Good Morning my fellow naira landers!

I am worried sick about my daughter, she is 16 months old and about 3 weeks back I noticed that when feeding her she holds the food in her mouth and just refuses to swallow for like 3-5mins. I asked her crèche and they said she does that in the crèche too, I had to beg them to exercise patience with her because it can discourage them from feeding her, feeding her now takes about 1hour at least.

After about 2 weeks of this habit gradually getting worse, she just stopped eating completely. when I try to force feed her she vomits everything she took in. I tried feeding her normal adult food(rice, beans, yam) she just takes 2 or 3 spoons and runs away ( her usual food is pap and cereals).

I treated her for malaria and dewormed her, still this condition persisted. I even gave her cyprigold but no improvement instead it got worse.

on Friday I took her to the hospital, the pediatrician sent us for abdominopelvic scan, chest x-ray, blood, stool and urine screening. the results came back this morning all clear. the doctor is as confused as I am.

Through out sat and Sunday I spent the whole day with her, she didn't eat once. the ones I forced her to eat she vomited. she just drinks little sips of juice, chews little pieces of wafers and banana. when I put meat or fish in her mouth she carries it in her mouth till she sleeps, I have to open her mouth and remove them so it doesn't choke her in her sleep. as for rice or other foods, when she sees u carrying a plate she runs away.

for almost a week now she has eaten nothing! am scared, I don't know how long she can continue on little or no sustenance. the doctors are not worried because she is still hyperactive but her weight is dropping and its scaring me.

please Mother's in the house have any of you ever experienced anything remotely like this? how did it turn out and what can be the cause and what can I do? the doctors have checked her and no health issue. help please!!!

Pls take her to another hospital.
Have u given her multivites/drug to induce hunger

Pls just 3dayz my niece exhibited such the parents were mad but it was caused by malaria, which after the treatment she started eating..

I will advise, u take her to another hospital nd possibly request for an older doctor..

Jehova Rapha will heal her today, Amen.

menix:
Pls take her to another hospital.
Have u given her multivites/drug to induce hunger

Pls just 3dayz my niece exhibited such the parents were mad but it was caused by malaria, which after the treatment she started eating..

I will advise, u take her to another hospital nd possibly request for an older doctor..

Jehova Rapha will heal her today, Amen.

erayoooooooo!!!!!

Kids don't eat these days trust me,she's more healthy than u are..with time,she'll start eating rice.trust me,she's perfectly ok.sh*t got real when mums started doing exclusive.

menix:
Pls take her to another hospital.
Have u given her multivites/drug to induce hunger

Pls just 3dayz my niece exhibited such the parents were mad but it was caused by malaria, which after the treatment she started eating..

I will advise, u take her to another hospital nd possibly request for an older doctor..

Jehova Rapha will heal her today, Amen.

maybe I will do just that, Although the hospital I went to is a big children's clinic and I met a senior doctor there, that is why I posted this on family and not health section. I need experienced parents to advise me.

I did give her cyprigold, its a multivitamin that stimulates appetite, it didn't help, instead it makes her oversleep. someone said its a phase and it will pass. I have never seen such a thing before and its scary.

But I dnt av a kid yet ooooo.......these kids ehn,they re damn funny!!!! Just like my niece,she runs away at d sight of food,only to return when the table is cleared...lol. Like some people hv said,gv her multivitamins..... Does she take biscuits?

I so feel you OP. My son did same thing to me for 7 days last week and i was miserable. Good thing, he was drinking lots of water/liquid.

What did i do? I was feeding him very often, like every 1 hr, in very tiny bits. A bit of banana, a bit of mashed cooked yam/plantain, a spoonful of beans, over cooked noodles, amala and ewedu soup, amala and ogbono soup etc. Just about anything she can easily swallow without having to chew much. Lots of drinks, natural juices (orange, pineapple). A lot of work and food wastage, but i didn't mind. As long as he had just a lil something in his stomach. Turns out it was just a phase. He is eating much better now.

Yours might be more difficult cos of the creche thingy. Can she skip creche for now? Stay at home with someone who can patiently feed her often no matter how small?

It might just be a phase since her tests came out clear. She might also be bored of the usual cereal and pap you've been feeding her with.

Goodluck and don't freak out.

I think part of it is the attention she gets when she doesn't eat. My kids have done this but my dietician said a child will not starve his/herself.

Basically keep offering the food, if she does not eat, don't make a fuss. Try it for 2 days and you will see how she will rush the food. Just make sure she drinks water , not juice, fizzy drinks. If after this, does not eat then you can worry. My daughter spent a whole day eating nothing at all. After that na she dey hustle for food

All these toddlers and food wahala ..

Wait for all the tests and if she is ok medically maybe mix it up a bit. Also take phemas advice no matter how lil as long as she is taking something in .try and delay liquids in between cos I think sometimes the liquids full them up.

She will outgrow it eventually ..my daughter was like that has now outgrown it.

Lalasticlala

ishilove

kingtom

Your services are needed here as soon as possible.

@op, do it the old school way force-feed her or get someone to do it. The food should be pap or cerelac or something liquid. You put her on your laps, use two fingers to close her nose, make sure she starts breathing with her mouth, then you pour the content in her mouth. If she wanna breath, she has to swallow the content in her mouth. She will struggle with you o but you have to hold her tight. When she swallows the content in her mouth. Release hand from nose, blow her fresh air. Continue till you finish feeding
those are methods that have proven to be effective for stubborn children

This is exactly what my little cousin is doing, and its driving me crazy. He will gather his food like hayamaya and won't eat. I get tough on him as I make sure he finishes his food. My power match am, even if it takes forever he must finish it and he does. Na wa o, u go use 3 hours feed pinkin again?

bennyrazz:
@op, do it the old school way force-feed her or get someone to do it. The food should be pap or cerelac or something liquid. You put her on your laps, use two fingers to close her nose, make sure she starts breathing with her mouth, then you pour the content in her mouth. If she wanna breath, she has to swallow the content in her mouth. She will struggle with you o but you have to hold her tight. When she swallows the content in her mouth. Release hand from nose, blow her fresh air. Continue till you finish feeding
those are methods that have proven to be effective for stubborn children

Don't consider this advice

Had similar experience last week,he is 9month n alway vomit anything he eat n I was so scared bt I took him to d hospital n he was treated for malaria n I deworm him.doctor told me he has throat infection cos of things/toy he pick from d floor bt he is very fine now. He eat very well now

Maybe teething is the culprit

Miami11:

Don't consider this advice

if you don't have any advice to give, don't quote another person offering one

bennyrazz:
if you don't have any advice to give, don't quote another person offering one

I just adviced her not to take your advice,

Do you know how many kids died from pneumonia associated with swallowing food like that that goes to the lungs,

How about choking and inhalation hazards, why not use critical thinking before assuming you have the best advice in the whole world. How does a sane parent in 20 th century pinch her infants baby nose to feed, what if you kill the baby,
Please stop the bush mentality this is 2015.

How come all the educated doctors she consulted did not advice this.

Have you tried getting a sipping cup? You can prepare pap or cerelac in the cup, make it a bit light and feed her. She might prefer to sip from d feeder-like bottle than take spoon.

Better still, take her to your mum for a week. They always have magical solutions to this kind of problem.

OP there is nothing wrong with your daughter,my daughter was doing same when she was that age and it gave me a lot of concern but the family doctor simply advised that we feed her little by little at intervals and also ensure she takes a lot of liquid.. She is 6yrs now and still does not like food..In fact, if she does something wrong just tell her you will give her large portion of food, hmmmmmm, she will start crying.. The mere sight of food scares her up till now.

Once there is food on the dining table she will either excuse her self to wee or just escape for from the scene...See i never see this kind thing before ooo.. She likes meat, Custard, Bread, Gizzard etc.. I ensure these things are available.

@op, did the hospital check her full blood count? When my baby had a similar issue, it was discovered that she had a severe throat infection (inflamed tonsils), probably picked up from creche. Once she was treated for that, she gradually stopped the vomiting and now she eats very well.

Miami11:
Maybe teething is the culprit

Exactly. Teething could be the problem.

My daughter is about 17months old and she hardly eats too. Doctor told us she's probably teething and we are lucky she's not running temperature. Obviously, she's not sick cause she's energetic and playful but she just won't eat. She prefers drinking tea, caprisonne, sweets, ice-cream. Anything but solids.

OP, I'm almost sure your daughter is teething too. No worries.

Phema:
I so feel you OP. My son did same thing to me for 7 days last week and i was miserable. Good thing, he was drinking lots of water/liquid.

What did i do? I was feeding him very often, like every 1 hr, in very tiny bits. A bit of banana, a bit of mashed cooked yam/plantain, a spoonful of beans, over cooked noodles, amala and ewedu soup, amala and ogbono soup etc. Just about anything she can easily swallow without having to chew much. Lots of drinks, natural juices (orange, pineapple). A lot of work and food wastage, but i didn't mind. As long as he had just a lil something in his stomach. Turns out it was just a phase. He is eating much better now.

Yours might be more difficult cos of the creche thingy. Can she skip creche for now? Stay at home with someone who can patiently feed her often no matter how small?

It might just be a phase since her tests came out clear. She might also be bored of the usual cereal and pap you've been feeding her with.

Goodluck and don't freak out.

thanks a lot this is a really helpful suggestion. for this week my sister in law has agreed to take her while am at work and I hope when she sees her own(my sister in-law's) kids eat she might be tempted to eat too.

I have considered her being bored of pap and cereal but then what do I feed her? she doesn't eat enough of real foods.

bennyrazz:
@op, do it the old school way force-feed her or get someone to do it. The food should be pap or cerelac or something liquid. You put her on your laps, use two fingers to close her nose, make sure she starts breathing with her mouth, then you pour the content in her mouth. If she wanna breath, she has to swallow the content in her mouth. She will struggle with you o but you have to hold her tight. When she swallows the content in her mouth. Release hand from nose, blow her fresh air. Continue till you finish feeding
those are methods that have proven to be effective for stubborn children

WHAT!!!! I hope you are kidding...

deeptesting:
OP there is nothing wrong with your daughter,my daughter was doing same when she was that age and it gave me a lot of concern but the family doctor simply advised that we feed her little by little at intervals and also ensure she takes a lot of liquid.. She is 6yrs now and still does not like food..In fact, if she does something wrong just tell her you will give her large portion of food, hmmmmmm, she will start crying.. The mere sight of food scares her up till now.

Once there is food on the dining table she will either excuse her self to wee or just escape for from the scene...See i never see this kind thing before ooo.. She likes meat, Custard, Bread, Gizzard etc.. I ensure these things are available.

looool she actually cries when you tell her you will give her food? that's funny.

naijachic:
@op, did the hospital check her full blood count? When my baby had a similar issue, it was discovered that she had a severe throat infection (inflamed tonsils), probably picked up from creche. Once she was treated for that, she gradually stopped the vomiting and now she eats very well.

yes they did a full blood work and they also looked in her throat, no inflamed tonsils. I treated malaria and dewormed her so her malaria tests and stool test came back clean.

the strange thing is that before all these she ate a lot and she was very chubby, my sisters used to call her mama peace, lol. now she's so skinny. when I use her picture as my dp my relatives asks me if shes sick. but apart from the weight loss it has had no effect on her, she's still playful and very active.

Bolade005:

Exactly. Teething could be the problem.

My daughter is about 17months old and she hardly eats too. Doctor told us she's probably teething and we are lucky she's not running temperature. Obviously, she's not sick cause she's energetic and playful but she just won't eat. She prefers drinking tea, caprisonne, sweets, ice-cream. Anything but solids.

OP, I'm almost sure your daughter is teething too. No worries.

Yes I have noticed some teeth eruptions, I mentioned it to the doctor but he didn't seem convinced that it can cause loss of appetite for this long. I hope its just the teething, at first I wasn't worried but the weight loss? she went from 12kg to 9.8kg in 2weeks.

sinie:


Yes I have noticed some teeth eruptions, I mentioned it to the doctor but he didn't seem convinced that it can cause loss of appetite for this long. I hope its just the teething, at first I wasn't worried but the weight loss? she went from 12kg to 9.8kg in 2weeks.

I understand the weight loss is your problem but that's bound to happen. I don't think you should worry yourself too much since she's playful and energetic. If something is wrong with her, you'd know.

Get her lot of Lucozade boosts, caprisonne, happy hour and tea.

If you try something different and it works, please do share. I'd appreciate.

sinie:


looool she actually cries when you tell her you will give her food? that's funny.

Truth...
In spite of her poor eating habit she is exceptionally brilliant... They nicknamed her "Grandmother" because she acts like an old woman..Take your time and feed your baby little by little at short intervals don`t expect her to finish a large bowl,don`t force her or use any appetite enhancement drug.. Also don`t be worried about her stature you may be concerned that she is not fat but that`s Nigeria mentality, being fat does not translate to being healthy.

Bolade005:

Exactly. Teething could be the problem.

My daughter is about 17months old and she hardly eats too. Doctor told us she's probably teething and we are lucky she's not running temperature. Obviously, she's not sick cause she's energetic and playful but she just won't eat. She prefers drinking tea, caprisonne, sweets, ice-cream. Anything but solids.

OP, I'm almost sure your daughter is teething too. No worries.

My son stopped eating at 16 months and apparently the doctor told me it were four end teeth growing all at the same time.
My son drunk juice and sweet stuff, but at 18 month he overcame that.

change her meal.May be she is bored with the pap.Try something else,keep trying different meal until you get the one she likes.

sinie:


WHAT!!!! I hope you are kidding...

why would I be kidding about such? except you don't live in Nigeria and probably you have been westernized our grand mothers do such to kids who do not just want to eat. A child/baby/toddler that does not eat as he/she use to eat gets that treatment especially when they are sick and they have to take medications. You cant give baby medicine on empty stomach in fact some matrons in hospital can do the force feeding stuff to babies. About 2months ago my friend fed his last Baby because he was sick, always crying refused breast milk. In fact, I was amazed he could do that. Not that I'm asking you to do that to your baby cuz different rules applies to different situations. A true family man/woman in Nigeria can relate to what I just typed because either in one way or the other they've done it or seen it before.

Peach45:
Had similar experience last week,he is 9month n alway vomit anything he eat n I was so scared bt I took him to d hospital n he was treated for malaria n I deworm him.doctor told me he has throat infection cos of things/toy he pick from d floor bt he is very fine now. He eat very well now

pls what hospital and doctor did u take him to cos my 8months baby is going through exact thing and am Soo worried.