[bwylde]

I usually don't worry about things like this, but it's been going on for quite a while that I'm starting to wonder. DS literally will not eat. I read threads on here asking if their child is eating enough and I'm always shocked they eat that much as some of them is more than he eats in a week. All he had yesterday was some dog food he snuck at his grandparents and today he's had half a molasses cookie and I snuck in a bite of peanut butter when he wasn't looking (that's something I would never ordinarily do). I get him involved in food preparation, make his favorite foods, let him pick what we're going to eat, ect... but when it comes to eating, he doesn't. All he wants to do is nurse. If he didn't nurse, I would probably have him to the hospital by now as I know breastmilk is rich in healthy things. However I'm getting frustrated by nursing as he bites and gropes me, which I can't stand. He has temper tantrums when I dont' nurse him.

Another thing is anytime we show any sign of being upset, he says "But I love you". Does he think that since we're not pleased with him we don't love him? The way he says it makes us feel guilty, as if we're doing something wrong. We try to stay firm and be positive in our response.

For example, earlier he was cutting up some scrapbook cutouts I spent a lot of time on and when we told him to stop and took the scissors away (we had asked him several times earlier not to play with them and put them up but he found them), he said "but I love you mommy! I love you daddy!". I said, "E, we love you too. We want you to listen to us when we ask you to do something. We're upset that you didn't listen, but you're very important to us and we love you." It's virtually the same every time. When I won't let him nurse, he says, "But I love you mommy" with a sad pitiful look and tears in his eyes. It's really bothering me and there are times I feel like saying "I know!!! Just stop saying that every five minutes!!!".

Is it a stage thing or is my son truly hurt that we won't let him do every little thing that he wants??

 

[ctdoula]

Hugs mama!! Is your son growing? Gaining weight? Gaining height? I have a very petite toddler (24ish lbs at 2.5yrs old), but she's a non-picky eater. She eats enough for her.

BUT, I would personally be pretty concerned if she didn't eat anything. It's about more than just nutrients (which are important, and honestly, I don't think exclusive BM is enough for a 2.5 yr old.. I'm sure others wil disagree). It's also about the textures and process of physically eating.

I have a very good friend who's son is 2 months younger than my dd. He has major eating/texture/oral issues stemming from severe reflux. He also litteraly eats almost nothing. It's a major problem, as he isn't really gaining weight, etc. He's developing normally, but I think it will be a problem later on when he didn't grow/thrive physically as a 1-3 yr old. They have a gastro specialist & early intervention involved.

As for not letting him do every thing he wants to do, that's life, ROFL. I don't think taking scissors away, or telling him he needs to wait to nurse are bad at all. They're the realities of life, and that's how we ALL learn to live in society, remain safe, etc.

 

[pacerobb]

Your situation sounds almost identical to mine! I have a 26 month old ds who weighs in at 21 lbs. He also would rather nurse and would nurse all day if you let him. He is not really interested in food at all, but is active and developing normally otherwise. I took him to our family doc for his two-year check up and he had lost weight from his 18 month check. The doc was concerned and thought that it was due to his not really being hungry since he was constantly filling up on bm. I also then took him to a naturapath doc who thought the same thing. It is both docs opinion that bm is not enough at this age and I really needed to cut back on nursing, get him to eat more, and supplement his food with a protein supplement. I have cut back on nursing and limit his during the day nursing sessions. My husband is at home with him during the day and he makes sure that my ds has eaten before I come home at lunch and at dinner. That way, he is getting more solids and just supplementing with the bm after meals. Instead of the other way around. Also, my ds has a much more difficult time eating when I am home because he knows the breast milk is there and would ofcourse rather have that! But so far our strategy seems to be working and he has gained 1.3 lbs and grown a half an inch in 7 weeks!
I hope this helps!
Robb