This is a special thread...

Karleyyy

We have an almost 1 year old little boy in the family that has been placed with his grandmother due to his mother neglecting him & starving him. He weighed 14 pounds when he was placed with his grandmother, and the doctor told him he needs to be on a 1500 calorie diet a day, and to basically give him anything that will get him there. She is unsure of how to do that and I told her I would come on here and ask you guys...so, what kind of "menu plan" do you think she should put him on? What are some high calorie foods to give him to reach his goal each day? I am sure I could come up with it on my own, but I wouldn't do as good of a job. Thank you.

Edit: Sorry, I forgot to say he can't have peanuts or peanut butter.

Mmmary212

For everything that's made for him, use coconut oil to cook it. It'll up his calories for sure and he'll have all the extra added benefits of the CO.

randa_behnam

how about rice with some sort of sauce?

sammys1girly

Peanut butter is a nutritious higher fat food. My son was a little slow to gain weight as a toddler and the dr told me to put it on everything I could that he ate, and he gained very quickly.

Crooks0204

peanut butter (or any kind of nut butter) if he is not allergic

robin52077

awww man, that sucks!:frown:

Well, for drinks, he should probably drink a lot of that PediaSure stuff, like a flavored milk/formula with all the added vitamins and stuff.

Since he is still not 1 yet, there are still things he should not have. Nuts and honey are common allergens and usually not given to children under 1. But if you already know he is NOT allergic, then peanut butter is awesome, as is honey for calories...put it into some oatmeal or something...
Lots of full fat dairy - milk, cheese, yogurt, the most calorie rich ones not the diet ones.

I don't agree with the "whatever it takes to get in the 1500". I think he would do better if he ended up with 1000-1200 of really good quality healthy food that day, rather than making the 1500 goal with all McDonalds food or something.

He's not just "underweight". He's "malnourished". While he does need to put on pounds, he needs proper nutrition too.

Karleyyy

awww man, that sucks!:frown:

Well, for drinks, he should probably drink a lot of that PediaSure stuff, like a flavored milk/formula with all the added vitamins and stuff.

Since he is still not 1 yet, there are still things he should not have. Nuts and honey are common allergens and usually not given to children under 1. But if you already know he is NOT allergic, then peanut butter is awesome, as is honey for calories...put it into some oatmeal or something...
Lots of full fat dairy - milk, cheese, yogurt, the most calorie rich ones not the diet ones.

I don't agree with the "whatever it takes to get in the 1500". I think he would do better if he ended up with 1000-1200 of really good quality healthy food that day, rather than making the 1500 goal with all McDonalds food or something.

He's not just "underweight". He's "malnourished". While he does need to put on pounds, he needs proper nutrition too.

Karleyyy

awww man, that sucks!:frown:

Well, for drinks, he should probably drink a lot of that PediaSure stuff, like a flavored milk/formula with all the added vitamins and stuff.

Since he is still not 1 yet, there are still things he should not have. Nuts and honey are common allergens and usually not given to children under 1. But if you already know he is NOT allergic, then peanut butter is awesome, as is honey for calories...put it into some oatmeal or something...
Lots of full fat dairy - milk, cheese, yogurt, the most calorie rich ones not the diet ones.

I don't agree with the "whatever it takes to get in the 1500". I think he would do better if he ended up with 1000-1200 of really good quality healthy food that day, rather than making the 1500 goal with all McDonalds food or something.

He's not just "underweight". He's "malnourished". While he does need to put on pounds, he needs proper nutrition too.

We get that, there are a lot of healthy foods with high calories. The doctor did say that though so I thought I would throw it out there, I wouldn't want to give him unhealthy foods either! Thank you for the suggestions!

JulieBoBoo

When we had to fatten up my eldest we fed her avocado cubes and creme fraiche (minigos). Cheese is also a great thing that most kids that age will eat. GL.

ramseyrose

Poor little mite. Full fat milk & yogurts. Use butter. Cheese - 25g is equivalent to 1/2 pint of milk I believe. Bread; wholemeal if he will eat it. Bananas; potatoes, pasta.

A baked potato scooped out and mashed with butter and grated cheese.

Eggs. Kids love eggy bread. Beat an egg. cut a slice of bread into 4. Dip in the egg and fry in some butter. You have well balanced meal of fat, carbs and protein with that.

Dunkirk

Hi there, a good start would be to find out what the child likes to eat. Make eating a calm,fun, happy time, no stress or pressure so no one gets upset if enough not eaten. Perhaps break it down to eating 100 calories 15 times in a day. Hope this helps a little.
Regards, Dunkirk

Malloryrae1211

My oldest son is underweight and his doctor suggested giving him a packet of carnation instant breakfast with whole milk each night before bed. We took it a step further and made it a milkshake by adding ice cream to that as well. I think it's over 400 calories the way we serve it. Good luck to you.

bebbjeb

I would go for lots of cheese, red and white meat, fresh and dried fruits. Not sure if he can have nuts like almonds and walnuts under the age of 1.
Home made burgers, fish sticks and smoothies usualy go down well with that age group.

nannelson

Avocado is high in fat and calories and has a taste small kids like. Also, grits with cheese and cream is very good and easy to get kids to eat for breakfast.

DixieDarlin1987

I was severely underweight as a toddler due to illness and my mom started making me very high calorie smoothies everyday. She would make them with ice cream kinda like a milkshake but she would throw in berries and such so I'd be getting plenty of good stuff too.

sharidiane

My daughter had health issues and we went through a similar situation when she was 11 months old. The easiest answer: Olive Oil. Everything had a tablespoon of olive oil added. We put it in yogurt, we put it in her milk. On doctor's orders, she got a vanilla milkshake every day with olive oil. Also - peanut butter. For anyone who might say that there's too much sugar in pb - in this situation they can stuff it. When you're trying to get a toddler to put on weight, there's no such thing. Really good, healthy fats like oil and nut butters are a great start. Avocados. Sweet potato fries cooked and coated in olive oil.

If the grandmother is worried about causing a lifelong sugar dependence, I can tell you that even though my daughter went through this, and we sugared it up like crazy those first few months, she's not a sugar fiend. She likes candy as much as any other kid, but I can tell her to take down her Easter basket and portion out how much candy she would like to eat. She doesn't go crazy - about 6 jelly beans, a hershey kiss and a tootsie roll. When she got back to a healthy weight, we cut back on the sugars and oils.

I will always look at her and wonder if she has enough weight. I will always remember those days of just trying, trying, trying to keep her calorie intake in excess of her expenditure - NOT easy for a busy tot!!! Good luck and all the best!

robin52077

http://www.ehow.com/how_5486919_feed-malnourished-undernourished-child.html

princessmedic

I would ask the pediatrician to set you up with a dietician...since you said he can't have peanuts or peanut oil, I think a dietician should have sample menus or lists of foods that would be good for him and get him to a goal weight without resorting to giving him high calorie fatty foods that are low in nutrition.

sarahgh

Full fat yogurt, Stonyfield Yo Baby is awesome. Avocado. Mash it up and mix it with applesauce. Oatmeal with cream and brown sugar and a little protein powder. There is special weight gain formula that a pediatrician can prescribe - or try the otc version you can buy at a drugstore. If he likes salty, full fat cottage cheese. When he starts to self feed, polenta sliced with cheese melted on it, cut into little pieces. My kids loved this. Avoid peanuts due to allergy risk, but try toast with sunflower butter if the pediatrician says its ok to try. At a year the amount of solids he can handle will depend on who he is, but mine loved bananas mashed with anything. Good for you for taking this on. Good luck and keep us posted!

charliebird

Avocado is great! Mashed up with cream cheese - mine used to love it on toast.

Salmon is good wholesome food. Again you can whizz it up with some cream cheese and add as a filling to Jacket potatoes or in sandwiches. Or just cut up with finger foods.

Use whole milk (when he's 12 months) In the UK you can get the hungry baby milk which might help, Full fat yoghurt / fromage frais.

Don't be afraid of cheese either! Macaroni cheese (home made tho!!!)

Leanne1795

The poor child! My heart goes out to him.
Lots of fruit and veg. If he doesn't like his veg put on pizza and smother with cheese.
I guess you also have to think about how he will view food in the future too. There is a very good series on 4od called Supersize versus superskinny Kids that might be helpful. Lots of tips on there about child nutrition.
Good luck!