Ever since my 8 1/2 month old had a week long stomach bug she refuses to eat jarred baby food. The doctor had no real answers, other than you can't make her eat it. Before the bug she ate 3-4 jars of stage 2 a day plus oatmeal in the morning. Now she wont eve nopen her mouth for the spoon. The only things she will eat now are puffs, lil crunchies, and bites of my food such as spaghettios. I tried to give her diced green beans and carrots and she acted like they were poison. What to do? She is losing weight since she is protesting food. How do I get her to eat fruits and veggies in the horrible stage, and what to give her that she might actually want and not gag with. Please Help!
Make a chicken stew, use potatoes and carrots, celery and onion. Chop it all pretty small, stew it well, and give her a little plate with the cut up food. Another one is a ground meat and pasta with cheese. Share an apple or orange with her, by peeling and slicing. Some stoach bugs can linger after- the discomfort I mean. Sometimes you are not ready to eat. A bagel with a spread of cr cheese, a toaster waffle?
I would try not to worry about this. Not easy, I know, but it's actually typical for a child not to want to eat as usual right after being sick, especially with a tummy bug. Keep offering her things. Her appetitie will come back. She is so young that she isn't really being picky and her little body won't let her starve itself.
I vividly remember being a little kid and my mom making stew for dinner one night. She put rutabagas in it. No big deal except I came down with the flu that night and vomitted for 3 days. There was no convincing me that it wasn't the rutabagas that made me sick. I was afraid of stew, period, for a while after that.
Have you tried giving her some applesauce? My babies always liked that and if they didn't feel good, they liked it warmed up.
I really believe your little one will get back to eating normally again. For now, just make sure she's getting plenty of liquids. That's the most important thing.
Best wishes.
It not only TOTALLY normal, but a GOOD idea to avoid table foods after an infant/young child has been sick.
Table food only has a FRACTION of the nutrients and calories that breastmilk and formula does. When babies get well after being sick they CRAVE nutrient dense milk and formula and will reject the ***lower quality*** table food based off of very good instinct. (If you at nothing but formula for a month you could easily gain 30lbs or more... in fact, for anorexics in treatment, formula is often the primary source of nutrition.
Add in that table foods are difficult to digest and babies *seriously* reject them. It takes too much energy for too little return.
She might take icecream and McDonalds (because those are practically predigested and super rich in fat)... because her body needs the dense nutrients (fats, proteins, sugars, vitamins, and minerals already broken down and ready to be absorbed)that are in milk and formula right now and the closest you can get to those concentrations are in fast food... but fast food doesn't have the high protein, vitamins, minerals, and different *kinds* of fats she needs to replenish her system.
It typically takes a couple weeks before they're "in the black" enough to return to table foods.
Her main nutrition should be breast milk or formula. Just keep offering her other things but continue to give her milk often. Our 2nd child was STRICTLY breastfed for the first 9 months before ANY other substance was offered to him.
Try giving her the jarred baby food warmed up but put in on your plate, so she thinks its your food. My son loves that, he sees mommy enjoying it so anything I have he wants it, especially if it is warmed up. He loves pears, and banannas. And very much sweet potatos too.
Just give her some time, and feed her more stuff she likes. Everything will be okay.
i'm sorry mama. :(
i'm thinking if she just had a stomach bug, her stomach probably still hurts a little. :( mine probably would. :) my son's 2, but i think when he was that little i gave him pediasure b/c i think it's okay (you might wanna ask someone that sorry). but i do that from time to time b/c kids can be finnicky (sp) about what they eat anyway, and she just got over being sick. but w/pediasure i always feel good knowing they're still getting their vitamins/minerals/nutritition. just a thought sweetie. she'll come around very soon i promise. good luck mama, hang in there! :)
It may simply be a developmental stage where she wants more control. Give her stuff she can pick up herself off her high chair tray. If she really does not want to eat the right things, you can add PediaSure which comes in all kinds of flavors, but I would run that by the doctor first since she under 1 year and the bottle says 1-10 years. Hopefully just another phase that she will get over when she gets hungry enough.
Her tummy might still be sensitive after she was sick. Sometimes it takes little ones a while to "get back to normal".
I'd just offer her things that are mild, and that you know she likes, like cut up bananas (if she likes them) and little toast triangles that she can hold.
She may still be scared after her illness...but she will be okay. You're doing a good job, mama. Hang in there, ok?
maybe she will start eating table food. if you think she will. my daughter was a wonderful eater until it was time for table food. oh well that is a whole differant subject. R.
