reintroducing food after illness

[Siar]

DD (just turned 1) has been ill for just over a week and unable to keep anything down (not even water), apart from breastmilk. She has simply had a bad cold, cough and probably ear infection (I know I have) which makes the swallowing so painful Anyway, she seems a little brighter this morning - actually chatting right now which she hasn't done for a few days - and I am thinking about reintroducing some food. Which foods are good to start with? I'm thinking probably purees in case swallowing is still painful, and lumps of food tend to make her retch. She's kept a small amount of water down so far (yay!) and I gave her a little bit of my oatmeal which she was quite keen on. I'm thinking maybe soup for lunch? (just a few little spoonfuls). After all, she's been having so much more breastmilk than usual I need to cut back slowly for both of our sakes. Suggestions please! Thanks everyone.

[Sweet.Bee]

My son was just sick (actually, still is a bit) too with the whole fever/cough/vomiting/diarrhea super combo. For a whole week he drank nothing but milk and not so much of that even. He liked water more than usual, so that's a bit different from your situation.

Anyways, during the past few days I have been slowly reintroducing solids again. Even when healthy, he only eats foods with a puréed/smooth texture. I started with yogurt because that's his favorite (try your daughter's favorite food, maybe?). Since then, I've also given him fruit purée and soup. In the beginning, he only ate a bit, but each day he has more. A few days later, he's up to 2 meals of solids a day (usual is 3) with milk the rest of the time.

We're still waiting anxiously to make sure he regains his weight (lost 400g in under a week), but he seems to be feeling better and his appetite is up.

[JMJ]

If she's doing better and interested in food, I see no reason to withhold any particular type of food from her that she enjoyed before she got sick. A great one to help her heal back up is chicken broth. If swallowing is a problem, then stick to soft foods similar to when you introduced foods in the first place.