Destructive eating & sleeping cycle - please help!

[MandyD]

My son (2 yrs 9 months) has always been a very poor eater but we were making some progress until he went down with the "4 week virus", in fact into 5th week now. He will barely eat at mealtimes but when he's put to bed or nap he has got into the habit of getting up distressed and complaining of bellyache 'cos he's hungry and wanting to eat. He will, paradoxically, eat loads then.

But with all this its now taking him 2 hours to get to sleep at night (up till 10/11pm) so he needs the nap which can also take over an hour to begin...therefore he's not getting up till 5 in the afternoon, then mealtime at 6 and the whole cycle starts again at 7-8pm. Can anyone suggest how I could break this pattern and get my happy little boy back???

I'm sure I've had this in the past with mine. If you haven't tried this all ready, what about giving him tempting morsels during the day, things that you know he will eat, even if it's a load of c**p (McDonalds, ice cream etc) just to try to fill him up and encourage his appetite back. You've got plenty of time to get back into healthy, proper meals again when he is feeling better. Also Minadex Tonic is quite good to give them a boost after they have been poorly, and apparently it's meant to improve their appetite too.

What about wrapping him up well and getting him out in the fresh air, in the garden to the park/playground whatever. A bit of physical exercise always makes them hungry. Also it's a good distraction for them (and you) and will keep him awake in the day, and tire him out for an early bedtime. A nice, warm bath with some Johnsons Bedtime bubble bath in it might help him relax and then sleep well.

Good Luck - hope things are soon back to normal!

Thanks ChanelNo5! Yesterday he went back to Playgroup and used up plenty of energy and slept really well, from 7.30pm-9am, apart from getting into bed with me at 5am!

Also discovered that his dad had been giving him Coca Cola to drink to compensate for the lack of food! Last year he was drinking Coke and getting bellyache. So when he asked for Coke last night I said no, you've been getting up with bellyache so you're not getting any!

Great news, MandyD! Wish mine would sleep as well as that!

i used to use Minadex build up tonic for my 2 whenever they got ill and it really does give them an appetite,which is what they need after being ill and not eating properly for so long.

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My daughter also seems to have this horrile virus, started as a cold, then eye and ear infection and has since moved to her chest. She is on antibiotics and is starting to eat little bits, 15 days later. I haven't heard of Minadex, can someone let me know if you can give it to an 18 month old and, if so, where to get it?
Also, she is now in a routine of sleeping in with us when she wakes, any time after midnight until the morning as she was so chesty - coughing, sicking up phlem, etc. She is now a little better but still coughing a bit and I don't know whether to try and get her to stick it out in her own bed now as she is getting used to being in with us. She's definitely seeming to not be settled until in with us and I know from previous illnesses that this can be a hard habit to break!
Thanks.

My son was recommended Minadex a couple of months ago (so he's been taking it anyway) as he's a bit anaemic due to his generally poor diet. Its also got vitamins A & D in it. Just checked the box, its suitable from 6 months and you should be able to get it from the chemist's easily enough. Hope that helps. By the way, if your daughter doesn't like taking 'medicine' as Minadex is orange flavoured you can easily disguise it in juice/squash!

Yep we use Minadex especially during the winter for those extra vitamins, you can get it in Tesco. R

Thanks, I've just found Minadex in Boots and after having a mouthful myself I can say it tastes quite nice! Lottie gulped it down too so I will give this to her to help her get over this virus that she can't quite shake off. I need to see a health visitor really I think as I have been giving her Abidec for a while, a kind of multi-vitamin liquid you add to milk, and am now confused which is the best to use on an everyday basis. I think the Minadex is the right one to use at the moment though.

This is getting slightly off the thread, but on to the subject of vitamin supplements.

I could not find a vitamin drops or liquid that my very fussy daughter would take. In sheer desperation I tried Boots children's chewable vitamins with iron. She loves them, and they are her daily sweetie treat.

They say that they are for 3 and over on the bottle, but after asking the doctor and HV, this seems to be more about their ability to suck a sweet. They dissolve in the mouth a bit like a refresher (showing my age?)