Peer Pressure & Rain Forest Cafe

We had a wonderful weekend with my mom, two sister and three nieces visiting for my birthday.  I was interested to see if eating with his four year old cousin would influence him to try something new.  He did reasonably well through all of his meals.

Saturday evening he ate some bites of vanilla ice cream!!  Those were the first ice cream bites he has been willing to accept since his first birthday party.  He didn't eat a huge amount but he requested multiple bites!!  Then, Sunday morning he ate quite a few bites of waffle!  He has, in the past, eaten a bite or two of frozen waffle after I've toasted it and cut it into sticks.  But this was a freshly made waffle torn into pieces.  I think maybe we'll try some pancakes at home in the next few days as the texture would be a bit closer to what he ate since I don't have a waffle iron.  I guess maybe I need to buy one soon.    Waffles or pancakes would be great for calories!

Sunday's lunch was an experiment in both feeding and sensory tolerance.  We went to a Rain Forest Cafe!!  Brave?  Yes!!!  For a child with sensory issues (or any child that fears thunderstorms) this place can be overload.  Sounds, lights, loud in general, scary animatronic jungle creatures lurking in every corner. A thunderstorm was in progress when we walked up to the hostess stand/massive store you must to walk through to get into the restaurant.  Buster wanted to "go out!"  "go out!" before we got a few feet in.  I asked the hostess if we could walk around in the restaurant a little bit to see if we would be able to stay.  She very kindly obliged.  The "storm" lasts only a minute or so and they told me it happened every 30 minutes.  He didn't quite know what to think of the animals.  They are pretty realistic and they move...freaky.  Then, we walked over to the giant aquarium and the world was a happy place again.  A wall of brightly colored fish was enough to convince him that this place would be okay.  He agreed that we could sit down at a table and have lunch.  I gave him the option of either mac & cheese or chicken nuggets and he enthusiastically chose mac & cheese.  Eating went fine...he even had some of his cousin's applesauce and at more ice cream when my mom forced one of those giant sparkler covered birthday deserts on the table that was delivered by a singing, clapping wait staff who all look like they hate their job.  (I do recommend the brownie cake at Rain Forest Cafe...it was pretty delicious.)  The only moments of panic came in the several thunderstorms that happened through the course of our meal.  He whined and cried but we talked him through it and we never did have to get him out of his chair...though arms were outstretched, we just hugged it out.  I was VERY proud of him.  He was asleep before we made it out of the parking lot.

The one big fail of the weekend came in the form of sweet potatoes.  From the time he began eating purees, sweet potatoes have always been one of his favorite foods.  They are packed with nutrition so that's always made me really happy.  I want to try to get them back in his diet.  I thought maybe if I roasted small cubes, he'd eat them.  We've tried it only once but it didn't go well.  He put two in his mouth.  The first one he chewed a bit, then swallowed and gagged a little.  The second one, he didn't even chew.  When he gets a food in his mouth that he doesn't want, he just sits there.  I haven't yet successfully taught him to swipe food out of his mouth when he doesn't want to chew it.  His first inclination is to swallow it whole but he now knows he chokes so now he just kind of freezes...he'll sit there FOREVER with food in his mouth.  No chewing, no nothing.  Eventually I have to pry his mouth open and swipe out whatever he has in there.  He's gone over 45 minutes of this before.  Now, I won't wait that long.  I wish he'd start to take it out himself but he doesn't want to touch it.  This is a thing we really need to work on and I'm going to talk with his therapist about methods this week.  I will try the sweet potato cubes a few more times this week, then give it a break for a few days.  My other plan is to puree some again and mix it into his mac & cheese...a sneaky way to get him to eat a 1/4 cup.  I'm all for sneaking food into him if that's what it takes.

"Help cook, Mama!"

Buster is now old enough to "help" cook.  Does it take me twice as long to prepare a meal with him helping? Of course it does.  Is it totally cute and worth it?  Yes (most of the time).

This helping started within the last two months.  I finally trusted him enough to stand on a kitchen chair pulled up to the counter and not cause himself bodily harm.  Every Friday night is Pizza Friday in our house.  Buster won't eat pizza yet but the kid LOVES to help make "Peep-a Dough!!"  That's how this whole thing started.  I didn't want him to be freaked out by the noise from the Kitchenaid when I use it.  So, I thought if I showed it to him in action, he'd be okay with it.  He is.  But he also really wanted to participate in pouring ingredients into the bowl.  And, I thought if he would stick his fingers in wet, sticky pizza dough it would be great.  He doesn't love touching the dough when it's covered in olive oil at the end but he'll do it for a second just to make me happy.  Then we have to "wash hand!  wash hand!"  It's still a win in my book.

Within a few days he started showing an interest in whatever I was doing in the kitchen.  I let him participate in any kitchen work or food prep that he wants in on.  He puts groceries away.  He gets things out of the fridge.  (He also puts things in the fridge when I'm not paying attention.  I found a Fisher Price bowling pin in there last week.)  He loves to help unload the dishwasher, he does the bottom rack and I do the top.  Shockingly, no dishes have been broken and if it happens, it's not a huge deal.  Washing dishes in the sink is his favorite activity in the world.  Not holding my breath that that one will last too many years but a mom can dream.  And, when I start chopping veggies or fruit he's right there.  I have him pick them up and put them in a bowl or on a plate (whether I really need them there or not) just so he will interact with them.  He touched wet diced tomatoes this week.  That was a huge victory.  He even touched some chopped broccoli to his lips recently.  He didn't eat it but SOS therapy in action!!!  Yippy!

He's much more interested in foods now.  Even at the grocery store, I give him the produce to hold and then he puts it in the basket in front of him.  The grocery store we go to has awesome carts shaped like cars that he gets to "drive" and he's a very active participant in the shopping trip.  He names foods, he tells me their colors or counts the number of whatever it is we are getting.  I give him choices "purple cauliflower or white cauliflower?"  He may not be eating cauliflower but he is engaged and that's progress.

He starts to get excited in the late afternoon because he knows it's going to be time to cook soon.  "Help cook, Mama!"  One of these days he's going to be excited enough about something we are cooking together that he's going to eat it.  He'll be proud of his effort.  He'll be excited about whatever choices he's been allowed to make in the process of preparing the meal.  And, he will want to put some in his mouth.  It might be next month.  It might be next year or the year after that.  But, it is going to happen.

What Clicked?

I wish I had an answer to that question.  But the truth is, I have no idea.  Maybe he's just gotten a bit older and braver?  Maybe he's more confident about his chewing so he's less scared of choking?  Maybe the cheers and praise are really enough to motivate him.  Maybe he's getting enough sensory input that his sensory system is calmer and he can handle eating.  His therapist pointed out that his leaps in progress began about the same time that we started swim lessons.  Whatever has happened, I am the eternally grateful to the feeding aversion gods.

Yesterday during therapy he ate a chicken nugget.  It was cut up into about 9 small pieces so they would be easy for him to handle and chew.  Big bites are too much for him as his chewing skills are still developing.  We haven't tried chicken nuggets for months.  The only times he's eaten a bite or two, he's allowed us to put them in his mouth but he's never been happy about it.  Today, he picked them up, ate them and then went back for more with no hesitation.  No "icky" faces, no gagging, no choking.  Chewing and eating and smiling because he knew how happy and proud we were.  "Mama so happy!!"  and  "Proud of me!"  Brand new sentences for him.  I held back tears because I didn't want to freak him out.

THEN...get this...as if the therapy session could get any better...IT DID!  He ate bites of a banana.  He didn't eat a whole banana or anything but he ate bites and he liked them.  He touched wet, squishy, gross banana that two months ago would have led to a massive meltdown.

Then at dinner he ate another whole chicken nugget.  With no prompting, bite after bite, tossed in his mouth before he touched any of this other food.  My husband and I discussed the question of whether or not, since we've stopped purees, Buster is getting enough calories.  The truth is, I'm not sure.  I plan to weigh him this weekend and make sure he isn't losing.  So, though some feeding clinics would argue with me, I'm letting him "graze" during the day.  He will eat fruity Cheerios or Annie's Cheddar Bunnies throughout the day, if I leave them out for him.  That's what I've been doing and he's willingly eating his meals.  He isn't too full when I put him at the table so I'm going to continue to do this.

Sometimes these little people amaze us for reasons we'll never understand.

Adding Extra Calories

I've become an extra calorie adding ninja.  Adding more calories and fat into Buster's purees was easy.  A tablespoon of heavy cream here, a pat of butter there, an egg stirred in as I heated up a puree was great for calories and protein.  Now that we seem to be past the puree dependency (today is day 5 of "big boy meals") it's going to be more of a challenge.  I'm going to have to get creative because he doesn't like condiments on his foods.  He needs whatever he is eating to have a consistent texture all the way through.  In the last few days we have become very dependent on mac & cheese.  So, I'm adding some cream cheese to make it a little extra fattening.  I also think I will be able to get away with a dusting of parmesan cheese on veggies because he likes the flavor and for the most part, it will melt into whatever I grate it over.

Today we have therapy.  I'm going to ask our therapist to try tiny bites of chicken nugget with him.  He tends to try things for the first time better with her than with me.  I think just the change up of person is good for him plus, I'm his mom and he feels more comfortable refusing me.  Also, she's just more fun.

The following information is from Lurie Children's Hospital's Feeding Clinic site:

Adding Calories

Each day include an extra 200 to 400 calories in your child's diet. Add calories to everything your child eats and drinks. Each of the following is about 40 to 50 calories per serving.

​1 teaspoon vegetable oil​	​1 teaspoon butter/margarine​
​1 teaspoon mayonnaise	​ 1 teaspoon peanut butter
​2 teaspoons honey​	​2 teaspoons sweet condensed milk
​2 teaspoons salad dressing​	​1 Tablespoon tartar sauce
​1 Tablespoon Miracle Whip®	​1 Tablespoon cream cheese
​1 Tablespoon whipping cream	1 Tablespoon cheese spread​
​1 Tablespoon chocolate syrup	​1 Tablespoon chopped nuts
​1 Tablespoon jelly	​1 Tablespoon sugar
​1 Tablespoon syrup	​1 Tablespoon caramel sauce
​1 ½ Tablespoons raisins​	​1 ½ Tablespoons granola
​2 Tablespoons hummus	​2 Tablespoons sweet and sour sauce
​​2 Tablespoons BBQ sauce	​2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
​​3 Tablespoons catsup	​3 Tablespoons dry milk powder
​​1 egg (never raw)	​1/3 envelope Instant Breakfast powder

• One half teaspoon oil stirred into mashed potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, pudding and milkshakes
• Salad dressing, mayonnaise, sour cream and cheese spread as a dip for chips and vegetables
• Crackers or bread with peanut butter, jelly, honey or cream cheese
• Dry milk powder or Instant Breakfast added to milk, pudding and yogurt
• One cup milk powder to each quart of whole milk
• Caramel sauce, yogurt and honey as a fruit dip
• Granola, raisins, honey and nuts added to cereals or yogurt
• Tuna salad with mayonnaise and chopped hard boiled eggs

Make sure your child’s teeth are brushed after meals and snacks, especially if adding extra sweets.

Do not offer peanut butter, raisins or nuts to a toddler or a child with swallowing or chewing problems.

Learn more in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition about picky eaters – which can progress to extreme food selectivity or food aversion.

If He Graduates From Harvard, This Weekend Will Still Be A Bigger Deal

We've had some huge moments of progress in the past.  Eating crackers was big.  Eating apple sticks was huge.  Eating peas was like a miracle.  But this weekend, we achieved a whole new level of breakthrough.

He started eating meals.  Real meals with no pureed foods being spoon fed to him.  He's eating an entire meal worth of table food and he's pleased with himself.  Yes, his menu is limited but this is day #4 with no pureed food.  He's two months shy of his 3rd birthday and this is the first time in his life this has happened.

His menus have consisted of various combinations of mac & cheese, applesauce, green beans, peas, apples cut into sticks and carrots.  He's even requesting mac & cheese.  He's never requested anything other than chips or crackers.  EVER.

And the big bonus is, he's self-feeding most of it.  Normally after feeding himself 3 or 4 bites he gets bored and stops.  His fork skills leave a little something to be desired but he'll get it.  He's actually working on it now!

It all started at lunch on Saturday.  We went out to Applebee's.  (Chain restaurants were something I loathed before moving to the 'burbs but now with a child who requires an environment where he can be somewhat loud, a need for relatively fast service and no one judging us for pulling out a smart phone and playing an episode of Sesame Street, I'm learning to embrace them....kinda.)  We usually don't order a child's meal for him.  We count on the fact that he'll pick at a few things like fries and then we'll have to feed him more when we get home.  But, we ordered a kids meal this time.  AND HE ATE! Mac & cheese and applesauce.  He also ate pieces of fried mozzarella sticks.  He actually ate so much that we didn't have to feed him more later.  Amazing.

We've been praising him and telling him how very proud we are all the way through each meal.  He's not a fast eater.  That's fine.  The point is, we're FINALLY sitting down to family meals, a dream we've had since he was born.  My birthday is this week and this is without a doubt the best birthday present I've ever received.

He's really doing well with the idea that even if he doesn't want to eat something, he has to have a bite or two before he can be "all done".  It's working.  So, I plan to repeat exposure to certain things one meal at a time, one bite at a time until hopefully, it's an accepted food.  Carrots are first one the list.  Then, I'd love to find a protein other than bacon that he will accept.  We've had limited success with chicken nuggets in the past so I think it's time we revisit them.

Not to be a Debbie Downer after all the joy I'm trying to spread with this post but one thing about this does worry me.  With the purees, I was able to get a wide variety of foods into him...all kinds of veggies, beans, tofu, lentils...he was getting variety.  Now, by quitting the purees, his nutrition will be more limited.  I'm going to look at like this, it's just more motivation to keep working on new foods.  With the Pediasure he gets every day and as long as he doesn't start losing weight, this is the progress we've been hoping for.