How do I get my kid to eat more after a stomach bug?

Three days ago my 3 yr old got some sort of stomach bug or ate something that didn’t agree with him. He woke up early in the morning, started complaining a lot and in the span of two hours threw up twice. I expected that he’d have little appetite the rest of the day and maybe even the next day. But here we are three days later, and he’s still refusing to eat. He’s eating maybe a third of what he used to eat daily. Is this normal? Is it possible he’s too scared of eating now bcuz of the stomach issues he just experienced? Idk if I’m being an over-worried mom, but I can swear he’s acting less energetic or playful becuz of the lack of food. And I’m just at a loss of what to do becuz I know the more I try to force it, the less he’ll want to eat.

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I don’t have experience with kiddos but I know it sometimes took a few days for me to get my appetite back fully after a stomach bug. It is possible he’s nervous to eat. You can do a really bland diet like the BRAT diet; bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast to start with and slowly add more foods as he tolerates those. Meal replacement shakes are good too. Just be patient, you’re doing amazing mama. His appetite will come back and he’ll be his sweet self again.

The bug may have past but the tummy can still be upset. Keep it bland and just take it a day at a time. If it goes over a week I’d call the doctor.

Stick with the Brat diet or similar things, and as long as he is drinking and keeping fluids down that’s most important. He will start to eat again

I just had this problem with my 4 year old. We went to the doctor and they gave us anti nausea medicine but it didn’t really help with her appetite. I just kept offering bland foods at first and then any foods she liked just so she ate something.

@Christina did she eventually get her appetite back?

@Ashley yeah. She started getting sick on a Tuesday, went to the doctor on Thursday, and she started it eat a little more but her appetite wasn’t fully back until Saturday.

She definitely acted more tried and out of it because of the not eating it was concerning.

We are currently going through the exact same with our 3 year old. To be fair I've caught the bug too and feel horrendous so I'm not really surprised. I do think from some of the things he's said to me he is afraid of sicking it back up but also I think his tummy is just really sensitive still and this has decreased his appetite. I'm focusing on just giving him plain carbs for energy but he's barely eating any of even his favourite foods. They will be ok without the food- hydration and fluids are more important until he feels better again.

Start slow and soft first- bananas, applesauce, etc then move on to toast/bread, etc if feeling better and give plenty of water, pedialyte before moving to heavier foods.

Greek yogurt (or any yogurt with active cultures in it) can help to get your gut back to normal after a stomach bug. Fluids are definitely more important though and kiddos will eat when their bellies feel better 💙

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