Failure to Thrive Toddler Solutions

[Rebecca]

There is a boy living at the family shelter I am staying at who is around my son's age (close to 4). Yet he is almost half my son's weight. His weight is generally proportionate to his height, he looks like his growth has been stunted overall.

His mother is very thin herself and hasn't come to any dietary solutions for him so for the past month he's been on a feeding tube.

Tonight I suggested meal replacement smoothies to her and will make him one to try tomorrow. It pains my heart to see this little boy with a feeding tube attached to his face so I hope to help him not need it anymore.

My son's father just got him a new blender so I'm going to use it to make the little boy a meal replacement smoothie and experiment until I come up with something he likes.

I'm thinking of using avocado, banana, hemp seeds, kale, cocoa powder, and some powdered supplements like camu camu fruit and lacuma fruit. I want to use cocoa to make him want to consume large quantities.

My own son has spent a large portion of his life consuming meal replacement smoothies because he doesn't like a lot of cooked foods. I never really out chocolate in my son's smoothies though. He prefers them to be dark green.

Does anyone have any suggestions or concerns in regards to this idea?

If he ends up liking it I'm thinking of using pure stevia as a sweetener and reducing or taking out the banana so he doesn't consume too much sugar in a day. I'm also considering saving the chocolate as a last resort so he doesn't expect every smoothie to always be chocolate flavored....

The little boy's mother had never heard of meal replacement smoothies and showed gratitude for me trying to help. It's sad that the doctors she saw didn't suggest this to her already, it could be an easy way to get him to start growing at a healthier rate.

There is a possibility that there is an underlying issue going on... Maybe a digestive disorder of some kind... I may use diluted ginger tea as a base for the smoothie after considering that factor...

There also may be a genetic factor as the boy's mother looks very thin herself. I actually thought she was a teenager at first glance because her bone structure is so small. I'm not sure where they are from, but they may have suffered immense nutritional deficiencies. The mother does have a younger baby who looks like he is growing normally so perhaps he started out his developing years with more resources. I'm not sure if I'm right about these things or not... These are my guesses based off of observations.

I am going to sleep on these ideas and see how the trial run goes tomorrow. I really hope this works out and he can stop using the feeding tube altogether soon.

[DNA]

I can't help but to see a correlation with this and vaccine damage. I see so many frail and hyper skinny young kids these days and my thoughts always go to vaccine damage, especially because of how prevalent it seems. It's gotten to the point where a fat healthy cherub like baby is becoming a rare sight any more.
My suggestion with the weight thing would be that goat's milk is far easier for a child to digest than cows milk. In eons past if a woman had problems producing milk she would use goat's milk and that would work as formula and is far healthier than most formulas.

[Pam]

Making the first shake more of a traditional shake so he has a really positive feeling about them might be effective. If the first one tastes different to him he may not be willing to have any more if he is a really picky eater and is not used to healthy food.

[Rebecca]

Posted by DNA (here)
I can't help but to see a correlation with this and vaccine damage. I see so many frail and hyper skinny young kids these days and my thoughts always go to vaccine damage, especially because of how prevalent it seems. It's gotten to the point where a fat healthy cherub like baby is becoming a rare sight any more.
My suggestion with the weight thing would be that goat's milk is far easier for a child to digest than cows milk. In eons past if a woman had problems producing milk she would use goat's milk and that would work as formula and is far healthier than most formulas.

I didn't think of vaccine damage. That could be possible. I didn't ask if he was vaccinated or not but it is likely.

I've given my son raw goat's milk and switched to raw cow's milk partly because goat's milk is so expensive.

I was thinking of making smoothies to make something richer than milk that is more of a meal replacement, but I'll suggest the raw goat's milk or cow's milk anyway for the probiotic benefits.

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Posted by peterpam (here)
Making the first shake more of a traditional shake so he has a really positive feeling about them might be effective. If the first one tastes different to him he may not be willing to have any more if he is a really picky eater and is not used to healthy food.

That's a good idea. That's why I thought of using chocolate, so he will really enjoy it.

From what his mother says he hardly eats.

[PurpleLama]

Organic palm sugar is actually very good for you, I wouldn't use any sugar replacement as kids need the calories.

[Rebecca]

Posted by PurpleLama (here)
Organic palm sugar is actually very good for you, I wouldn't use any sugar replacement as kids need the calories.

I put raw honey in the smoothie and added stevia to help make it a little sweeter this batch. I'll research organic palm sugar, thank you.

[Rebecca]

So I made a smoothie with avocado, banana, hemp seeds, raw honey, lucuma fruit powder, stevia, kale and broccoli.

The little boy did try a sip when I handed it to him which gave me hope, but then he said 'done' and didn't drink anymore. I left it with him and his mother and am hoping he will drink some more.

It may be too many different flavors... I will make something simpler if he doesn't end up liking this recipe. The fact that he was eager to try it at all was encouraging though.

[MorningFox]

Nice

Just remember that food needs to be mixed thoroughly with saliva to be absorbed and processed properly. Drinking smoothies bypasses this and can lead to problems. Might be tricky but encouraging him to 'chew' the juice and mix with his saliva before swallowing would be hugely beneficial.

[Rebecca]

Posted by MorningFox (here)
Nice

Just remember that food needs to be mixed thoroughly with saliva to be absorbed and processed properly. Drinking smoothies bypasses this and can lead to problems. Might be tricky but encouraging him to 'chew' the juice and mix with his saliva before swallowing would be hugely beneficial.

I never realised this. I thought that since it's all broken down that it's already easy to digest... Though I have heard that the fibers get altered which makes sugars digest faster and can be potentially a bad thing.

[Rebecca]

To my surprise the little boy drank half of it according to his mother. Yay, that's a good start. I gave him 8-10 ounces which is about what my son may drink in one sitting, so given that he's almost half of my son's weight he had a good portion.

I think if I make it taste better next time he could drink more.

Even if he doesn't drink very large quantities, he still is getting fresh, raw, alkaline nutrients that he normally isn't getting. He got such a wide variety of nutrients at once this morning... The complete protein, minerals and healthy fats from hemp seeds, the healthy fats and vitamins from the avocado, the carbohydrates and vitamins from the banana, the immune boosting properties of raw honey, the chlorophyll and nutrients from broccoli and kale.... So much at once.

I do hope this becomes a long term plan and he starts to gain weight soon. Eventually I'd love to see him stop using the feeding tube.

[Bubu]

Lovely, we need to see more of this. But I do have an objection on stevia. Perhaps give him the naturals and dont deprive him of the sweets, natural sweets. We have an 8 month old in the house we give him every kind of food that he will take. Sweets is simply the topnotch. He go bananas with bananas, mangoes, pineapple, oranges.... Baby's have an uncorrupted mind and senses whatever they choose is good for them. most of the time good for everyone too.

[One]

Might be coeliacs disease?

Before they found out about gluten, babies that failed to thrive were given bananna diets. My brother looked like he was starved until they found out he was allergic to gluten.

Its not always picked up with test either I don't think.

[Rebecca]

Posted by Bubu (here)
Lovely, we need to see more of this. But I do have an objection on stevia. Perhaps give him the naturals and dont deprive him of the sweets, natural sweets. We have an 8 month old in the house we give him every kind of food that he will take. Sweets is simply the topnotch. He go bananas with bananas, mangoes, pineapple, oranges.... Baby's have an uncorrupted mind and senses whatever they choose is good for them. most of the time good for everyone too.

I added stevia because even with the banana, lucuma fruit powder and raw honey it still tasted like it needed more sweetness and I didn't want to add more fruit... Maybe next time extra banana will do.

I know too much sugar, even natural sugars from fruits can have negative consequences long term if there isn't a balance which is why I was hesitant to add additional fruit.

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Posted by One (here)
Might be coeliacs disease?

Before they found out about gluten, babies that failed to thrive were given bananna diets. My brother looked like he was starved until they found out he was allergic to gluten.

Its not always picked up with test either I don't think.

This is possible. I saw his mother try to make the poor kid eat ramen noodles (refined wheat) for dinner.... I'll ask her if she'd be interested in testing him for that.

[Dennis Leahy]

Wait a minute.

Rebecca, you have just broken free from an abusive relationship, and are in a women's shelter. Your own son has been ill. And now, instead of focusing solely on yourself or yourself and your son, you have chosen to help out some other kid at the shelter? Steinbeck was right.

You are my kind of people. Kudos to you for being you. :~)

[onawah]

Much of the time, people who think they are allergic to gluten find out they are actually reacting to the glysophate that much of the commercial grains in the US are being soaked in, both while growing and after they are picked--for "ripening". When they eat grains grown in Europe where glusophate is banned, they have no such reactions.

[Rebecca]

Thanks, Dennis.

I feel very motivated and obligated to help this child as I have the knowledge and resources to make a difference. When I first saw him with the feeding tube my heart went out to him. I can only imagine how uncomfortable using a feeding tube must be. I feel queasy just thinking about it. The boy's mother seems to have a health problem of her own and simply did not have the capacity to think of trying this herself. She has been going to different doctors, but their knowledge is limited and no one ever told her about the power of meal replacement smoothies.

Since I'm already making meal replacement smoothies for my son and have had success with them, I thought I'd do the same for this little guy. My son is actually quite large for his age despite consuming most of his calories through smoothies for a good year or two.

Today I refined the recipe I used yesterday, adding more honey, more cocoa powder and some coconut milk. It's sweeter and thinner though still creamy. Unfortunately I wasn't able to give it to him today though as his family went somewhere else for the weekend, but he should be back in a day or two. Fortunately I was able to freeze everything so it will stay fresh.

I can't wait to see how he responds to the new recipe. I really hope the improved taste will motivate him to consume large quantities and start growing at a normal pace. And even if he only drinks small quantities and doesn't gain a lot of weight, he will still be getting large quantities of nutrients all at once which will be good for his overall health and development. From what I see his doesn't eat many healthy foods so the smoothies will be one of the healthiest foods he has access to.

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Posted by onawah (here)
Much of the time, people who think they are allergic to gluten find out they are actually reacting to the glysophate that much of the commercial grains in the US are being soaked in, both while growing and after they are picked--for "ripening". When they eat grains grown in Europe where glusophate is banned, they have no such reactions.

Thanks for reminding me. I have been eating a lot of conventional wheat products lately and forgot how bad glyphosate is...

[AriG]

Eleven years ago, we were asked to provide therapeutic care to a 16 month infant who was also failure to thrive. He was 22” tall and eight pounds when we met him. Your feeding plans are fantastic and kind and spot on but there may be a bit more to this than just diet

“JJ”, prior to coming to us, lived a horrific short little life. His mother was schizophrenic and he had four other siblings, with the eldest being an eleven year old sexually active girl. Their home environment was filthy and violent. They had no structure and no sense of permanence and safety. We had JJ and his four year old brother.

Food was a critical component to his recovery, but more important was a sense of security and that the person looking after him was stable. And there isn’t much stability in a shelter situation or in the events that lead them there.

Perhaps in order to heal this little man, you and/or counselors, need to work on healing his Mom? Children know more than they disclose and if his Mom has eating issues and severe trauma that brought her to a shelter that are unresolved, he could be by proxy (of his own choosing or not)? it might be worth a try? They are a closely bonded pair. Perhaps he cannot be well until she is well?
.

[AriG]

@ everyone - off topic perhaps, but glyphosate is just part of the problem with commercial bread - the real culprits are DATEM and Bromine

https://theiodineproject.webs.com/bromidesinbread.htm
https://www.isitbadforyou.com/questi...em-bad-for-you

[Clarity]

I'm currently using a product called TRS, its for heavy metal detox. I'm having significant improvements on it. Unfortunately the product isn't cheap but very effective, gentle and very easy to administer to children as it tastes like water.

I'm also giving it to my son its helped with his food aversion (severe picky eating - who would of thought that would be metals).

The kids on it seem to do really well, many of them have major health issues. The best place to find out is the Facebook page (TRS a safe heavy metal detox) which has 100's of testimonies.

[Rebecca]

Posted by Clarity (here)
I'm currently using a product called TRS, its for heavy metal detox. I'm having significant improvements on it. Unfortunately the product isn't cheap but very effective, gentle and very easy to administer to children as it tastes like water.

I'm also giving it to my son its helped with his food aversion (severe picky eating - who would of thought that would be metals).

The kids on it seem to do really well, many of them have major health issues. The best place to find out is the Facebook page (TRS a safe heavy metal detox) which has 100's of testimonies.

I'll look into this. I'm not familiar with it so I'll do some research

Based upon the poor kid's day he may very well have a heavy metal problem.