s obviously more cause for concern. Why wouldn’t you take up the chance of a blood test if offered?It would be minimal hassle and could put your mind at rest.

Also from experience kids are clever - they will quickly notice your weak spots and exploit them so don’t give in and provide crisps and milk if you don’t want to. Simply say “all gone” and then offer something else or change the subject! I have often been caught by my ds age 7 who is “too full” to finish his veg but has a “space in his pudding stomach that needs filling with cake”.

I think we are going to go ahead with the bloods, will dread putting her through having them but it may give us some answers we need and if they find anything vitamin deficiency wise at least we can treat it.

Yes, the dietician also told me to not worry about what they eat in a day but more what they eat in a week. I am in a rut with the night feedings (some of which I also water down as want her to be hungry) but I also don't want her to starve and don't want to get up and feed her a meal in the middle of the night it's a catch 22 x

Toddlers like this (especially if very keen on milk) often end up with iron deficiency and sometimes anaemia (low red blood cells) as a result so the bloods are worth doing, in case directed supplementation is needed. If they're ok, finding a multivitamin she tolerates is still a good move, ideally one containing iron.

I sympathise as my DD was a very poor eater. She would regularly refuse meals, and when I read about toddlers hoovering up snacks it was so remote to my own experience - she just wasn’t interested, even in things like biscuits and crisps. For a long time, she’d eat my homemade chilli, some broccoli, a bit of chicken, and pizza. That was it.

Gradually she’s improved: she’s now two and a half and she ate a roast dinner the other day. All week she’s had three meals, and even got a couple of snacks in there. I think you just have to keep at it. I used to be amazed at how she could live off fresh air and be healthy but she was!