My 3 year old says, "My stomach hurts".

[RainbowSprinkles]

He has been saying that every day for about a week or so now. He is the child who is going for a feeding evaluation next month.

 

For the last 2 weeks he's been on water only for drinks. My ped said he's probably not hungry because he drinks his calories. He used to have orange juice in the morning and milk for lunch and dinner. I do know that water is best, but I'm desperate to get something into him. Ped said give him water only to drink and he'll come around and start eating.

 

Well, tomorrow it will have been 2 weeks and yes, he's eating more, but he's firmly sticking to the foods he's always been eating. Which I can count on both hands.

 

Now the stomach aches. I was thinking they might be from simply being hungry? His bm's are fine. He's playing as usual. He is getting over a cold.

 

Would you talk to your ped about the stomach aches?

[Dobela]

Do the foods have gluten? Kids with celiac will often complain of stomach aches.

[RainbowSprinkles]

Do the foods have gluten? Kids with celiac will often complain of stomach aches.

 

 

He eats toast with peanut butter, waffles, yogurt, goldfish crackers, pizza, chicken nuggets. That's it.

[MomatHWTK]

Honestly, in addition to the feeding evaluation, I'd want to see a GI and an allergist. Ped's advice would work for an absolutely nothing going on normal kid, not one with some kind of physical or behavioral issue related to food. (IMO)

 

 

Food issues can be really hard to figure out- don't be afraid to push a little to get answers. :grouphug:

[RainbowSprinkles]

Honestly, in addition to the feeding evaluation, I'd want to see a GI and an allergist. Ped's advice would work for an absolutely nothing going on normal kid, not one with some kind of physical or behavioral issue related to food. (IMO)

 

 

Food issues can be really hard to figure out- don't be afraid to push a little to get answers. :grouphug:

 

 

This is going to sound dumb, but what does stand GI for? I'm thinking gastro- something?

[Ecclecticmum]

I am unsure as to the regs & rules out there, but is it possible to call the Ped's receiptionist/nurse? They are usually overlooked, but because they answer the phones, and regularly hear everything from A to Z, they might know whether its worth referring on to the Ped? :001_huh:

 

The tummy aches could be anything of a number of things, his change in diet (even though its only his drink, to his little body it can be counted as a medium change in diet) or drinking too much water after a while of not drinking much (a large amount of water in a little amount of time can lead to bloat & discomfort for those not used to having just water), it could be because hes not getting enough calories or something in his current diet he's getting an overload of (too much starch etc).

 

Do you have any friends who are nurses or have hubbies in the medical industry? My mum was a nurse (and did study further in planning to become a doctor) so when I'm too worried, I just give her a ring (specially if its the middle of the night etc, as I don't want to go into the cold hospital and wait for 5 hours for something that could wait until morning)

 

:grouphug: I know all about the drinking thing. My eldest DD was only on water (all she had ever had other then BM) until we went out to UK and the in-laws gave her straight apple juice whilst they were babysitting her. That was the beginning, its now 5 years later, and the domino effect of children, I've finally weaned them off the juice and onto very weak diet cordial, plus milk, and I buy an assortment of weird, unusual, novelty cups etc for their "special water" to get them to have straight water. As well as playing lots of fun games to encourage them to drink more plain water. Going back in time, I would of run back into the house screaming "NOOOOOOO" and thrown myself between Atlas & the juice :lol:

 

:grouphug: I hope you get everything worked out hunny

[MomatHWTK]

Gastro-intestinal, yes. :)

[Candid]

Don't be sure it's actually his stomach at all. I don't think children have a good handle on identifying where pain is located at this age.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Candid

[RainbowSprinkles]

Don't be sure it's actually his stomach at all. I don't think children have a good handle on identifying where pain is located at this age.

 

 

Good point.

[RainbowSprinkles]

Gastro-intestinal, yes. :)

 

Thanks! :)

[coffeefreak]

Honestly, in addition to the feeding evaluation, I'd want to see a GI and an allergist. Ped's advice would work for an absolutely nothing going on normal kid, not one with some kind of physical or behavioral issue related to food. (IMO)

 

 

Food issues can be really hard to figure out- don't be afraid to push a little to get answers. :grouphug:

 

:iagree:

This was the age when my youngest's stomach aches started and at 9 almost 10 we are just now getting a grip on them. And even that feels like barely. Peds will tell you if they're pooping fine, growing and hitting all their benchmarks, they're fine, but that's not true. In our dd's case, one day, at age 6, 6 of her teeth turned black and were rotting out of her head. It was shocking to say the least to realize she wasn't getting the nutrients she needed. We'll never know if her growth was affected but she is consistently behind her sister in growth by 2 inches with each year.

 

Push a lot. Get answers. Get multiple opinions. I wish I had.

 

He eats toast with peanut butter, waffles, yogurt, goldfish crackers, pizza, chicken nuggets. That's it.

 

This is ALL wheat, gluten, corn and soy, with very little if nothing to help get things moving. You might not think he's constipated, but he could be. Our intestines expand out when we don't eat a well balanced diet, and old stuff gets trapped (can you tell we've been through this recently:tongue_smilie:) Oldest was a picky eater and this was her diet. She was "regular" but still backed up. A good Pediatrician will do an X-ray of the abdomen to rule that out first. Especially since your son is eating so little. In the meantime, add back in fruit juices, and fresh fruits and veggies. I would also cut out cheese. See if that doesn't help.

 

Hopefully it's just a vicious cycle you've gotten on and he's a little backed up. If it's not, get to some specialists that will be proactive in finding out the cause.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

:grouphug:

[Katy]

He eats toast with peanut butter, waffles, yogurt, goldfish crackers, pizza, chicken nuggets. That's it.

 

every single thing here (except for possibly the yogurt) contains gluten. If the yogurt has anything with flour, caramel coloring, or modified food starch it has gluten too.

 

First I'd go with the easy thing and assume it's constipation. Try more fiber, add back the sorts of fruit juice that have a laxative effect (apple, grape). If a couple days of that don't make a dramatic difference, try a gluten free diet for 3 weeks. Feed him milkshakes mixed with Boost if he refuses everything else. There are gluten free options for everything you listed, though they're expensive.

[RainbowSprinkles]

The thing is the foods listed is all he eats ever. I'm serious. That's why we are going to start feeding therapy.

 

The only kind of juice he likes is orange juice. He will not even try any other kind of juice.

 

We just weaned him off the pediasures to see if that will help him eat better. No such luck.

 

I called the ped to get a referral for food allergy testing.

 

The other really weird thing is this, he loves to smell and try weird stuff. One time I caught him eating all his toothpaste. It is flouride-free, but still.

 

I'm just really hoping to find him the right kind of help that he needs at this point.

[klmama]

Does he always have to have the same brands? You could switch all of those foods to gluten-free to see how he fares. It would cost more, but if he would eat them for a week or two, you'd be able to find out if it was the gluten causing the tummy ache.

 

With the waffles, what does he put on them? My dc like applesauce on theirs. You could also make peach sauce, etc., without adding any sweetener.

[Haupia]

I had 2 kids that did this, and it was nothing. Most of the time it was to get out of cleaning or whatever they didn't want to do. To you see a correlation of when it happens. Certain time of day or event? Tummy ache could mean sooo much at that age. Does he sit down and not move when the tummy hurts? Could he be saying that to get milk/juice? For me, I don't give very much attention unless it stops them from playing or doing normal activity. Hope that helps. Good luck!! It is so hard to figure out tummy issues.

[AK_Mom4]

I called the ped to get a referral for food allergy testing.

 

 

DD11's food allergies mostly showed up as tummy aches too. Since she is allergic to barley, rye, and potatos (including potato starch!) for these to creep into what she ate.

 

If you are going to seeing feeding and allergy specialists, it would probably be a good thing to start a food diary for your kid. That was really helpful when we went into see doctors for DD11.

[coffeefreak]

The thing is the foods listed is all he eats ever. I'm serious. That's why we are going to start feeding therapy.

 

The only kind of juice he likes is orange juice. He will not even try any other kind of juice.

 

We just weaned him off the pediasures to see if that will help him eat better. No such luck.

 

I called the ped to get a referral for food allergy testing.

 

The other really weird thing is this, he loves to smell and try weird stuff. One time I caught him eating all his toothpaste. It is flouride-free, but still.

 

I'm just really hoping to find him the right kind of help that he needs at this point.

 

:grouphug:

He might have some texture issues. Aren't weird food cravings signs of vitamin deficiencies? You're doing the right things. Hang in there, and feel free to pm me if you need encouragement.

 

DD11's food allergies mostly showed up as tummy aches too. Since she is allergic to barley, rye, and potatos (including potato starch!) for these to creep into what she ate.

 

If you are going to seeing feeding and allergy specialists, it would probably be a good thing to start a food diary for your kid. That was really helpful when we went into see doctors for DD11.

 

:iagree:

[LittleIzumi]

DD11's food allergies mostly showed up as tummy aches too. Since she is allergic to barley, rye, and potatos (including potato starch!) for these to creep into what she ate.

 

If you are going to seeing feeding and allergy specialists, it would probably be a good thing to start a food diary for your kid. That was really helpful when we went into see doctors for DD11.

:iagree::iagree: That saves the "go home & keep a food diary for two weeks" part.

[mooooom]

ask him to show you EXACTLY where it hurts. It seems like it's rarely the stomach (up under the rib cage) and more likely intestinal. One time when my 3yo said his stomach hurt, I asked him to show me and he put his hand on his foot, so you never know.