So....
'Little One' hasn't felt like eating lately.
Trying to be creative, I attempted to make something he would enjoy for breakfast this morning. This is what I made and this is his reaction. He didn't like my fruit face. Instead he he ate a cookie monster waffle from Earth's Best. ALL he wants to eat is CARBS and dairy!!! I'm going a little bit nuts over this. I think he has a yeast infection/issue/problem...I'm not sure what to call it but he seems to like foods that feed yeast. He has bright red cheeks, chronic chapped lips and a diaper rash. If you have any ideas/suggestions I would appreciate you sharing them. Thank you!
In PEACE
Jennifer
13 comments:
As for suggestions on helping a toddler eat...ummm...good luck. ;) The one thing that has sometimes worked for my guy is to let him help, but that's only sometimes.
Chapped cheeks: aquaphor is magic
Chapped lips: Maybe run a humidifier in his room at night?
Diaper rash: If you think it's yeast, have you tried lotrimin? If that doesn't work, my doc has prescribed Nystatin and it works GREAT!
GL
Terri
Thank you Terri!!!
I have been trying to remember the name of the diaper cream that worked with Middle Man (years ago he's 10 now)and that is it! Lotrimin!!!
Thank you so much for your suggestions!
PEACE to you and yours
Jennifer
Our son has been on a "cream cheese on bread" kick for... a long time. It's at least 2 out of 3 meals a day. I'm not worrying... I keep telling myself that if he needs something different he'll ask for it- at least that's what I think I remember reading...
Our little guy just had a low iron count on his two-year doctor's appointment so I feel your pain! I've been trying to reduce his carb/grain eating (i.e. crackers and cereals for snacks and breakfast) along with his dairy (since calcium inhibits iron absorption.) during meals.
Basically what has worked for us is, well, not offering him anything except for what I want him to eat. And not giving in. If he's truly hungry (and I offer it to him with a positive attitude, eat the same thing and smile!:) he'll eat. Scrambled eggs or fried eggs with a few slices of oranges or strawberries (which are both high in vitamin C and help iron absorption) for breakfast. I don't offer him toast or muffins or anything until he finishes most of the egg (and lately he has been surprising me and asking for more egg than I expect! He used to be an oatmeal fiend!). I've also been making a lot of little meatballs (which he likes as finger foods) and protein salads (egg, chicken, salmon, etc.) and offering it to him, pre-spread on crackers for snacks and lunches (therefore he gets his crackers, but doesn't end up eating 30 of them because he's hungry, but only eats about eight because they're covered with other food.) I've also tried NutThins which are made with no wheat or gluten in place of normal crackers.
If he only wants something like pancakes or waffles, have you tried making some of the gluten-free ones with almond flour and eggs? There are a few new recipes I just found today on this carnival:
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/04/a-nourished-start-a-breakfast-carnival.html
that might help. You can make homemade almond flour just by running almonds through a food processor with a little bit of flour to keep it drier (so you don't make almond butter) if you don't have time to make it to the store (plus almond flour is expensive if you're not sure you're going to use much of it, and if he CAN eat gluten, a little flour won't hurt in processing).
Anyway, I hope this helps!
Best,
Sarah
PS - I've got a big post on increasing iron consumption ideas (which might help your carb-lover) queued up for tomorrow morning, so come by!
Here's the recipe I was thinking of for pancakes:
http://oreganicthrifty.blogspot.com/2009/04/nourishing-grain-free-pancakes.html
but it looks like I was wrong and it uses coconut flour, not almond (which is also good, non-yeast feeding and high in protein) but here is a good almond flour one:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/pancakes/
and here's a dairy free one from the same blog:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/flapjacks/
Good luck!
Best,
Sarah
Have you tried probiotics? That's really good for yeast issues and digestion in general and there are many kid-friendly brands out there.
Maybe you can also talk to your doctor about grapeseed extract which is great for yeast problems.
He also might have developed a food allergy...
Just keep trying different foods and maybe he'll like something eventually. Good luck! Food and toddlers are tough. I eventually decided my daughter would survive just fine on a diet of 80% milk, whole grain, and fruit.
I remember all my 3 went through this stage at this age - carbs were all they wanted to eat and cheese the only other thing. I seem to remember it coincided with a growth spurt for each of them. If dairy is going down ok then I'd try a probiotic of some sort and not worry about fruit of veg not going in, just always have it as part of the meal. If Little One doesn't eat it now he may surprise you at some point. The carb fest was followed by a protein fest as I remember! It's good to know we all have the same worries all over the world!
My daughter (now 6) always loved it when I arranged her food in special silly ways (flower, face, landscape) but my son (2) responds in horror with "oh no" or "mess." Hm...and their dad doesn't like his different foods to touch on his plate even now...is there a gene for this?
My little guy *does* like it, however, when I divide his food into separate bowls: chunks of cheese or tofu cubes or such in one, some crackers or bread in another, berries or other fruit in a third, a fourth of a veggie. We talk about the colors of the bowls, we count the bowls, etc. (It's all about the bowls).
Since he's into the idea of counting right now, when he's reluctant to eat veggies or fruit we sometimes ask him how many pieces there are. He delights in pointing as we count. Then we ask how many would be there if he ate one...and often, though not always, he'll eat, one by one, the whole lot, with us counting the remainder every time.
I agree about the probiotics, those are always helpful. I would also suggest internal oils. Ask at the health food store for something that kids might like.
Does he like like granola? Because I recently made some that has quite a bit of protein (if he's not allergic to nuts). And at least the grains are whole. (I'll try to get that recipe up soon.)
Good luck.
Here are some things that work with my daughter (20 months) whose favorite food groups are also carbs and dairy.
1. weelicious.com is a blog full of toddler friendly recipes. I can get my daughter to eat almost anything from here.
2. add fruit and veggies to baked goods - I make carrot, zucchini, and banana pancakes and muffins (and I use no sugar for the pancakes and less than a 1/4 cup for the muffins and my husband and I still like them!) These satisfy her carb cravings yet are full of vitamins.
3. I agree that it is all in the bowl. Bowls with pictures on the bottom so as they eat, they see the picture - my LO loves this.
4. Toothpicks instead of forks - I can get her to eat three times as many cooked veggies with a toothpick.
5. Have snack time be carb free.
6. Offer yogurt instead of cheese or milk (because of the probiotics in yogurt)
7. Spinach smoothies (sounds gross, but with fruit you can't taste the spinach). Sometimes I put milk and sometimes I don't. They freeze great and make wonderful popsicles.
Carbs are an important part of a toddler's diet - they have different nutritional needs than we do - so we don't want to take those away completely. But they do need a variety of foods and it's our job to try to offer them variety.
The diaper rash could also be a food sensitivity - my LO gets red down there if she's eaten citrus fruits or flaxseed. Just a thought.
Hope this helps.
I have a hard time getting my girl to eat anything except protein and grains. She's always asking for "more meat!" Veggies and even fruit are tricky. Thank goodness I can make popsicles with lots of healthy food in them.
You might consider wiping his tushy with a white vinegar swab before diapering him, also going diaper free is good! Air it out!
Good luck!
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