DD is barely eating

[ThankfulMama]

DD is 19mos and has been struggling to gain weight (periods of weight loss) over the last several months.  She had a cold the week of Christmas and now is barely eating a thing.  I am worried because she appears to be losing weight (looking very thin again).  I have added more coconut milk, butter, etc to her diet with hopes to help her through this, but she is just not eating much at all.  Is this normal? I know it can be normal to not want to eat when sick, but after?  I have worked hard to help her maintain/gain because I don't want to subject her to more testing if not necessary.  I'm feeling really stressed about this.

ETA- she is normally a fairly big eater even when struggling to gain.  Now she is not eating much at all.

[ShwarmaQueen]

Part of it may be an age thing, but if she's losing weight, I'd be concerned too. What does her pedi/HCP say? 

What does she like? What didn't she like? 

Have you tried the usual toddler finger foods?

DS likes small hamburger patties, fried fish, diced chicken breasts, meatloaf, cheesy mashed potatoes, french fries (from scratch), creamed spinach, cheese cubes, bean burritos, grilled cheese sandwich, any fruit, pasta/macaroni, banana bread, oatmeal cookies, oatmeal porridge, just to name some in case it gives you any ideas...

[ThankfulMama]

Thanks for the ideas.  I had been able to keep enough weight on her at her last wcv that her ped was no longer as concerned (not that she gained more than a few ounces but that she wasn't on a downhill curve).  She had extensive food intolerances for the first year plus, but now she is primarily off milk (actual milk, not all dairy), ice cream, and some processed cheeses that I am discovering trigger her intolerances (Annies cheddar bunnies, etc) as well as soy.  She still BFs a few times a day.  She LOVES pasta with red sauce, pizza, yogurt, also eats oatmeal, quinoa, rice, mushrooms, peas, occasionally cheese, pb&j sandwiches and similar foods.  She does not like meat, except if its on her pizza in microscopic pieces.  She will not eat meat in pasta or elsewhere.  I have been adding canned coconut milk to her full fat yogurt to make smoothies, and butter or olive oil to her veggies and pasta, etc. 

One of my concerns is that I am unable to feed her a well balanced diet and keep weight on her.  It seems I have to do pizza/pasta yogurt smoothies only to keep weight on. :-(

[ShwarmaQueen]

I'd stick to what she likes, and add calories wherever I could. Adding the calories by adding fat is what works best and is what they need at this age. I read in the allergy forum that sometimes failure to gain weight can be related to the intolerances, so you might check more into that.

[Courtney-Ostaff]

One thing to remember is that a balanced diet for a toddler is different than it would be for you or I. They need tons and tons of saturated fat to myelinate their neurons. And, they need oodles of carbs to keep that brain running during the process. So that's why dairy + pasta becomes a win-win. In your daughter's case, I think I'd be making lots of home-made mac 'n cheese made with a saturated fat substitute for her.  Can she tolerate parmesan?  It is a hard cheese with a low casein component, similar to yogurt. If so, you could make a roux (butter & flour), add a milk substitute, and then add a ton of parmesan cheese.  Make a big batch, and heat it up for her for meals, together with whatever she likes.  Mine is fond of broccoli with it.

[ThankfulMama]

Thanks so much.  She has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming again--I think it's painful gas.  I'm not sure if it is too much dairy? It is so frustrating because I feel like she is still having some food issues but I am trying so hard to put weight on (or at least keep it on) that I can't really afford to take foods away again.   I feel like Im failing at this challenge.  She has had blood testing for true allergies--those all came back negative. Ugh!

[Courtney-Ostaff]

Food allergies are miserable.  I have a friend whose daughter couldn't tolerate any protein, including in breastmilk, until she was about 2.  No eggs, soy, or corn, now.  Have you seen a pediatric dietician? They can make some really helpful suggestions.

[ShwarmaQueen]

Another idea, have you been over to the allergy forum? Those ladies know practically everything and could also give some great advice/tips, in addition to the pediatric dietitian. 

Good luck. 

[mama1803]

Have you considered a zinc deficiency?  Being low in zinc can cause a loss of appetite.  Zinc is critical to the immune system to fight off bugs--given that she was sick the week of Christmas it seems plausible that her zinc stores were used up at that time.  A zinc deficiency causes a loss of taste and smell, which in turn can cause a loss of appetite.  I have experienced this myself and it is quite a chore to eat when nothing has a taste, even if you are hungry. 

[ThankfulMama]

Thanks so much everyone.  Well, she has another cold and this one is worse than the last. :-( Poor babe!

I have done a lot of reading and research on her intolerances, but perhaps I should bounce my question over in the allergy forum as well just to see if anyone there has another idea.

I have not considered zinc.  What food sources would you offer to increase this? Does she get this from breast milk?

[mama1803]

http://www.nutritional-supplements-health-guide.com/zinc-deficiency-symptoms.html 

This has some info on zinc deficiency, including a list of foods high in zinc.  I'm not sure about how well zinc is transferred in breastmilk, perhaps a website like kellymom would have info on that.