Parents: Advice on toddler feeding problems

[ChefBilly]

I have a 16-month-old daughter. She throws her food up pretty much every day. Sometimes it's lunch, usually it's supper - sometimes both. It's always preceeded by coughing.

She'll start coughing, and then everything comes up. She's been doing this for a long time - maybe 11 months or so. She goes through phases where she won't throw up for a week, and then other phases where she'll be doing it every day. Right now she's throwing up almost every day at least once.

At first the doctor said it was just that she wasn't ready for more solid or chunky food yet.
She said if it kept up, we'd have to have her do the barium/X-ray thing. I'd really rather not do that unless it's totally necessary.

We had her latest checkup recently, and the doctor said that while she is petite, she is perfectly healthy. She is gaining weight - even though she's only in the fifth percentile for her age in height and weight. (My wife is petite, and I'm shortish.)

Also, she seems to be very uninterested in eating lately. I've been told that's a common thing to go through.

So I guess my question is this: Have you had any experiences like this?
We're nearing out wits end. I've dealt with more baby honk in the last year than I ever dreamt I would in her whole life!

Talk to me. Give me any advice you might have.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I am not an expert but this doesn't sound right. Eleven months seems like a long time for this to continue. Is the doctor concerned? If you trust the docotr, then I would go with what he/she says. Or maybe get a second opinion. You may have to persevere to get answers.

 

[ChefBilly]

The doctor is not concerned at all.
We're more frazzled than anything. Just curious if anyone else has had this happen.
I am going to call the doc today. I'd just hate to have her do the barium thing and find out it's just that she doesn't chew her food enough.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Nope this is not right. Sorry to differ with the Doc but I know for a fact my ped would get to the bottom of it so I do not understand the "attitude" of the doc. It is very, very strange to me.

As far as the 5% do not judge it based on your stats (height, weight, etc...). Having a dd on growth hormone therapy I had to learn about that.
What you base it on is her growth curve. Is her curve ascending correctly??? I would go in once a month and have her curve plotted. (Ht & Wt) This will be very telling and important to her case.

Also I would get her to a specialist and get some second opinions and do some tests. Daily throwing up is not something to be messed with. It can cause long term problems with just the action of the throwing up itself.

I feel for you. I hope you can get to the bottom of this quickly and get some relief.

 

[iamsorcerermickey]

IMO--That doesn't sound right either.

Does your daughter have dark circles under her eyes? Sinus problems?

Even if you trust the doctor you might want to take her to specialist. Throwing up on a regular basis will cause internal problems, not to mention what it will do to her teeth.

For your own peace of mind--go for a second opinion.

 

[tar heel]

Sorry -- duplicate post and I'm not being allowed to delete it.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Is she choking and then throwing up? I would try cutting the food up really small and see what happens. Some babies take a while to eat solid food. My DD wanted nothing to do with it until she was almost 13 months. And then she had to do it herself (well try to do it anyway.) She would choke sometimes too if she put too much in her mouth or if the piece was too big.

As for the not interested part, that is probably just a phase. In a couple of months she will hit a growth spurt and be hungry all of the time. I have read that if you present a child with well balanced meals they will choose to eat the things that their body needs.

I, personally, do not put whole lot of stock into those growth charts. As long as your DD is gaining weight and is growing I would not worry about that. My DD is also very slim and petite. Her Dr. is not worried at all.

 

[tar heel]

I can't remember how old he was when he quit, but my middle child spit up what seemed to us was everything he ate for months. I'm not sure if he did it when he was on all solids, but he sure did on baby food. He loved sweet potatoes and most of his shirts were retired with nice big stains on the front. Every doctor visit, I brought it up. Our doctor used to draw these diagrams on the paper covering the examing table to explain to me what was happening. I don't remember the details, and I trusted our doctor -- but I still brought it up every time! I continued to worry about it, but he did eventually quit and his growth rate was and is (he turned 16 yesterday) fine.

My son did not do the coughing, though, and I think you're right to be worried. I would take her to another doctor, if necessary, until you get a satisfactory explanation.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Hey Chefbilly,

Check your private messages!

 

[floridafam]

What if her esophogus is not the normal size?

This could keep her from properly swallowing food and having to throw it up to get it out.

Just throwing up daily can cause problems with the acid that is coming back up.

I would investigate further.

My Dad had problems like this when he was in his 60's and the Dr. said his esophogus was the size of what a newborn baby has because he had so much scar tissue from the acid.

Your Dr. could be correct but I would still get a second opinion.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I'll try this again (my other post didn't go through).

My children throw up a lot whenever they have congestion.They cough up phlegm (pardon the word) and gag themselves, thus losing their lunch.

Could it be possible that your daughter does this more when she has a cold? Could she have allergies? Is there a lot of mucus in what she expresses? If so, the doctors should be able to help the situation, particularly if it turns out to be allergies.

I wouldn't be too happy with your doctors attitude either. You might want to ask for a second opinion, possibly from an ear, nose and throat doctor (if it is a structural problem with her swallowing mechanism), an allergist, or another pediatrician. Even though your daughter's on target for growth, it can't be good for her throat to have all the acid come up each day.

Good luck!

 

[chager]

First off I am no way a medical person. I am a mom though It sounds like your Dd has reflux. This can be cuased by several things. Personally I would talk with your Dr. about this and if you are getting the run around go to another Dr. Sometimes the Dr. just sees us as worried parents. My son was having recurring sinus issues. Dr. kept saying he would grow out of it. I finally made an appointment with an ENT and as it turns out his adnoids were so big he couldn't hardly breath through his nose!! (The operating Dr said he has never seen a child with adnoids that big. In fact several other medical people came in the room just to see them!!) Try doing some online research on reflux and see if her symptoms fit. You may even try getting some info from the local Children's Hospital. I pray a solution presents itself soon.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Are there certain types of foods that make her throw up?

My 3yo throws up very easily, it started when he was about a year old. First it started with bedtime, he'd cry until he threw up. It got so bad that if we even let him cry for 10 seconds he would throw up. He ended up getting really spoiled about going to bed.

He also seems to have a very strong gag reflex. Even to this day, he can't eat tortilla chips, corn flakes anything like that. I made the mistake of giving him Frosted Flakes at CP last year, thinking he had outgrown it.

If he tastes something he doesn't like he starts coughing and if we don't get hima drink of water he throws up. He's also gotten car sick twice in the last few months.

Fortunately for us it wasn't an everyday occurance. If it were I would get a second opinion.

 

[momof2inPA]

My first son threw up constantly when he was a baby. The doctors said not to worry as long as he was gaining weight. It turns out that he has a number of serious food allergies. Not that this is what your little girl is going through. I think there are a number of medical conditions that can cause frequent vomiting, and I would definitely get a second opinion.

 

[CamColt]

My first DS had pyloric stenosis so when my second DS starting throwing up from day 1, I was convinced he did too. But the doctors kept telling us it was just reflux. Even the medicine didnt help, but he did finally outgrow it at about 9 months of age. It was a messy time, LOL!

He would always drink his formula no problem, but as soon as he started on baby food he got picky and started spitting stuff out. Even now(he turns 4 today), he has an extremely limited menu and every meal is a struggle. It takes him at least an hour to eat small meals, like a small bowl of cereal and half a banana. Its brutal! We have heard the "its just a phase" thing too, but this is a very long phase.

Anytime he has even the slightest cough, I have learned to bring the bucket with us to the kitchen because once he coughs, he makes himself gag and loses everything he has eaten. Of course this usually happens after an hour of me fighting with him to eat.

So, I dont have any good advice for you, but wanted to let you know the doctors tell us basically the same thing. Hes healthy and hes growing, but hes just a small kid. I can sympathize with you.

And BTW, how can your DD be 16 months already???

 

[Lewski709]

Both of my DS have had this issue. DS is turning 5 and other is turning 1.

First DS's tummy would fill with quickly with food, air, drink whatever and he would toss his cookies. Fortuantely, around age 18mos....we knew and he did too when he was going to puke. He would fill him self so full and out it came. He's fine and eats just about everything. He, himself, has learned when enough is enough. I talked to the Dr about it and he was not concerned either. I can't FOR SURE say that is why he was tossing his cookies, but all signs pointed to him overfilling himself.

Second DS, sometimes will eat until this happens....but he isn't as bad as the first one. He has started turning away when he's done. Sometimes he will eat a lot, some times not.

The uninterested in eating may be, I don't want to eat cuz I know I am going to throw up...why bother phase. Kids are smart and no one like to puke.

11mo's is too long for any type of virus. Could there be an allergy to milk, assuming milk is provided every day?