Gluten/dairy/egg free 12 month old mostly nursing, almost no solids?

[callahansmama]

Hey ladies, its a long long story but due to chronic diarrhea and undigested food in his stool, my son has been gluten/egg/dairy free for about a month and a half. Prior to his tummy troubles at 9 months old he was eating a varied diet of fruits, veg, meat, fish, grains, yougurt and cheese. He was exclusively breastfed until six months. Since restricting his diet to fruit, veg, rice, meat, and fish (still not the big answer for his diarrhea - waiting to see a specialist), he has been nursing before and after naps and bedtime as well as frequently at night. He eats very little solid food. He might eat a few slices of banana and one rice rusk for breakfast and about a few small pieces of salmon, a few green beans and teaspoon of rice for for lunch...And that is being generous. Occasionally he will find something he can't get enough of (ate whole pints of raspberries a couple of weeks ago!)Before he started having problems he would eat several tablespoons of yogurt or cottage cheese and entire pieces of toast as well as fruits, veg and meat. While I am all for extended breastfeeding and don't want to wean him I am a little concerned that he is eating so few solids. He is almost 30 lbs and so active that I imagine he needs lots of calories. He is starting daycare in a two months and I want him to be able to eat enough to keep himself going throughout the day. Is this just typical toddler eating? He is getting three molars at once so that could that be part of the problem, but this has been going on for weeks before that. I don't like to be overly worried about things but he is just eating so much less than his peers (those that I know anyway). Is there a good way to go about encouraging more solids and nursing a little less? Any feedback is very much appreciated. THanks!!

[AllyRae]

My toddler is gf/df/ef (and nut & shellfish free) due to FPIES and Celiac.  Toddlers are pretty picky creatures, and most of the go-to toddler foods are off limits with allergies.  We make sure to give our little one a really good food based multivitamin to help make up the difference.  I also try to make substitutes that are very similar to what picky toddlers usually eat (so I can also make them a lot healthier).  Green smoothie popsicles, baked chicken nuggets, pizzas with daiya cheese and lots of veggies, veggie dips using tofutti sour cream and dill, etc.  She also did well if I filled a 6 slot muffin pan--each with a different finger food--and left it out for her to graze.  She still doesn't eat very much (she is also about 24 pounds at 2 1/2 years old) and still nurses a little, but she is active, meeting/exceeding all of her milestones, doesn't show any signs of malnutrition or nutrient deficiencies...she's just a picky little toddler.  Toddlers like to control their environment--and she tends to eat more and a more varied diet if I give her that control--fill her muffin tin with a lot of choices that are all really healthy--then she feels like she is in control when she eats.

I also think they eat more than it seems.  Their tummies are tiny--like the size of their fist.  So, for a 1 year old, he should still be eating mere tablespoons of food at a time, and most likely having small frequent meals instead of big 3 main meals.  I'm pretty sure my other two went through an extremely picky toddler stage.  Now at 4 and 7, the 4 year old eats a very normal amount and the 7 year old, while only 43 lbs and very picky, eats enough to meet his needs for the day, even if it's just a couple select foods.  

[AllyRae]

I also want to mention that at 30 lbs at 12 months old, he's getting the amount of calories he needs--he's far above the average.  Most of the children you say are eating more solids than your child are probably either not nursing very much or they are weaning from formula and need to make up the difference.  Unless he is not nursing to meet his caloric needs, he will not eat more solids.  So, children who are not nursing will need to eat more solids.

[callahansmama]

Thanks:) He is strong, big and healthy and meeting/exceeding milestones so I am not really worried that he's not getting what he needs from breastmilk...more that I would like to be able to nurse a little less now that he's getting older. I still intend to nurse him on demand for who knows how long but he still nurses every two or three hours around the clock and I am feeling a little overwhelmed with it. I don't think its just for comfort as I can hear him swallowing. I will try the muffin tin idea.

[crunchy_mommy]

Every 2-3 hours doesn't sound that often (but DS's nursing patterns may be skewing my opinion there! I'd love if he'd nursed that infrequently LOL) I don't think it's abnormal for an extended-nurser and especially not for a 1yo, but I can totally get if it feels like too much to you!

A couple of thoughts...

First, yeah that's pretty normal for a toddler, DS didn't eat more than an occasional, minuscule, bite or two until he was 14mos and was still 90% BF well past 18mos. He is 28mos now and started eating lots right around 2yo (and soon after, decreased nursing a ton).

I guess in a kid with lots of allergies/intolerances/issues I'd be hesitant to back off too much on the nursing... DS doesn't have allergies that I'm aware of but does seem to have some sensory issues that may have been affecting his eating... I'm pretty sure if I had backed off on the nursing, he would have been FTT. But what we did do around 18mos was start pushing table food a lot more. So if he asked to nurse, we'd offer a snack, THEN nurse... DH really helped a ton too, he would sit and read to DS while he ate to kind of distract him into eating more. We also spent a lot of time out & about, because he'd eat more that way, and my friends would feed him too (because apparently in his mind, mama = milk NOT table food ) So I didn't actively limit nursing but was able to reduce it some by really, really pushing the solids in ways that I wouldn't have if I wasn't so tapped out with nursing non-stop.

I'm also wondering if you got the wrong foods there. If his digestive issues haven't gone away and he's suddenly eating a lot less, I'd worry that he's reacting to something he's still eating, rather than something you eliminated... I'm sure it could also be that he's no longer getting his favorite foods too though! Do you do nuts, seeds, beans??? We are also gluten/dairy/egg free (and meat free) and some of DS's favorite foods are hummus, nut butters, sunflower seeds, quinoa, whole or refried beans, etc. I wonder if you just tried some new foods if your little guy would find some new favorites?

[Tattooed Hand]

MY DD has a whole host of food intolerances and began solids very late, like 10 months (she showed no interest before that) and didn't really begin eating much or specifically asking for food until 15 months. I know alot of other moms, particularly ones with food issues, who start late or slow with solids. I wouldn't worry.