Sick child not eating

[Sks09]

Hi I have poorly 3 year old daughter,
she has been unwell for a week now with a water infection high temperature, she is getting a little better today after finally seeing a gp and getting some antibiotics . I’m worried because she has not had no food for a week she is drinking her milk and water but she has lost weight already and is weak.
does anyone have any help with how to get her getting and what to feed her. Tia

Try and get her to eat anything right now

Ice cream, pasta hell even McDonald’s.

If you ask her for food and she says chocolate, give it to her. Anything is better than nothing. Healthy food can come back when she’s well

Try a quarter of a piece of toast, with the crust cut off. Very small pieces of food.

Thank you that makes sense x

I would always try mine with small portions of fruit every now and then when she's like this

Personally I would reduce her milk intake. It will fill her up.

been in a similar position this week and have been offering little and often and giving anything (within reason, so no sweets) in small portions so it’s not too overwhelming. Crackers/toast/breadsticks chunk of apple.

If you do give something sweet it will give a blood sugar high followed by a blood sugar low, which should trigger the feeling of hunger.

Milk
Banana
Cereal
Crackers and butter
Bread and butter
Fruit (not citrus)
Yoghurt
Boiled egg
ice cream

these are my go to illness foods … see if she fancies any of this? I wouldn’t reduce milk until she starts to fancy other food, it’s the only calories she’s getting.

My go to foods for coming out of an infection ( so not dehydrated but listless with poor appetite):
4-6 snacks rather than meals
Rice pudding
Jelly with tinned fruit in
Ice cream
Sweet potato mash with crumbled feta
Bite sized pieces of plain pizza
Boiled egg and soldiers
Cheese and grapes on sticks
Devilled eggs
Toast
Tuc with a dollop of cream cheese
Pom bears/any crisp they like
Vegetable sushi
For some reason my brood never got on well with tomato things like beans, soup or pasta sauce while recovering from illness. I know some people swear by them though.

get her to eat anything. Ask her what her favourite thing to eat would be right now, then go get it. It does not matter if it’s pasta, chips ice cream, hell even McDonald’s. Just get her to eat something. Sending get well vibes xx

Ice lollies are good. And I used to give mine "fairy bread" - get what I call a "plastic" loaf - i.e. thin white sliced bread. Cut off the crusts, and butter; then sprinkle with hundreds and thousands and cut into tiny triangles.

When they were very small they thought the fairies had brought it to make them better - but later they realised it was me!

Things in a tiny form are good and dotted round a nice plate - they can pick at them. So - maybe tiny wee slices of sausage, or of a baby bel - your imagination can roam free!

I hope she is better soon.

I used to get the round milk roll bread as a treat for mine. It encouraged them to eat.

Oh and in small quantities - e.g. 4 tiny wee slices of sausage - little circles on the plate. If she eats that, never mind how long it takes, then add 4 more. But not lots of food on the plate at a time.

When mine were little you could get mini hovis loaves which could be cut into teeny slices and and buttered - we loved them!

Who is old enough to remember getting a bottle of Lucozade with the orange wrapper when you were feeling better ?

Give her something to drink with proper sugar in, squash or fruit juice.

Great advice thank you all!

Aww it’s so worrying when they won’t eat. Mine like jam on toast cut into quarters when they’re poorly. Or I do a picky type plate with tiny bits of different things like a few cubes of cheese, slices of cucumber cut into quarters, a few pieces of cooked pasta etc.

DD used to like home-made custard, eggs, sugar, milk and a bit of vanilla.

Mine always loved toast bites - butter it, cut the crusts off then into tiny squares. Then tiny sandwiches. Basically anything cut up small!

I agree with what others have said though, just let them eat whatever they will eat while they are ill.

Do you have any way to order some pediasure?

I had this a few months back, dd was skeletal within a week and has me in tears. She went on antibiotics and her appetite snapped back just over a week. I did get some high calorie milkshake powders from amazon to build her back up too but it didnt take long to get it back on. I was a wreck with worry because i couldn't do anything about it, i couldnt force her to eat. Its horrible but it will end x