2 year old doesn't eat

[Sage]

I had the fattest baby. He was always at the 90th percentile, which was amazing for me as my daughter always hovered around the 50th percentile. When he started eating solids he had a really healthy appetite, but his weight gain started to slow down.

He's now 2 years and 24 pounds. He's basically gained 3 pounds in the last year. He just wont eat. He is still nursing, but it is exhausting me & he doesn't seem to be getting any extra calories from the breast milk.

I'm going to continue to nurse him (but maybe night wean), but any suggestions to get him to eat? I try giving him all his favourite foods, sneaking in extra calories, etc., but he just doesn't seem hungry. He's smart & reached all his development milestones, I'm just worried about his very low weight. He's now at the 10th percentile.

[vegma]

I'm so glad to hear you're nursing! You can rest easy knowing he's getting the best nutrition he can be (imagine how you'd feel if he wasn't nursing!). I have read about babies/toddlers with food allergies/sensitivities that delay solids on their own. Kind of a built-in survival mechanism. Any food sensitivities in your family that you're aware of?

[Sage]

Thanks for replying.

No food sensitivities in our family at all. He also used to eat foods when he was younger. He's just not eating. :(

[xmysticprincessx]

have you tried things like a dish with elmo (or whatever other character or animal he likes) on it? or brightly colored foods or foods in funny shapes? (dd likes rotini shaped pasta.)

does he try to feed himself? does he ask for what you are eating? when he does eat, what does he eat? have you talked to your dr about this? what does he/she think? have you had him tested for allergies? even though there is not a family history (or a family history that you know of), maybe he developed one.

have you tried high fat foods like avocados, nut butters, etc?

how long has he been at the 10th percentile? when did his weight gain start to slow down?

[firegypsy]

Food sensitivities are a major reason kids will quit eating. IF you search or rad at all about htem it is one of the top reasons parents/doctors will look for them.

Our story is alot like yours, my dd just starting refusing food. She was off the growth charts and labelled as FTT by 16 months. My doc asked that we test for allergies, though I wasn't hopeful because they don't run in my family (or so I thought) It ended up being quite the gift because we uncovered several unknown allergens and as soon as they were out of her diet she ate again. She is now almost 2 1/2 and quite a little chunker (compared to what she was!) Just because you aren't aware of allergies/sensitivities doesn't mean they aren't there. You may want to think about testing or doing an elimination period (for both of you since you're nursing) to find out. I liked the blood test (first time she was ever stuck!) because it gave us a very clear picture. There are either antibodies or there aren't. Period. If your doc is concerned about the lack of weight gain, I'd think that he/she would assist you in getting them done...if you think it might help.

[PikkuMyy]

You might also want to get a referral to a feeding therapist.