Getting toddler to eat after virus? Any tips?

[CandleRigg89]

We’re in Scotland so schools and nurseries have all returned, bringing with them the start of the autumn/winter season 😭

My 2yo had a grotty virus last week. It started gently on Monday as a gentle tickly cough as he was falling asleep, and by Wednesday we had thick green snot, fevers and general awful viral hell. By around Sunday he started to generally perk up but his appetite has been absolutely decimated. He’s still not back to 100%, still a bit clingy and grumpy, but he’s overall ok and has been back to nursery.

But I cannot get him to eat anything substantial at all. He’ll pick at little bits, maybe. He hasn’t eaten a meal meal since Wednesday last week - a whole week! He’s only 25th centile so i don’t want this to drag on too long. I will take him to GP at the end of the week if it keeps up.

But in the meantime, does anyone have any advice for getting food into them after a heavy virus?

Try not to stress OP - DC can take a while to completely shake off a nasty virus and he'll eat when he's hungry. Grazing is good, so I'd provide him with a good selection of nice little bits to pick at and offer him tasty, simple foods that he usually likes. Small DC can survive on very little, but you know what it's like when you're not well - you don't always fancy eating very much. He'll start to eat properly again when he's feeling well.

I used to blend up yogurt/nut butter and banana etc into a reusable squeezey pouch.

It takes a while for them to get appetite back after illness but it will come back.

Thank you so much for your replies! @cheezncrackers - I’ll keep a supply of picky bits out throughout the day and he can graze at his own pace. And I hadn’t thought of using smoothies and yoghurts to get calories in@Reallybadatdecisions - I’ll try some tomorrow! We have loads of nut butters etc in the cupboards to calorific things up!

I got him a Happy Meal tonight and he ate everything bar about 6 chips so I suspect there’s also just some selective eating happening too. But I’m glad at least tonight he’s away to bed with a full tummy!