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Advice about consulting a private paediatrician

3 replies

Beckzb · 29/05/2022 11:42

I'm considering consulting a private paediatrician for my son and I wanted to ask if someone else has been in similar situation or has any advice.

It's regarding my son's diet, hes 15 months old but barely eats any solids and drinks little milk. He's been losing some weight (weigh him at home) and don't fit into clothes his age, everyone within my family and friends comment on how skinny he is. Everyone with similar age group children I know says they had some difficulty with feeding when their babies were teething etc but now they eat everything especially when they get their back molars at this age which my son also has. Makes me think I must be doing something really wrong as my son never eats chicken or any meat even pasta or rice.

It's always been really difficult feeding him but it's becoming worse with time. It's come to a point where I feel like a complete failure as a mother. Every meal time is a struggle, he starts crying soon as I try to sit him down on his chair. It doesn't matter what's infront of him or even if hes had nothing to eat at all. Most of the time he doesnt even touch his food, other times he eats a very small amount that is no way enough for a child his age. He doesn't even like any snacks much like baby biscuits, puffs etc. He basically lives on baby fruit purees or yoghurts but even those he isn't keen on and hardly finishes a whole pouch. I give him those when he refuses everything else and if he can't sleep coz he's hungry.

I took him to the gp because of his weight loss who said since he seems well in himself and just about average weight but not under weight yet there's nothing they can do and I just need to try harder to feed him. Ive tried everything though and he may not be under weight but it still is very concerning for me that he shows no interest in food. I was given a private dieticians number by a friend who said that I should ask my gp to do a blood test to determine whether my son has anemia as that can make him uninterested in food and once any possible medical causes have been eliminated then they can help with nutrition side of things.

I dont want this post to be a rant about GPs, I know how much pressure NHS has on them. In my personal experience unless something is really wrong gp isn't likely to do something but I don't want my son to get to that stage. So I'm thinking of taking him to a private doctor and wanted to ask if any1 has done this for diet and weight issues. If so what experience did you have and possible cost of it.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
MermaidEyes · 29/05/2022 11:51

I'm afraid I have no actual advice on his condition, but in my experience if you can afford private health care for him then do it. Over the years my dc have had several issues which have been dealt with promptly, efficiently and, for want of a better term, much more politely, than the GP/NHS service we started off with. And at least it will put your mind at ease one way or another.

Mimi2022 · 16/01/2024 10:52

@Beckzb did you use a website to find a private paediatrician? Or what do you recommend?

CupOfCoffeeandaPineappleChunk · 16/01/2024 11:20

What centile is his weight on?

If he isn't under weight for height( that is the important thing to note) no doctor, private or NHS is going to entertain the idea of you trying to encourage your child to eat more. Putting a child through a blood test in case they are anaemic with no real cause for suspicion is not sensible and Even with all the magic cream in the world is very stressful( I say this as a parent of a child who has had to undergo dozens of them).

Perhaps this is a case of expectations?
Maybe you and your family have expectations if big and chunky children which simply isn't all children.
Maybe this is an issue of your confidence?

I'd consider finding a really good paediatric dietitian, much less costly than a doctor and incredibly good and helpful in all areas.

I have a child in the 0.2nd centile and weighs 16kg at 6.5 years, wearing age 4 clothes, ( so really tiny), and a dietitian helped a lot to rule everything out, it turned out my daughter is just micro despite having a 5ft 8 mother and tall father.

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