Is this normal? 14 month old / food

[DidYeAye22]

Hi all,

I’m at my wits end and really need some advice. For about a week now, my 14 month old who used to eat anything I gave her is now refusing most solid food. All I can get her to eat is porridge, mashed potatoes, milk, and yoghurt. Maybe a tiny bit of banana.

She is on antibiotics for an ear infection and hasn’t been well with various bugs since starting nursery 3 months ago. Will this pass? Please reassure me, I’m so stressed by mealtimes now because I know she will just refuse anything I offer her.

She has also been sick intermittently. Anyone else with a baby ear infection seen the same? Did they get their appetite back? I can’t tell if it’s just because of this or a wider issue - like fussy eating!

and is it okay for her to be eating very little on some days? I don’t want her to be hungry!

Thanks!

Have a look at the side effects of whichever antibiotics she is on, some can cause nausea so she may not feel like eating. Feeling unwell generally can cause loss of appetite and ear ache could get worse with chewing. As long as she’s still drinking, and is eating something, I wouldn’t worry at this point.

Thanks, it’s amoxicillin so it does have side effects of nausea and sickness. Poor baby! I sort of get it now - I wouldn’t like to feel nauseous and have someone trying to stuff my face with macaroni cheese.

My 14 month old has been the same - any time she is ill she just goes totally off food except similar things you've mentioned - banana, yoghurt, potatoes. Doesn't even want avocado which is her absolute favourite! I've just made sure she is drinking enough and given her an extra bottle of milk if she wakes hungry in the night. Thought she'll cry if she's hungry but she doesn't seem to worry about it during the day and is still her happy self, and playing, just not eating much. So I'm not too concerned, as she's not lethargic or anything. Worrying I know though! Could you give some extra milk maybe? X

It's probably just because she's not well. Just feed her whatever she wants to eat, porridge, banana and yoghurt are all good. Lots of milk. Keep offering her some of her favourite solid food and she'll start eating again when she feels better.

If she's poorly it's perfectly normal for them to what milk and her favourite food. When DD was poorly at around the same age she lived off ice lollies and BM for a week.

She'll come back to eating when she feels better