Trying to Get Underweight 2 year old to drink Milk...

[Anonymous]

...or anything really...

I have a 2 year old on weekly chemo treatments who needs to gain weight. We recently removed his ng tube, which he has had for a year. He got it when we thought a lack of weight gain was due to gastro issues and then we discovered the true cause--a brain tumor. We were distracted with major health issues for a while but he is now stable and doing well. We removed the tube hoping that he would start eating and drinking well on his own. He eats fairly well (mostly cheese and meat) but will only drink mostly water (an occasional swallow of juice). Any advice from anyone? He doesn't like the fortified juices and won't eat stuff like ice cream/milk shakes. He lost over a pound in the week since he has been off the tube so just trying to give him a chance at avoiding a stomach tube or more ng tube...

Any words of wisdom related to anything similar are welcome...

[Anonymous]

I don't have any similar experiences, but I have a 2 year old skinny boy weights off the chart since Day 1. I have been struggling to make him gain weight, but I never succeed. One good thing is that he loves to drink formula (it has calcium & all sorts of nutrition). He is supposed to be on regular milk at his age, but the reason we still put him on formula because of his weight issue. Some formula has different favors, and your LO may like it. But just check to see if he is lactose intolerance or not, otherwise, he need to get the special formula, not the regular one. You don't want him to have an upset stomach & lose more weight because of this.

I hear that drinking pediasure can gain weight. It comes in different flavors. I never try it, but you can look into it or ask his doctor for advice.

Hope your LO good health & gain weight.

[Anonymous]

Chemo will kill his appetite and make most foods fast bad. Does he have/had mouth sores? That will do it too. Did they talk to you about this before removing the NG tube. My DC uasthr NG tube the entire time during chemo. Off chemo we removed it once feeding issues seemed better. He released while a little older so we help off on the NG tube for a few rounds but put it back in when he just couldn't keep his calories up. It is really important to maintain weight during chemo. Sorry I don't have strategies. With the tube everything was much easier. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

PP, if you want to try formula, you can call their hotline (similac, enfamil, etc.) to ask for some samples.

[Anonymous]

Man bad typing! That should be relapsed. And taste. Hopefully you got the idea. Also talk to the feeding clinic during next treatment. They will have some good advice. Really hard to keep weight on them when they are little.

[Anonymous]

Flavored milk? Chocolate or strawberry? Cheese is good too since he likes it- does he like eggs? Scrambled cheesy eggs are easy and most kids like them.

Can you water down the milk at first and then add in more as he gets used to it? Can he tolerate Pediasure?

Hugs for you and your little tyke.

[Anonymous]

When I babysat for a toddler with failure to thrive they actually didn't want her drinking too much because there were more caloric ways for her to get nutrition. They put cream or coconut milk in her oatmeal, mashed potatoes (she liked mashed sweet potatoes too), made french toast where the bread was soaked in egg yolks and cream, and had some really high-calorie pancake recipe with oats and flaxseed oil and melted butter. They also did quesadillas with lots of cheese and avocado and refried beans.

I don't know if any of that is helpful to you, but if there are ways of your kiddo getting the same nutrients as milk that might work better. Is there a nutritionist that works with his oncologist? Hope that he continues in his recovery.

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to send good thoughts and wishes your way OP. I hope things improve for your little guy.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry to hear your little guy is having such big problems. Our son is in the 1st percentile for BMI though we've had no experience with chemo. Are you sure your son isn't lactose intolerant? That's pretty common and there are a lot of doctors who've stopped pushing milk / milk products because they don't make sense for everyone. The things that have helped us are thinking of calorie density. Fats and oils are the most dense, so when we do use dairy, it's always full fat. We have also added Barlean's fish oil or flax oil to everything that made sense (like oatmeal). We've also added whole milk or cream to oatmeal.

Your DS is probably too young right now for whole nuts, but we found that ours likes cashews, almonds, and pistachios which are, again, very calorie dense. Seeds are also very calorie dense and all nuts and seeds are nutritional power houses. I sometimes bake muffins and sneak in chia seeds or chopped up nuts. You can also substitute whey protein for some of the flour in things like muffins and pancakes (up to a 1/4 of the flour in the recipe, though I've found it does change the consistency). You can also make smoothies with non-dairy milk and add fruits and whey protein to up the flavor and calories. We also toss in chocolate syrup. We also give him "goober" as a snack sometimes -- peanut butter and jam mixed up in a bowl and sometimes chocolate syrup on top for an extra treat.

Lastly, we also use protein drinks. Our go to right now is Chocolate flavor Boost. It includes vitamin and mineral supplements and DS really likes it.

[Anonymous]

Post chemo, it may also be a textural thing as far as the drinking goes. Maybe try jello, pudding, seltzer, milkshakes, smoothies, or even watermelon to try and get some liquid in.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and have you seen an SLP yet? Maybe check with one before having to redo the g tube?

[Anonymous]

Yes, things taste funny while on chemo! Do what you need to do to get calories in....