Austin and food go WAY BACK! :) As soon as Austin was born he was a fan of food. Once he was able to begin eating solid foods he really would eat anything. I was so thankful at the time that I had a kid who would eat all kinds of veggies and foods. Around a year old, Austin began eating "table food" (no longer baby food but "real people" food). He continued to eat his veggies and pretty much anything I put in front of him.
All of a sudden, around 15 months of age, Austin began refusing many foods (common characteristic of autism). He no longer would eat any veggies, meats, pastas, etc. He would only eat fruit, chips, fries, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and grilled cheese. When I would put something new in front of him he would just push it away and wouldn't even try it. I wasn't able to negotiate with him either b/c he didn't understand. So I did what most parents do...GIVE IN!
Since then it has been an ongoing battle and fight with Austin and food. I was very concerned about his nutrition especially after we had our first appointment with our autism specialist. So around 2.5 years old I started pureeing veggies and hiding them in foods Austin would eat (ie- grilled cheese, homemade meatballs). I knew that at least he would be getting SOME veggies and that was more than he was getting now.
Now fast forward to today and we still struggle with food daily. Casey and I have decided to put Austin in food therapy (among some other new behavioral therapies) after the New Year. Austin's pickiness is much more than a phase and I fear that if we do not work on this now that he will never be able to overcome it and his health will suffer.
After struggling with the frustration of Austin's pickiness, I decided that there was still more I could be doing at home that Austin might respond too. So my first step is GOING BACK TO THE BASICS. I know that most of you might think this is crazy for a 3 year old but if you were in my shoes then you will do anything to help your kid! :) I decided that I would try giving Austin organic veggie baby food. So I began with sweet potatoes last night (thought this would be the easiest to introduce) and before I knew it he had finished the entire jar. VICTORIOUS!!! Now....he would not feed himself the veggies so I had to and he did make a few funny faces but he never refused my offer of veggies. HORRAY! :)
My second step is to be creative and fun when introducing food. So this is what Austin had for breakfast this morning. He loved it! The only thing he did not eat where the bananas which is funny b/c he used to love bananas. :) We eliminated fruit about 6 months ago while we were trying to treat some GI issues so we are just now reintroducing them and he didn't want to have anything to do with them. Oh well...I'm happy he eat everything else and he had a 2nd helping to boot! :)
1 comment:
Katie, Kaylie has actually been in feeding therapy for awhile and let me say you are doing the right thing working in this now. After Kaylie was admitted to the hospital last year for feeding I was shocked by how young Kaylie was compared to the others in the program. The majority were 4/5. I know our situations are different but I can definitely be a friend that can listen and know feeding issues are one of the hardest things for parents to help their child with. If u need any advice on how to get the best high cal foods that they eat I can do that. One thing we use is carnation instant breakfast. We put it in her milk giving her everything she needs. This is helpful because a lot of times she will refuse everything else. Feel free to call or email me anytime! I am praying for yall.
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