anyone else have a picky eater?

[apraxiax2mom]

Hi all-

My name is Tara, and my oldest son Alex has oral/motor apraxia. He is SUCH a picky eater that I am constantly worried about his health. His pickiness does not seem to follow any rhyme or reason (not related to textures, etc). I simply don't know what to do about it. He won't eat vitamins at all (or take poly-vi-sol willingly, even if i put it in juice). It seems like people (relatives, teachers, well-meaning strangers, you-name-it) are always implying that he is picky because I allow him to be. This is simply NOT true. If I don't feed him an "Alex-approved" food for a given meal, he simply will not eat. Anyone have any suggestions/commiserations/comments?

Tara

[c01dunlap]

We've had trouble with Sophie a bit differently, but with a similar result. She didn't object to different flavors, etc., but wouldn't swallow much of the time, just spit the food back out (sometimes as much as 45 min. later!). She used to throw up several times a week (docs talked about it, but didn't feel it was severe enough to warrant invasive testing), sometimes several times a day, so we think this has something to do with her behavior. She is getting better.

Vitamins: same problems. For us, the liquid basically induced vomiting one too many times, so we gave up. The chewables she didn't eat for a long time, but has started to. We call them "vitamin candies", and for some reason, that has appeal :rolleyes: Mind you, she only will eat red or purple ones, so I get to take the orange/other ones as my vitamins. LOL.

She is still big into milk (was breastfed, now on cows milk). One thing I have done is mix a some Eggbeaters in with the milk to ensure she has some protein intake daily. It is not enough to change the taste much. Since our water is well water, I also mix an similar amount of flourinated water, which might keep the consistency the same too.

I have gotten much of the same "if you didn't let her..." feedback. I haven't found that useful, or really true. Books, some doctors & other parents have said that you will see kids vary wildly on intake from day to day, and will have runs of only-eating-broccoli/hotdogs/cheese/whatever, but as long as their 'thriving' (gaining weight/height appropriately), they all seem to survive the picky age okay. They did tell me to be persistent in trying to get vitamins in her. Originally we crushed up 1/3 of a chewable and mixed it into her milk - a pain, but I also think that might have gotten her used to the flavor (I only did purple, I think, at that point).

Another thing that has helped us now that she is swallowing more frequently, but getting pickier, is to continually introduce new foods/spices. Initially we just asked her to "smell it" with new food. Nothing else, but it starts to make it something familiar without forcing the swallowing/not issue. Then, we start asking her to "stick out your tongue and taste it" (not great table manners, but...). She might or might not eat it after the 'taste test'. We also, of course, now that she solidly into the "mine" attitude, say, 'okay, it's mine now'; or we do the overemphatic "mmmm" and pretend that she's not allowed to have any :) . What's interesting about this is that we discovered her tastebuds are, well, wired strangely. She doesn't generally care for juice (usually a favorite with kids), but *loves* spicy hot stuff (Firey Hot Pringles are a favorite, for instance). Chili beans get a big thumbs up, hamburger won't pass her lips. Go figure...

Also, she started going to daycare full time a few months ago. Watching other kids has gotten her to eat more solid foods by example. Unfortunately, she's also very impressionable. She used to love squash. Now, since the daycare kids think it's "yukky", so does she :(

Other Hints: Ideas that didn't work for Sophie, but might for you.
- find something they like (e.g. yogurt), and mix in something you want them to eat (e.g. fruit, or even babyfood squash) in small amounts. If it works, slowly increase (across days or weeks) the proportion of the desired food.
- do things that change the texture/sensation. Use the blender, serve at room temperature or cold or warm (e.g. Sophie will eat cold corn out of the fridge).

Finally, the docs reminded us that Sophie doesn't really need a lot of volume for it to be enough for her. Don't know if lack of quantity is an issue for Alex, but their tummies really are pretty small.

Good luck!

[ajberchielli]

Tara,

I'm not sure how old your son is, but from what I understand from my other friends who have kids with no delays they are picky eaters too.

My son however is a picky eater do to his SPD/SI (sensory processing...whatever you wanna call it), his eatting adversions are do to texture....and he is 2.4 yrs but has been this way since trying baby food at 6 months.

From several hours at the Easter Seals feeding clinic.....I have learned you have to just keep offering a variety of foods they don't normally like along with the ones they do like. Mix up the meals don't offer the same thing everyday (I still have a hard time doing this and I need lots of work in this area....hey if he'll eat pb&j sandwhich that's what I'm gonna give him). I guess as long as the doctor is not concerned about weight issues then his picky eatting is kinda ok? I had a hard time with weight too, Tyler has had trouble gaining weight and staying above 10% on the growth charts....BUT he has never lost weight, so the docs have not been too concerned.

Ofcorse you are always gonna have grandma, mom and mother-in-law telling you how you need to do this...blabla.....Just don't take their critisim to heart, you do what works best for you and your son!

I hope I wasn't too wordy...take care!

Oh vitamins...we don't do them either. Maybe would your son take a flinestones or those gummy bear vitamins???

[andrealynnj]

My Imani, now 20 months, was in the excellent growth, tall and heavy until solid foods began. Now she vasilates between the 5th and 10th percentile. A combination of chronic recurring diarreah and a general refusal to eat foods she can actually digest.

I read a library shelf of nutritian and food books. The "Rule of 15" made sense to me and, to a limited extent, is working. But is it ever a lot of work.

The idea is you consistently offer a variety of foods (as ajberchielli does, I put at least one approved food in every meal). And then let the child do the rest. The books suggest you have to offer a food aprox once every two weeks about 15 times before it will be tasted and then it may take several times of tasting it, before it is eaten in any quantities. After Imani finishes eating what she wants off her plate, I ask her if she is done, then enthusiastically eat the rest of her dinner, with lots of "Mmmm, mmms!" She has begun to reclaim some of it after I start in on it and eat more foods. The important thing (according to the books I read) is not to push any food or any foods or the child finds power in refusing to eat.

I found this really hard to do at first because Imani is so thin. And it is VERY hard to get everyone on board. And I do notice a difference if even during one meal a well meaning relative starts doing an airplane with a fork or the "just one more bite" sort of thing. It takes days to get her back in charge of her own eating.

I don't know if this will work for every child as well as it did for Imani, but it did work for us. Imani is still in the light weight camp, but meals are a lot less work. But it took 6 months of consistently offering foods that were being rejected and continuing to do so. And it is hard for me to offer foods I don't like, knowing I'm going to have to eat them (or at least a toddler size portion of them) at least 15 times before she even starts.

[ddomingo122]

It's nice to see I am not the only one having this problem!! My son is Dx'd with verbal apraxia. he will be three in January and has a verbal vocabulary of maybe 10 words and a signing volcabulary of more than 200. But my son will only eat foods that are solid in texture. Nothing like pudding, apple sauce or anything like that. He will only eat things that he is very familiar with (spaghetti, snacks like ranch rice cakes, popcicles, pop tarts, and chicken, chicken, chicken!!). That means nuggets, strips, baked, fried, grilled, and if it is mixed with something...he will pick out the chicken.

We thought at first that perhaps he was just trying to controll his environment until he went three nights in a row with any dinner. Then his therapist and I decided that if it's chicken he wants...it's chicken he gets. And hopefully he will grow out of it, but it's been about 4 or 5 months now and still CHICKEN!! at least it's healthy :) If you figure something out that works for your son let me know...cause I have tried everything to!! You're not alone.

[woodsy9999]

When it comes to Reece and his picky eating! I know if I did not give Reece the foods he likes he would not eat. We have tried it and he would not eat. It does not seem to be about texture either. So just wanted to let you know I understand what you are dealing with.

Belen

[Krista]

I can certainly comisserate (sp?) with you, but I don't have any advice, as each child has unique needs (diagnosis' or not). My dd, Anika, doesn't eat. Sometimes I can get her to take a couple of bites of a peanutbutter & honey sandwich (her favorite), but she eat maybe 3 bites on a good day- and that's it for the rest of the day. She doesn't seem to care abour different textures, she just simply doesn't like to eat- as far as we can tell so far. She is having some more testing to see if there is a new physical problem causing this & she gets OT; but for now, she gets about 98% of her nutrition via her g-tube. I'm so thankful that she has that now (had it since 9-01-05), and she's had the opportunity to gain some weight. ((()))'s

[Kei_as_in_K]

He used to love all foods, but after several bouts of colds & bronchialitis when he was just starting to try everything, he stopped wanting anything but fruit, oatmeal, chicken nuggets & fries, ice cream, goldfish crackers, pudding, applesauce, and jello (with or without fruit). We had to get very creative... sweet potato fries, jicama fries, broccoli nuggets, spinach nuggets, etc. We use an air cooker, so I don't worry about excess oil, but still, I miss that he no longer likes rice, noodles, soup, etc. For the first couple months of school, his lunch was pretty much cantaloupe, applesauce, & his rice milk. After a bout w/stomach flu I started him back with his pediasure because he wasn't eating or drinking much of anything. Now he's on a grape kick.

I still try to introduce new foods, and at one point a few years ago I tried not to give him his favorites, thinking he'd be hungry enough to eat anything, but it doesn't work. And it was such a struggle to get the weight on him when he was born because of his heart defect, and then we spent a few months playing catch-up to bring his weight up after his heart surgery, I still have this psychological issue with making sure he gets enough calories. So I make his favorites, give him his pediasure when he's not eaten enough. I figure that at some point he will want to eat what all his friends are, so I'm not going to wig out if he wants his favorites now.

So glad to know I'm not alone in this!!

[signsofearlylife]

As Janel mentioned above, it seems that MANY kids have this issue. My son, who is hearing and hasn't been diagnosed with anything, has always been at the top of the growth charts. Once he started on solids, though, his weight dropped from 97% (where his height and head circ. were also) to 50%. He's always had an issue of gagging and throwing up his food. And, while occasionally he will eat an entire plate of food, he rarely seems to actually eat on a day to day basis. A bit of food here, a bit there. One day he'll love a food and have seconds or thirds of it (spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc.), the next time he cries to have it taken off his plate. We have a hard time getting him to eat meat pretty much all the time, although sometimes he'll eat turkey lunchmeat. I just try lots of other ways to get protein into him.

We have a rule in our house that you have to take one small bite of each thing. Then, if you don't like it, you don't have to eat any more. Often my son will gobble up all of something he so protested having to taste.

As mentioned above, my son will actually eat cold corn. In fact, he'll usually only eat it if it is frozen corn kernels (but they have to be frozen, if we heat them he gets upset), then he loves it. He also loves frozen (again they still have to be frozen) blueberries. He thinks both of those things are yummy treats.

I am constantly trying to find new ways to introduce things to my son to make food more appealing. If he goes for quite a few hours without eating, he gets very crabby. So, I have to keep offering him things to eat. If I didn't, I don't know that he would ever get hungry enough to ask for food (we've tried that). It seems that MANY of the kids I know in the 1-4 age range have such a pickiness about eating, that I'd almost say the pickiness is normal!! Hope it helps to know that so many others are dealing with similar issues!!

Emma
Citrus Heights, CA
Mom to Jacob (12/02) and Jaina (12/04)

[apraxiax2mom]

Wow-
Thanks for all the great responses. I have tried the "take one bite of everything" thing, and we could sit there until you-know-what freezes over before he will try most things. He looks at most foods like they are not even food (you know what I mean?), like I asked him to try a bite of the chair or something. I just can't make myself keep preparing and offering things that he doesn't seem to even recognize as food...

Lately he is on an oatmeal kick. Oatmeal for breakfast, french fries for lunch, and more oatmeal for supper...ugh. He used to love babyfood squash, and then earlier this week I sat him down with some, and the first spoonful made him gag and shudder. He had such an intense physical reaction that it shocked me! And I think I have tried every type of vitamin out there. I even went to the health food store and bought this naturally orange flavored liquid vitamin that I put in fruit punch...he could SMELL it in there and wouldn't taste it! Then it took me two days to get him to drink juice again...sigh. Hmmmmm, it feels good to vent a little...

He did try and eat a little bread today though...that was a first!

Tara

[froggy]

My daughter is really picky as well. The only baby food she would touch was bananas - ever since she got on solid foods, she won't touch bananas! Mmmmm? Interesting. When she first started solid foods, she wouldn't touch any vegetable or any fruit - but she did eat vitamins (lucky for us). I kept giving her the opportunity to try the fruits and veggies, but with no luck. Now her little brother eats almost anything you give him, so when I have given him fruit or veggies, she has to have some as well, and even eats a little. Slowly, slowly she is getting better, but I think she will be like her daddy and his family - non veggie/fruit eaters. My hubby lived on pizza and mac/cheese. :) With him and the family, it's texture issue.

Just keep giving them the food and maybe one day they will eat it - and if they don't, chances are - they'll live.

[Kei_as_in_K]

And I think I have tried every type of vitamin out there.

I never had luck with any liquid vitamins when William was a baby, so I stopped trying... because he, too, would refuse to eat or drink whatever I tried to hide them in. I've tried every chewable out there too, and tried breaking them up and feeding that to him hidden in bites of oatmeal... and that just made a mess~ he'd spit the whole mouthful out.
That's why I'm glad he likes pediasure... I can be sure he's getting a lot of what he needs.

[AJandSeansMommy]

OK, let's try this again. I'll add a few ideas, but haven't had a chance to read all the responses in detail. I will.

AJ's been dx'd with Failure to Thrive (FTT) since he was 18 months old. He'll be 6 in Jan, and we could get rid of the dx (and hence the specialist) if we could get him off his med. Grrr. He also has been formally dx'd with verbal apraxia, but shows signs of motor and oral apraxia (dyspraxia at least) as well. He also has SI.

Here's a couple thoughts:
1) Are they rotary chewing? If not, are they capable of it? AJ has just started rotary chewing (with a circular motion using your molars) in the past few months. I was told that this is where we get our taste of food from, for the most part. So, eating hasn't been overly satifying from a taste perspective, we're guessing. It does seem like as he rotary chews more, he's more willing to eat what he needs to survive and grow.

2) As a specialist (we see a peds GI who also does nutrition) about Periactin and/or Megace (not sure if I spelled them correctly). The periactin didn't do much for AJ, but the Megace is our godsend. It's a steroid that they give to geriatric and cancer patients. The side effects (which I haven't noticed in AJ) stop once the med is stopped. It's what's gotten him to the middle of the growth charts (and even a little overweight for awhile) from being below them when we started.

3) Try Scandishake (600 cal when mixed with 8 ox whole milk) - I'll have to look up the website later. I think it's something like axpharm.com ?? We also used NuBasics Juice (Pediasure in juice form), Duocal powder (fat and carbs in powder).

OK, times runnign out, so I gotta quit here. I'll see if I can get back to this soon. Please feel free to e-mail me if you want any further info.

[apraxiax2mom]

Hi ajandseansmommy and everyone else-
How do you tell if your child is rotary chewing? and what do they do if they are not?

also, where do you get your nutritional supplements? i took alex off of dairy about a year ago (and it really sharpened his focus and learning ability), so he can't drink pediasure or milk. where do you get the juice alternative? i was giving him that new Mott's Kids juice with some vitamins and calcium, but the only store in my area that sold it quit stocking it...since he is currently on a bread kick, maybe i will try the new fortified breads for kids...

Tara

[amiller]

I try to remember that no kid goes to college eating only mac & cheese! And as important as it is to me, I try not to let food be a battle because thenthe kids only dig in their heels more!

[AJandSeansMommy]

How do you tell if your child is rotary chewing? and what do they do if they are not?

also, where do you get your nutritional supplements?

-----

OK - Let me see if I can explain this. Rotary chewing is when you use your molars (or at least back teeth in kids) and use a circular motion to chew. We knew AJ wasn't using it at all because he was chewing all of his food in the front of his mouth. That meant he was only using an up and down motion. As his SLP worked with him and moved things back, he slowly (and I do mean slowly) started moving things back on his own. Actually, I think the thing that helped him most was having his 2 lower front teeth get loose, so he couldn't use them to bite/chew with. ;) If you're not sure, I'd see an OT or SLP that is experienced (and trained) in feeding issues and have them see.

As for the nutritional supplements, they were all recommended/prescribed by our Peds GI (who also does nutrition) doc. The Duocal and NuBasics Juice came through home health (enteral dept. even though he took them orally), and therefore ended up costing us nothing. I don't think Ins. was supposed to cover them, but I never saw a bill. I think I was told that I'd have to order the Scandishake myself, but it was about the same price as Pediasure (at least at that time -we never ended up using it as it gave AJ a diaper rash unless I doubled the milk, which then negated the extra calorie benefit). Their info is:
Axcan Scandipharm, Inc.
22 Inverness Center Parkway
Birmingham, AL 35242
(800) 4-Scandi (800) 472-2634
(205) 991-8085
(205) 991-8426 fax
www.axcanscandipharm.com
custser@axcanscandipharm.com

Hope this helps for now. My brain is dying for the night, so I'll quit here. Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Christy

[signsofearlylife]

Hi all. I'm scouring the posts looking for info on boosting calories for my little one. She's allergic to cow's milk, but not dairy in general. Is the Pediasure made from cow's milk?

Also, on the rotary chewing, my daughter only has her front teeth (two on bottom and very recently four on top), so would she be rotary chewing without those back teeth?

Thanks for any info in advance!!!

[Admin]

With my little guy at first it was major dairy pumping: gogurt, cheese, milk with the carnation instant breakfast stuff mixed in)...and lots of meat/protein

After we knew he had dairy issues we changed over to: the store brand of pediasure (its based on soy...3 cans a day!), extra fat/soymilk/(whatever I can get away with) mixed into things like potatos, those peanut butter squeeze tube things, lots of cookies, and we supplemented a lot of calcium (still do!). Lots of eggs, ham, stuff like that there...oh and of course chicken nuggets and french fries!

His social worker (we adopted our littlest one from foster care) would laugh every time she saw him because he was always eating...cookies, candy, crackers, pasta, etc..No calorie was a bad calorie as far as I was concerned. ("Eat, eat, your too thin!")

Our little kiddo was under the 5% bands in weight/height when we got him...today as a 3.5 year old (a year and a half after getting him) he's in the 20-25% bands so he's coming along nicely...:-) I suspect we'd be further along if it weren't for that issue with dairy products! Rats!

To make things more interesting, our little guy had a bit adversion to anything lumpy - so we got really good at mixing things together before he got them (pureed and mixed...man those mashed potatos can hide just about anything if you work at it ...) :-)

I just had to change how I looked at a meal...dinner is no longer 3-4 separate things on a plate...each item on the plate is a vehicle for delivering more calories than normally planned... ("cdv" as my husband calls them - a calorie delivery vehicles). Mashed potatoes are the humvies of the CDV world... chicken can be fried and come with a sauce, veggies can come with extra fat...potatos can be fried... etc.

-k

[amiller]

I posted this in a nother thread for someone, don't know wh but here it is for you!

I also have a slew of "recipes" for Pediasure:

blend up fruit in it to make a smoothie (works best with vanilla unless the fruit complements the flavor - bananas or strawberries in the chocolate are good, and they also both work well in the strawberry

Add plain yogurt to the Pediasure for a creamier texture

soft-freeze it for a milkshake like texture

blend with ice cream for a different milkshake

[c01dunlap]

Aly,

Those are such great ideas! I will have to try the next time Sophie is sick. I have had such a tough time getting some of the pediasure down.

[signsofearlylife]

Our little kiddo was under the 5% bands in weight/height when we got him...today as a 3.5 year old (a year and a half after getting him) he's in the 20-25% bands so he's coming along nicely...:-) I suspect we'd be further along if it weren't for that issue with dairy products! Rats!

To make things more interesting, our little guy had a bit adversion to anything lumpy - so we got really good at mixing things together before he got them (pureed and mixed...man those mashed potatos can hide just about anything if you work at it ...) :-)

I just had to change how I looked at a meal...dinner is no longer 3-4 separate things on a plate...each item on the plate is a vehicle for delivering more calories than normally planned... ("cdv" as my husband calls them - a calorie delivery vehicles). Mashed potatoes are the humvies of the CDV world... chicken can be fried and come with a sauce, veggies can come with extra fat...potatos can be fried... etc.

-k

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. It sounds like your son is doing great!!! We are kinda' in the same boat with my daughter being allergic to cow's milk. A lot of the things I would love to try to get her to eat won't work because they are made with milk. She definitely has issues with texture and can really only handle pureed foods (even mashed potatoes cause gagging if they aren't turned into a soup-like creation), and a lot of things I would like to try and use to pump up the calories (ice cream, pudding, etc.) are off-limits. So, I am trying to get more creative. I love your husband's description of foods, I'll have to share that with my hubby!! Thanks again for all of the great ideas!!

[signsofearlylife]

I posted this in a nother thread for someone, don't know wh but here it is for you!

I also have a slew of "recipes" for Pediasure:

blend up fruit in it to make a smoothie (works best with vanilla unless the fruit complements the flavor - bananas or strawberries in the chocolate are good, and they also both work well in the strawberry

Add plain yogurt to the Pediasure for a creamier texture

soft-freeze it for a milkshake like texture

blend with ice cream for a different milkshake

Thanks for the great ideas!! You probably posted it for me on the other post as I came across different ones in different sections and asked different questions. Thanks again!! I am definitely going to be trying out some of the non-milk recipes!!

[amiller]

Just make sure you read the label - I know Pediasure is lactose free, but I think it is still milk-based, so depending on what specifically your child is allergic to, she may react to it.

[signsofearlylife]

Thanks for the tip!! We will definitely be reading the label!!

[jenml]

My son is "typically developing", but we are stuck with the eating thing... he is sooo picky/choosy of what he will eat that it is endlessly frustrating. He will be four in June, and we're hoping that he will start eating more "adult" food. He won't eat any meat, any breads, any regular (whole) fruits or veggies. Eating at a restaurant is nearly impossible for him. He will eat a variety of "good" things, but that's it. The fruits and veggies he'll eat are fed to him (baby food... he won't do it willingly himself, and we are feeding it to him just to get something good into him... but I don't want to keep doing this, he's going to be four soon, for goodness sake!). He'll eat Mac and Cheese, but he doesn't chew it.
I think it is something many children go through. We do offer him all the right things as we eat them each day, but he is a refuser. I am an early childhood spec ed teacher, and I would listen to parents talk about fussy eating, and I would have all this advice for them... now that I have my own, I know better. I just hope he "outgrows this phase"... that is, starts eating more variety and more whole foods.

[AJandSeansMommy]

OK, I'm still trying to get used to coming on the forum. Sorry for the long delay in getting this out.

This turned into a novel - hope you have time! ;)

I have a bunch of recipes for boosting calories, unfortunately most of the ones I can think of off the top of my head are milk-based. I'll try to find my recipes (saw them just recently, just can't remember where....) and see what else I can come up with.

Here are a few ideas, though:
Heavy Whipping Cream (is there a soy or non-dairy form?)
Butter (good fat for brain development - same for non-dairy ones?)
Carnation Instant Breakfast in soy milk?

We also had some stuff that needed prescriptions to get (or at least doc orders/recommendations):
* Duocal powder - 30 or 65 cal/tablespoon (can't remember off the top of my head); it dissolves easily, so you can put it on/in almost anything.
*Scandishakes - powder like Carnation, but makes 600 cal 8 oz shake when added to 8 oz whole milk. When I looked at it it was about the same price as Pediasure. Can order direct from the company. I have contact info.
*NuBasics Juice - from Nestle, got through home health. Basically Pediasure in Juice form, not sure about milk in it.
*Periactin (sp?) - med to help increase appetite. Didn't do much for AJ.
*Megace - another med to increase appetite. This has been our miracle drug. With it, AJ's gone from below the growth curve to about 50% for both height and weight. We even had him a little overweight for a little while.

When AJ was really little (1-2 years old?) I had a huge concoction I did for him in a bottle: Pediasure, heavy whipping cream, Duocal, rice cereal. (Talk about rocket fuel!!!) It was like a melted milkshake - thick, but still easy to drink from a bottle. I used the cross-cut nipples (I think Eveflo was the only one that made silicone cross-cut nipples, but it might have been Gerber; I refuse to use latex).

Here's the good news: AJ will be 6 the end of the month, and it looks like we've finally gotten over the Failure to Thrive (FTT) issues. He's been off his Megace for about 2 mo. now and is still eating well. Not always what or when I want, but over the course of the day (or sometimes several days) he's doing just fine.

As for chewing, it's hard to say. I'm not sure when kids start rotary chewing. Probably not until they begin eating solids/chunky foods. Sean's 2 1/2 years, and has been doing it for awhile (he's my typical kid), but I don't remember when he started because it "just happens". I've had a couple therapists tell me that you get more taste/enjoyment out of food when you use the rotary chew, but then had a doc deny that. I know that AJ's eating improved after he started rotary chewing.

If you're concerned about the chewing (although I don't think I would until at least some back teeth are in), I'd talk to your doc and/or therapists (speech or OT, if they work on feeding issues).

Hope this helps. Please let me know know if you have any other questions. I'll try to start getting on here regularly.

Christy

[andrealynnj]

a word to the wise for those of us struggling with food issues: Imani tends towards jags and i was worried that she wasn't getting enough variety but i would let it go just because I was so relieved there was something she would eat. I have sense read about the main danger in food jag is the child maxing out on the food and not being willing to eat it later. Argh. This has proved true on some foods (not blueberries through. She goes back to blueberry jags no matter how long the last one lasted)

Anywho, so my latest experiment is when she starts to "jag" on a food, to offer it to her once a week and once a week only as a treat. My hope is to find enough "treats" and keep adding more favorites once a week and see if eventually we can have consistent good eating. So far, we are offering salmon, blueberries, burrito, and mandarin orange and chicken soup each once a week. On the meals where these are offered, she has been consistently eating well with at the "treat" food. It may not seem like much but it is actually an improvment so I will continue in this vein as long as it is producing results.