Lost Weight Again!

[shan]

Some history - my son who is now 1 was in hospital for approx a month for malnutrition, with no conclusive results.

He was put on a gluten, dairy, soya and egg free diet for the past month AND HE LOST WEIGHT!!

i went in to check his weight and when they told it to me i cried (and ate chocolate ), but seriously, i am at a loss!! what should i do?! any advice welcome!!! (and ideas on how to cheer me up besides spending money )

[Ursa Major]

Is he getting enough protein and saturated fat? Make sure he gets enough meat and vegetables, and put as much coconut oil (non-hydrogenated, cold pressed) into his food as still tastes okay (every cell in the body needs saturated fat, it is essential, not bad for you at all). Eliminate all empty calories (sugar, cookies, rice bread, cake etc.) and make sure every calorie counts for nutrition.

Give him healthy snacks in between meals, all through the day.

His gut might still be healing and not taking up a lot of nutrients yet. Be patient and experiment with what he likes to eat.

Besides, hospitals are notorious for CAUSING malnutrition, never mind fixing it! Plus, often they don't have a clue about being gluten-free and will gluten a lot of patients. I feel that hospitals are the most unsafe places you can be in when you're relying on special diets (heck, they are the most unsafe places, period, if you value your life).

Hang in there!

[shan]

In the hospital, he was mostly fed thru his NG tube, so whatever he ate, which was mostly baby jars, i knew was gluten-free. The problem with his diet is that nothing has been confirmed - it is only precautionary (my dd is a celiac so thats the gluten-free bit) It is MAJOR frustrating nor to have anything confirmed... i am hopefully gonna go for some conventional allergy testing - when they prick him in teh back and they see how big the welts are to know what he is allrgic to. i know it doesnt help for celiac, but at least i'll know about eggs, dairy and soya!! i am always scared he is not getting enough calcium... how should i know??

He has a baby jar mixed with babyrice and 4 scoops of hypoallergenic formula (Neocate) for breakfast. For snack he has a dried fruit bar.

For lunch he was the dark triangle of chicken either with a little bit of rice or with potatoes.

for afternoon snack, i give him whatever he didn't finish from his braekfast (normally quite a bit!)

and for supper the rest of the quarter of chicken, with whatever veggies i am making. he is not keen on veggies, loves chicken so concentrate more on that!

just before i put him in bed, i give him another baby jar, this time mixed just with baby rice so he can sleep the night!!

I would have thought for a one year old that would be enough, no? i guess if he would drink a bottle... but that will only happen in my dreams!!

[Ursa Major]

It is possible he has a problem with rice. Have you tried mashed bananas? Why don't you try putting chicken into the blender with vegetables and add some coconut oil?

It sounds like the quantity of food should be sufficient, but I think it is way too low in good carbs (from vegetables and fruits) and fat. The protein he gets from the dark chicken should be enough to get the iron and protein he needs at this point.

Instead of a dried fruit bar (too sugary, even if it is natural), try banana and apple sauce. Instead of the baby rice cereal, I would try a type of porridge (cream of buckwheat for instance) with some maple syrup and rice milk for breakfast. Much tastier and more nutritious.

For supper I suggest formula, and some more meat with vegetables. Have you tried sweet potato? It is not known to cause allergies, and apparently, most babies love it.

If he won't drink formula from a bottle, try using a straw. My one granddaughter has always refused bottles, but will drink with a straw. She has a cup with a screw-on lid that has a fat, soft straw, that she has used since she was about nine months old.

Her mother's milk dried up when she was pregnant again, and Zoey was getting quite dehydrated and losing weight, but absolutely refused to drink formula from a bottle. The cup with the straw worked amazingly well (I suggested it, pat on the back for me ). She was back to her chubby, cheerful self pretty quickly.

Eggs, dairy and soy should not be given to young children anyway. He doesn't need dairy for calcium, nobody does. There is much more calcium in green vegetables than there will ever be in dairy.

Try putting peas or beans into a blender (or if your son has teeth, just give them to him to see if he likes them) with meat and potato (try different kinds of meat, he is old enough for beef, too), and don't forget to put some coconut oil in.

If he doesn't get a lot of sunshine, also make sure he gets enough vitamin D. And I mean D3 (most supplements and formulas contain D2, which isn't nearly as good).