Poor Appetite - babies and toddlers

[jazzzy]

My 1 yr old has a poor appetite, it's like, you can't lure her to eating a lot. On certain days she eat's ok, on some, she barely eats. But she's gaining average or normal - because I have to make sure. Nagrecommend na ng heraclene yung doctor at some point.
Any mom's experiencing the same?

[kim G]

Yung bunso ko,she is 9 y.o. now,di ko alam kung paano lumaki.ang hirap pakainin from that age till about 3.
bumibili pa ako ng magandang kid's plate,i cut out her fruits into different shapes dahil prutas lang kinakain.from utuan to takuyan,ayaw talagang kumain.

I remember sabi ng pedia,may mga bata raw na talagang ganun and whatever they eat is sufficient for that time.may mga period of growing that their body don't require a lot.wala naman akong magawa,so i just let her eat whatever she will.

ngayon,i have to remind her to go easy.i let her anything,mahilig kasi mag snack,she can eat anything but in moderation.

medyo mapili kumain in a way na she wont eat meat,very rare but she loves all kinds of veggies.as long as she eats,everything's dandy.

[RomAnne]

i experienced the same problem when my eldest was just a year old (he is now 2)... my pedia recommended clusivol for his vits but it didn't help... when i asked my mom about it, she gave me a list of advices:

- stick to a schedule, meaning exact times for breakfast, morning snacks, lunch, naptime, afternoon snacks & dinner...

- make mealtime interesting for your kid, give him his own spoon and bowl, take a stuff toy or doll to the table and pretend to feed the doll then your kid, make-up songs about eating properly, the creative it is the better...

- when he really refuses to eat, don't force him to the point that your scolding him, just tell him "if your not gonna eat this meal, your gonna get hungry, and i'm not gonna fix you something until our next meal" -- this is kindda cruel, but it works, it really works (on the 2nd or 3rd try at least)...

- mix up your menu. if you're having bread for breakfast, have rice at lunch then pasta or soup by dinner. kids love variety, it makes it fun for them...

- never, and i mean NEVER, make a different dish if in case your kid doesn't like what's on the table, you have to instill this early on so that they won't be picky eaters. for example, i cooked beef & broccoli for lunch today, my eldest didn't quite like it & was playing w/ his food, other moms would have gotten something that he will eat, like hotdogs or chicken, but what i did was, i put him down from his high-chair and told him in a calm but serious voice "i guess you're not hungry right now, if you're not gonna eat you can just wait for the next meal". after 5 mins, he asked to climb back up to his high-chair and he ate his broccoli...

- another never is, never ever bribe your kid w/ material stuff. i hear a lot of moms telling their kids when we're dining out "if you finish your food i will buy you a toy later"... what i do w/ bribing is this "if you finish your food now, we will have extra time to play later". activities should be bribed, not material stuff...

i am happy to say that these advices have worked for my eldest, he eats veggies & fruits, meat & carbs, he's not a picky eater...

my youngest son, aged 1, is now going through the same routine that his kuya has gone through... hope i was able to help...

[jazzzy]

Hey kim G and RomAnne! It just feels so much better knowing that I wasn't the only one experiencing this. I'm a first time mom and I'm always worried. These advises really helped and I'm hoping that my kid will grow out of it. I don't want her to be fat but I also just don't want to worry about this. Thanks guys!!

[lukas_isaac]

my son is 5 mos old and he cannot finish his milk na 5 oz. in a day. he's only taking 12oz of milk for the whole day. NAN HW ang milk nya but even before MYLAC ang milk nya ganon pa rin. sabi ng pedia nya give him heraclene one capsule a day to be mix in 1 or 2oz milk, 7 days na sya nag ta-take ng heraclene pero ganon pa din. i decided to feed him ng powdered rice like oatmeal na *** every morning and marie biscuit (sabi ng lola) late in the afternoon.
can anybody help me? bothered na ako ...

[jazzzy]

Why don't you give your kid milk every hour...literally. That was what I did together with Heraclene and somehow it helped, well somehow. She doesn't have to take it, but offer it to him/her every hour. Patience and tiyaga important din yun.
Try all the options if necessary, i.e. try cold milk, warm milk, etc.
Try different kinds of milk brands, also, your kid might have a favorite bottle and teat.
Also when feeding them, you have to show that you're happy with what you're doing. I for one, sometimes, I get pissed if my kid does not want to eat, and the more I get pissed, the more they don't want to eat, so I guess it's important that we show them love and patience when feeding them.
In any case, good luck and I hope this helps

[lukas_isaac]

Why don't you give your kid milk every hour...literally. That was what I did together with Heraclene and somehow it helped, well somehow. She doesn't have to take it, but offer it to him/her every hour. Patience and tiyaga important din yun.
Try all the options if necessary, i.e. try cold milk, warm milk, etc.
Try different kinds of milk brands, also, your kid might have a favorite bottle and teat.
Also when feeding them, you have to show that you're happy with what you're doing. I for one, sometimes, I get pissed if my kid does not want to eat, and the more I get pissed, the more they don't want to eat, so I guess it's important that we show them love and patience when feeding them.
In any case, good luck and I hope this helps

- i think i will try giving him cold milk or maybe change the teat kasi when his using his pacifier slowly kong pinapalitan ng bottle nya then he's feeding it, kaya lang sometimes hindi rin ako umuubra. I even tried playing with him while giving him his bottle pero wala din, he's biting the nipple and most of the time lumalabas lang yung milk sa side ng mouth nya. haisst well try ko yung mga adv mo....
thank you jazzzy

[DELISYUS]

RomAnne... great suggestions you have there

Ako naman, I didn't mind so much feeding my son every hour or so while at my in-laws during the holidays (kasi naman, we eat bfast there at 11 and lunch at 4) pero here at home, we generally have mealtimes nga (meals and snack times for him)... pero we are not short order cooks nga. If he'd prefer cereal over bread, ok lang kasi we have that handy, pero we don't go out of our way nga toprepare what he likes.

Plus, I make sure we only offer healthy food. If he doesn't want a lot right now, ok lang. The snack options to be given to him later will still be healthy (crackers, cereals, fruit). Things like chocolate drink, ice cream, etc are treats (usually when we're out or he's behaving really well). I don't even offer juice kasi sugar lang naman yun, di mag-milk and fruits na lang sya... So yeah, we only buy hotdogs for spaghetti, hindi sya meal option for us.

Oh and your toddler may be drinking a lot of milk din kaya walang gana to eat solids. But it's also true na may kids na talagang walang appetite, so small frequent feedings of healthy food na lang talaga magagawa mo...

My son is 2 and I have to say na am always proud & happy when strangers seeing him eat his veggies and fish and fruits in public commend us for his healthy eating

[jazzzy]

I just realized that 1 reason why babies might have poor appetite is because they're teething. I mean if they're uncomfortable, maybe they lose their appetite...

[cutieme23]

with my son i'm finding it hard to feed him solids. He's 11/2 already yet he only eats cerelac. When we try to feed him some rice he vomits. Is anyone also experiencing this?

[prettyw!tch]

i have the same experience with my son. At seven months he would only consume 4 oz sometimes 3 oz of milk per feeding, for the whole day he would only take 15-20 oz of milk. I asked his pedia, its ok as long as he grows on average naman.

With regards to solid foods, i'm happy naman with my baby's response, he eats squash, carrots, camote,avocado, papaya aside from cereals. I guess iba iba lang talaga ang baby, my baby dont want bananas and potatoes.

@cutieme23, i guess you should try to give variety of foods. Our babies usually would try anything we put on their mouth. Patience lang, even on cereals, try to give different flavors baka nauumay na si baby or maybe your baby is not yet ready for rice.

Patience is the key. Goodluck sa ting lahat

[Ice Burn]

with my son i'm finding it hard to feed him solids. He's 11/2 already yet he only eats cerelac. When we try to feed him some rice he vomits. Is anyone also experiencing this?

Maybe the lose rice irritates his throat. Maybe you can try pureeing it that it's the consistency of cerelac?

[johanna faith]

i have a 1 year old baby.... she was so into food... as in grabe.... she likes to eat so much... she enjoys eating... pro healthy food.... when she reached 6 mos i tried giving her 1 bottle of gerber but she didn't liked it.... i gave her cerelac and just enjoyed her for 2 months... now as in solid food na kinakain nya... one time when we are eating dinner she just grabbed a pc of ampalaya and she really enjoyed eating it... fave din nya squash, apple, banana, orange, fruit flavored yougurt, rice, chicken... this is my experience.. at the start try not to give your baby artificial food. just natural food... tingnan nyo hindi pihikan ang baby ko.... try nyo rin.

[Mickey2000]

Yung bunso ko,she is 9 y.o. now,di ko alam kung paano lumaki.ang hirap pakainin from that age till about 3.
bumibili pa ako ng magandang kid's plate,i cut out her fruits into different shapes dahil prutas lang kinakain.from utuan to takuyan,ayaw talagang kumain.

I remember sabi ng pedia,may mga bata raw na talagang ganun and whatever they eat is sufficient for that time.may mga period of growing that their body don't require a lot.wala naman akong magawa,so i just let her eat whatever she will.

ngayon,i have to remind her to go easy.i let her anything,mahilig kasi mag snack,she can eat anything but in moderation.

medyo mapili kumain in a way na she wont eat meat,very rare but she loves all kinds of veggies.as long as she eats,everything's dandy.

my 8 yo boy naman, he ate veggies alright, as long as it is fresh, pero pag luto na, hay naku, thanks,but no Thanks talaga,.He ate broccoli,cabbage,carrots,greenbeans (yes,hilaw) he like it crispy.

I think being a picky eater is just a phase, my youngest who is turning 5 in Aug, dati he can eat anything,ngayon kanin lang busog na,as in ayaw nya talaga ng ulam, pag naisipan humingi ng pancit bihon,I have to make some,kaya bawi ako pag breakfast,kasi fav nya ang pancake,and yeah,I always make sure na i have a bags of baby carrots kasi yun ang fav nyang snack while watching tv.

[Mickey2000]

i have a 1 year old baby.... she was so into food... as in grabe.... she likes to eat so much... she enjoys eating... pro healthy food.... when she reached 6 mos i tried giving her 1 bottle of gerber but she didn't liked it.... i gave her cerelac and just enjoyed her for 2 months... now as in solid food na kinakain nya... one time when we are eating dinner she just grabbed a pc of ampalaya and she really enjoyed eating it... fave din nya squash, apple, banana, orange, fruit flavored yougurt, rice, chicken... this is my experience.. at the start try not to give your baby artificial food. just natural food... tingnan nyo hindi pihikan ang baby ko.... try nyo rin.

my youngest love ampalaya too,I learned the trick how to get rid of the bitter taste pag niluto,and I put lotsa egg and tomatos too.

My mom who help my sisters at home to raised her kids is notorious. her trick para hindi picky eater ang mga pamangkin ko,she let them taste yung katas ng dahon ng ampalaya,as in yung fresh ha,walang laga-laga, kahit matikman lang daw yun at an early age, for sure hindi daw magiging picky, and I think it works.

[kim G]

Ampalaya?
ako nga matanda na di ko parin matiis ang pait ng ampalaya and to think na ilokano ang roots ko,known for eating ampalaya.

mickey
try ko yung sabi mo, lots of egg and tomato para madale ko ang recipe.

[eyem]

ang anak ko, kahit gerber o cerelac, ayaw.. dati gusto nya ng gerber, ngayon, kahit yun, ayaw na nya. kakain ng squash at potato, iluluwa lang.. kahit kanin.. she's turning one na this february... pihikan syang kumain talaga.. hahaha sabi nga ng ad, di ako 100% PANATAG..

[maximo24]

breast feed ang anak ko ng mommy nya for 6 months straight then mixed feeding na onwards then nung 1 year old na sya bottle feed na sya.. with semi solid foods tapos sanay kumain ng gulay.. sitaw boy nga twag ko pag kumakain kc he loves sitaw so much na puno na bibig nya eh may hawak pa na gulay in both hands.. now he's 3 malakas kumain pero payat kasi takbo ng takbo... pasenxahan lang daw talga sabi ng misis ko , sa habulan, sa pilitan sa pagbibigay ng daily dose of vitamins and supplements, tyaga lang, pag niluwa bigyan ulit ng vitamins.. kasi months ang effect ng pampagana na vitamins sa baby bago mo makitana gusto kumain ng baby mo..

ito lang ang payo ko sa mga new mothers.. as much at possible sa semi solids na pagkain, bland food muna talga ang ibigay.. kasi once na makatikim ang baby ng kanin na sinabawan ng adobo or any adult food .. asus.. pahirapan na magpakain ng cerelac or other bland foods na nabebenta sa market.. hehehe. introduction of new food should only happen once a week para ang taste buds ng baby eh di masanay sa iisang uri ng food.

gud luck..

[Mickey2000]

Ampalaya?
ako nga matanda na di ko parin matiis ang pait ng ampalaya and to think na ilokano ang roots ko,known for eating ampalaya.

mickey
try ko yung sabi mo, lots of egg and tomato para madale ko ang recipe.

soak mo rin sya sa cold water with salt bago mo iluto, kahit mga ilang minutes lang, like habang hinihiwa mo.

[Krixian]

Medyo nalampasan ko na din yata problemang ito sa anak ko.Hirap din ako dati magpakain sa kanya hanggang 3yo siya puro gatas lang hinahanap.Ngayon at 4 na siya ok naman na kain niya yun nga lang puro sabaw at rice lang.napapakain ko naman ng karne at gulay pero kontikonti lang.