My daughter who is nearly 8.5 months old has always been a very difficult eater. She refused to breastfeed to the point that she lost too much weight and we had to go to the bottle. At that time we found out that she was likely lactose intolerant or had a milk allergy. I cut all milk and dairy from my diet which helped.
At 4 months she went to formula-we had to use Nutramigen, a hypoallergenic formula. She did quite well on this until March of this year.
Between March 2nd and April 1st she lost 2 pounds 2 oz. Our pediatrician put her in the hospital to evaluate what may be going on. She was vomiting very frequently with many watery diapers.
Vomiting has always been an issue along with the diapers, but the frequency really increased. She has been referred to a Pediatric GI specialist. She has been diagnosed with Failure to thrive with a milk and soy allergy. They have switched her to a completely hypoallergenic formula called Elecare. She is doing great on this and has started gaining weight back.
With all of the issues she has had she has always refused to eat baby foods. We have tried literally everything! The doctors have told me I need to get her to increase her food intake significantly. She will only take max. of 23 oz. of formula per day with many efforts to get more in.
I have let her play with the baby food and just explore it. She accidentally gets it in her mouth and spits it out and cries. Do you have any ideas how to get her past this? She does like fruit puffs. I truly think that it may be a texture thing. I don't know what else is OK to feed an 8 month old who has not even gotten the hang of eating baby food. I have a fear of giving her any solids due to choking. She has been referred to a feeding team at Children's hospital, but there is a 6 month waiting time.
Sorry about the long rambling. I wanted to give as much background as possible.
Severe allergies and feeding worries part 1 by: Baby Help Line - Annie
Hi Amy,
It's always really helpful when people give us a good background, so thanks.
You have had a tough time. Hopefully the new formula will help enormously. It is really tricky with allergies and babies that are not thriving, as the pressure to keep trying to feed them is huge, and it sets up a negative experience around food.
One good thing is, many babies outgrow milk and soy allergies by 18mths, although can still be susceptible to others, wheat, egg, fish and peanuts for example, so for now avoid those. Corn is often used even in hypoallergenic milks and sometimes is also a problem.
I am going to give you more psychological advice with your little girl, starting with you and your husband. I know you are being pressured to keep trying to feed your little one, but try to ease up on the anxiety and pressure. The more you are worried about her and anxious, the more she picks up on it, and will be immediately tense when you try to feed her. With a sensitive tummy, she will connect food with discomfort and will be tuning into your concern.
You have both been surrounding her with worry, concern and anxiety. Every time you go to feed her, you are probably think, what can I give her she will like? or I'm trying to be a good Mother but my baby won't eat - you are probably holding pictures in your mind of her refusing food, or vomiting, or unhappy.
If you can both build a vision of your little girl thriving, happy, playing, and smiling and focus on that rather than the worries, you will start to build a new dynamic.
Severe allergies and feeding worries part 2 by: Anonymous
Hi Amy,
Part Two:
In terms of food - you are doing the right thing, letting her play with it. Tactile experiences are a great way to introduce food.
At present I would keep things simple and bland - firstly introduce one taste at a time, that way you can keep an eye on any allergy reactions, and you also give her a chance to get used to something. Try apple juice in different containers for three days, if she likes that then try very runny pureed apples in a cup or ice cubes. You could try getting her used to drinking her formula in a cup and then gradually thickening it with rice cereal or mashed potato. So the taste will be familiar but the texture just gradually changes.
Ice cubes are a fun way to introduce foods, you can freeze cooked veges, or fruit pastes or juice. You could try fruit or vegetable juices in a bottle or a cup. My daughter would never take a bottle or Sippy cup, but would drink out of a glass or my cup. You can make soups and broth out of beef or chicken with vegetables if she is reacting to textures, and again, very gradually thicken them a tiny amount with mashed veges or rice cereal.
My babies hated being spoon fed, but would happily feed themselves. You say you are afraid of her choking on solid foods, so your fear is being passed to her. Babies do often gag with a lump or with the unexpectedness of it all, but you have got used to associating that with her vomiting (she might too). She might be happy suck on a piece of meat or banana, or a slice of apple. Obviously you would be supervising her, but she has to learn not to stick things down too far, and if you panic and rush to check then she doesn't have any control herself.
Another little trick is food in the bath -minus the soap! floating peas or containers of carrot slices can be fun.
I know it is hard - I had a son with dairy and wheat allergies but I learned I was making the problem far greater with my worry and anxiety. Just try to relax with it all, build a healthy happy vision of your baby, and most importantly, have lots of fun with her.
I just wanted to add one comment to Annie's answer.
I too think you are doing the right thing to simply let her play with the food. What you say about texture may very well be true.
Sometimes children are traumatized early in regarding their eating. I know one child (a cancer survivor), who had for several reasons related to her illness totally refused any type of liquid foods. She is now starting to eat, and what got her going was anything BUT baby food. With your daughter's bad experiences, it might very well be something similar going on.
At 8 months old, she is very likely to be able to handle soft pieces of food. Peas, as Annie suggests is an excellent idea. Baby crackers, boiled rice, small pieces of banana or simimar might also work.
Also remember to always let her join in on dinners and maybe let her feed you small pieces of your food, just to make the dinners a fun occasion. Who knows - one days she'll get curious enough to try herself.
Has the doctor said anything about adding extra oil to her formula? I know sometimes that is done for children that need to increase their calorie intake but refuses to eat. A tea spoon of a virgin, neutral oil in each bottle might help quite a bit. But don't do that without talking to her doctor first.
I know it is hard not to worry! And in your case, you've certainly had real reasons to be worried! I truly hope you will get help earlier that the 6 months waiting, but in any case, do all you can to stop worrying. At 8 months, many babies hate solid foods even if they haven't been ill. It can take time.
I truly wish you good luck! Let us know about your daughter's progress.
Paula
Mar 25, 2010
Babies refusing to eat! by: Anonymous
Hi, I also have a child who refuse to drink formula since she was a month old she is now 8mo, yea don't be worry about feeding the baby some soilds food, they can eat that stuff at the age of 4month old. My baby refuse to take bottles but loves the baby food more then the fomula but that still is a problem about getting her to take fluids i've been seeking help since she was a month no one can feed her or can figure out her problem!
Mar 25, 2010
response to your post on March 25th by: Anonymous
Hello, thank you for the comment today on your child. It has actually been nearly one year since I posted this and so much has happened since. We have been hopitalized 11 times, some of them in PICU. She has continued to be failure to Thrive, Severe Vomiting, still at nearly 20 months she does not eat anything and is 100% tube fed. Please get your doctors to listen to you if something is not right. It took many hospitalizations and specialists to finally start to figure out what is wrong with our daughter. She has what they call gastroperesis and intestinal pseudo obstruction caused by a neurogenic disease. Her developemental milestones have all been delayed except for her cognitive and social skills-she is happy as a clam. However, if you can find the problem and fix or treat it before you have to go to extreme measures the better chance you have at getting your child to eat.
Is your child gaining weight on a normal curve? Do he/she lose weight ever unexpectedly. Unfortunately there are many reasons this can happen and it does not always mean there is something as dramatic as we have going on. A feeding team can be extraordinary in the cases that a child truly does not eat or drink for unknown reasons. Ask your pediatrician for a recommendation or referral. If you don't have a feeding team at your local Children's Hospital ask for a Speach and Language Pathologist. They are wonderful at eating techniques.
Sorry! I don't want to scare you, it does not sould like you are going through what we are. I do just want you to know that it is OK to advocate for your child and demand help!
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