My 5 year old LO has had life long feeding issues and I'm looking for some advice on who to see as I feel like we have already seen so many specialists without success.
A brief history: My LO was born with a rare genetic condition and due to low muscle tone found feeding (breast and solids) difficult. We seen a speech therapist who prescribed exercises to help when she was an infant which helped temporarily. We have seen dieticians, nutritionists, paediatricians, gastroenterologists and endocrinologists all who say the food on offer is plenty adequate but she just refuses to eat. She loves to cook, so she helps design the menu, shop and cook everyday but then won't eat it. She has plenty of energy at school and home and plays sport but her weight gain has stalled and at her last endocrinology appointment she had lost weight. I'm worried as she was already underweight and I want to get on top of it now before it becomes a major health issue. We are in Victoria and would love to hear advice from those who have actually been in a similar situation and ideas of who to turn to next. I feel like it is more than just fussy eating as she just says she is not hungry. We have asked about appetite stimulants but were told by multiple specialists at RCH that they were not proven to be effective. Thanks in advance.
3 Replies
My son has some unusual medical conditions. Sometimes I have to supplement his diet with meal replacements such as sustagen. I add chocolate syrup and icecream to make it extra tempting as my son really needs the extra calories at those times.
But if she is able to do what she needs to do, has energy and her doctors aren't worried I'd try and relax. If she starts lacking energy, lethargic, unable to learn at school then I'd start to get nervous.
You could try some milkshake type supplements as a fourth meal.
Have you ever seen a dietician?
I would really highly recommend contacting Kathleen from Healthy Start Nutrition. She's in Victoria too. She specialises in feeding difficulties- and she's wonderful. Check out her website and Facebook page. She's much better than specialists with 'generic' comments about fussy eating.
Go back to the dietitian! My son was tube fed from birth due to aspiration. He's always had issues with gaining weight, so he's virtually always had a supplement added to his formula before being changed to a higher calorie prescription formula. He's been on a fully oral diet for nearly two years now, but still has a high calorie supplement drink three times a day. Does she drink milk? If yes, add 2 tablespoons of full cream milk powder to 1 cup of milk. Then make milkshakes, smoothies, sustagen, milo. The milk powder adds calories to a standard cup of milk. Also add olive oil or butter to any food she does eat. Again it's extra calories. These are some tips my son's dietitian gave me to get extra calories into him. What he eats in a day is enough for the average 9 year old, but because he has other health issues he needs more calories than the average child.