My 3 year old won't eat anything

[Newishmom]

I am very worried about my child she's not eating anything I try talking to her tried a pediatrician trying to everything the only way to get anything into her is formula is she can survive of this? If not can anyone else tell me their stories?

@GameWheelsAlarm Sadly she does not know her letters I might try that with her favorite shape I'm going to cook up up some chicken nuggets I'm hoping this works if not probably just a bottle and her crib

Mine wouldn't either. I left out small bits of cheese, cucumber, chopped up grapes and mini breadsticks and let her help herself.

I think your worry about being judged at the park is. Teen mums do have to deal with more judgement.

The food? NO. Some children just struggle with food. And you’re not back at step one. But you NEED to breathe, relax and do some self-talk.

A little cereal was great. A little of something else will be too, when it happens. But really focus on removing the pressure. Little bowls of something nearby, you snack from them as well. One thing that sometimes helps is growing something. Even sprouts or something tiny. Grow them and then, “you know you can eat these!” Laugh and take a nibble. Reduce stress, increase fun. Trying is more important than eating lots at this stage.

She's completely asleep now she just doesn't want anything all she said was "mama can me has a baba?" I feel so alone even though I know I'm not alone @Sixtimesnow@MrsTerryPratchett

I respect PP’s views, but I think it is much more important to get fluid and nutrients into her, than to get her to drink less milk/formula. Also, if she gets dehydrated she will be less likely to eat.

Will she drink regular milk, with or without flavouring? Offering regular milk in an unbreakable cup during the daytime could help.

She refuses to drink regular milk although she does like it in cereal and I have gave her regular milk on occasion she has noticed so I do feel kind of bad @Gremlinsateit

It's kind of Formula or Notting @Gremlinsateit

You’re doing great @Newishmom you’ve had a lot of new information to take in and you’re clearly committed to getting the best for your child. Overcoming food aversions is a long process but every step is a step forward. It may seem like a step backwards that she didn’t eat the cereal but, hopefully, she is learning to be more relaxed about food and she is learning that she has control over what she eats. She is going to amaze you with the foods that she will eat once the pressure has been removed.

At one point as a toddler, my son would only eat chips, peas and apple sauce and he would only drink milk. The first time he ate a piece of sweetcorn or a kidney bean, I was astounded. He called sweetcorn “yellow peas” and kidney beans “kids beans” back then! It took until he was almost an adult before he would even try a mushroom but now he loves them and cooks them for himself. But he will never ever in his life eat a baked bean!

Oh I didn’t mean that you should pretend it is formula. Just thinking you could put out a plastic cup of whole milk, maybe with a teaspoon of vanilla essence added, and let her know “this is grown up milk and you can have some if you want”. Then put it back in the fridge, or drink it yourself, without comment if she hasn’t tried it in say half an hour.

@StuntNun she actually drunk the whole milk when I gave her the chance 10 minutes ago I am so happy I put a bit of vanilla in it

Your drink idea worked! @Gremlinsateit

I bought a bluey shaped cookie cutter a while ago and tried it on a burger and she had eaten in 10 minutes I'm starting to think bluey is the key @Beamur@BoredZelda@BunnyRuddington@GameWheelsAlarm@Gremlinsateit@HighburyHope@LoafofSellotape@Meadowfinch@MrsTerryPratchett@Nothankyov@PerspicaciaTick@Sixtimesnow@StuntNun@Unexpectedlysinglemum@pinenuts75 sorry for @ ing just wanted to keep you updated

Genius idea 😄
It is hard work trying to outwit a determined toddler.

@PerspicaciaTickI've been reading a bit of about ARFID and she's definitely showing almost all of the signs so I've been thinking of ways to get food into her but this will probably only work once and then she'll probably be back denying it so I'm taking this as a mini win

Well done you genius!

That's inspired.

You can try using the cutter on all sorts of other things but don't overload her. New things just occasionally. Trusted things that she has eaten before and were ok - available daily but no pressure to eat every time.

She'll only eat a few bites a day at first so keep with the 'no pressure, no persuasion, no expectations, no comments' rules, and keep it gentle.

Over the next couple of weeks here's a few things you can try with the cookie cutter:

Sandwiches - use savory fillings like thin chicken slices, egg mayo, mild cheese
You can flatten out a spoonfull of mashed potato, cut the bluey shape and fry it till it goes brown
Cut thin slices of apple and then make them bluey shaped (you may need to find some large apples!)
And of course cookies!

@GameWheelsAlarm I'm going to keep updating you guys I have already ordered multiple this cookie cutter but I am very proud of her she has never had a burger before tomorrow I'm going to try lasagna her old favourite she had like a bite just a clarify i ment to hav2 said tried eating she had about a foot for the rest of the meal she had her usual bottle of formula still count that one bite as I win

Yea she eat toast@GameWheelsAlarm

My daughters eating is mild compared to many but we do have periods where she refuses to eat anything. She has a lot of food allergies which makes things difficult as we are already on a restricted diet.

She was 20 months before she ate enough and could reduce her formula. Due to allergies it's was on prescription and her paediatrician would have been happy to prescribe it past 2 if needed.

At her worst she drops down to pasta chickpeas and frozen peas, she's 5 and it still can happen. The early day it would go on for weeks and months but now when she does drop back it's for much short time. These things are far from linear it's ok for her to have good days and bad days. Somethings will work one day or week and not another. That's ok too. Take the good day feel proud of both of you and celebrate the mini wins. Don't beat yourself up when you have a bad day or if something stops working. Put it to one side, try something different come back to that idea another day. It's a marathon not a race!

@Superscientist today is a good day she has eaten toast and a bowl of cereal for lunch I'm going to try her old favor from before the regression lasagna wish me luck

www.mumsnet.com/talk/parenting/5409450-update-on-previous-posts-i-have-made?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/parenting/5409450-update-on-previous-posts-i-have-made?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share @Beamur@BoredZelda@BunnyRuddington@GameWheelsAlarm@Gremlinsateit@HighburyHope@LoafofSellotape@Meadowfinch@MrsTerryPratchett@Nothankyov@PerspicaciaTick@Sixtimesnow@StuntNun@Superscientist@Unexpectedlysinglemum@pinenuts75

I had to send her in with 2 bottles :( @Beamur@BoredZelda@BunnyRuddington@GameWheelsAlarm@Gremlinsateit@HighburyHope@LoafofSellotape@Meadowfinch@MrsTerryPratchett@Nothankyov@PerspicaciaTick@Sixtimesnow@StuntNun@Superscientist@Unexpectedlysinglemum@pinenuts75

it's a marathon not a sprint. Nobody is expecting you to crack this in a few days. Keep on making sure that there's a selection of different edible things, at least some of which are in the shape of Bluey, within reach at any point when she might be about to start being hungry. Don't worry about what happens at nursery, if she's anxious she's going to be less adventurous - even as an older teenager, my ARFID child will have a much more limited range of things they will eat if out of the house compared to what they will eat at home, because feeling really secure and settled is a prerequisite for having the courage to try to eat something less familiar.

@GameWheelsAlarmi packed everything she likes today but she won't eat so nursery called me and asked me to bring in a bottle for her I feel kinda embarrassed

What formula are you using? Could you send a tin in for them to use when needed?
No need to be embarrassed