BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Eating For Toddlers => Topic started by: Mydreamcametrue on February 01, 2008, 03:33:06 am
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My son Zach (2.5 years old) bascially only drinks pediasure. He has a very small and limited diet. I think since his reflux, etc. went undignosed for over a year, he grew to hate food and chooses not eat.
Anyhow.... DH and I were talking and he was wondering if his development will be affected by only drinking pediasure as his sole nutrition?
He does not have any food allergies, maybe some food intolerances. He has the ability to eat, chews fine, bites stuff, etc. No problems there, he just hates food I guess.
He has always been a very small eater and has just gotten pickier over time.
I am thinking a toddler could survive off ONLY pediasure, but not sure if his over-all devolopment will be affected?
So far he is very advanced for his age, so does not appear to be.
What has your PED. said or can anyone offer their advice?
Thanks a bunch! Wendy
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I have no idea, medically. I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but....have you tried to make a shake out of the Pediasure, maybe you could thicken it up to a shake, then a pop cycle, and maybe add fruit, then to a pudding or yogurt consistency w/ fruit chunks. Maybe you've tried this, just thought I'd add some ideas. Hope someone is more helpful.
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Oh he will eat regular milk shakes, he will eat those go-gurts. They are yogurt in a tube and I freeze them.
He eats fruit, well he mainly sucks the juice from it.
No vegetables at all. Only meat is hotdogs. He eats french fries everyday and peanut butter on whole wheat bread.
He does eat, just not much at all and only a few things.
Oh.. I did get to feed him spegetti noodles the other day. I pretended like he was a bird and I was feeding him. This was big for us... NOODLES....
I think I am going to have to become a regular back on the picky eating forum.
Thank you though for your suggestions!!!
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Do you think it is a texture thing that he has to get past b/c of the reflux. Or am/was I way off. If you can win him over on noodles, then maybe he would like spaghetti squash for a veggie, or avacado mixes well with fruits, so maybe add it to shakes if you want to sneak in some fresh/natural foods w/ the Pediasure. Food issues paralyze me when they are w/ my lo, she is the opposite of yours she wants to eat every thing, but can't. They are so little to be having such issues-poor things-they can't understand. I hope you find the answers you're looking for.
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As far as we know, or have been told, you can live off it. It can be used for tube feeds as well. It is medically all they need. That said, how do we know reeeaaally?? :-\ Nothing can replace actual food in value, IMHO. That said, I do think it's better than trying to force feed...
And you know I say this as the mummy of another only pediasure drinker! :) :-*
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Not sure about the pediasure, but wanted to suggest some ways you could (hopefully) get him to enjoy more foods! Getting to a stage of more food variety is no doubt something of a project for you!
Has he seen the movie Ratatouille? It's a great way to show the fun of food.
I suggest playing games with food, like making rice and flour pies with peas, or something funny (outside!). Or possibly going nuts with some tinned spaghetti. But during this there is no emphasis on getting him to eat. At some stage you could play around and eat the spaghetti off your own hand as play.
Helping with cooking is a great way to get involved. Asking him to be a big helper in making your own snack with no pressure for him to eat it. Eg, he could spread butter or avocado on toast, or cut up soft fruit and vege with a table knife.
A kind of gradual approach could help him forget the stressful times of having reflux, where the objective isn't for him to eat it, it's making positive fun associations with a range of food. ;)
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I like your thinking. Not forcing him to eat it, but getting used to the idea that food is fun.
That was the way I got him to eat the spegetti noodles. I pretended like he was a bird and I would say "Here birdie, birdie".
He loves to help me cook and he has a little kids knife that he uses with his foods and cuts them up (or trys).
I think in the past it was because of his reflux and he has never been a big eater and now it is more of a 2 year old thing. ??
He deft. is growing and is so smart. I am going to try some of your ideas.
Sharon: I have always meant to ask, is Ella a picky eater or does she choose just not to eat because it hurts? How are things going with her?
Wendy
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Actually she has always been a great eater. :( It's just been this past maybe 6 to 8 months, maybe more that she has stopped. She is starting to throw up now when she eats. Either gagging or just saying "my tummy is going up and down" or "my tummy has the hiccoughs" while her eyes water. I honestly don't think it is a texture issue per se as she ate so many varied foods before. What she will do now is lick food instead of eating it. That all said, I do think some of it is age related...
no help am I? :-[ just sympathy I'm afraid. Thanks for asking about us. :-*
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One of my nieces survived on Pedisure from 1-2.5 yo. My sil couldn't get her to eat anything so the dr suggested that she takes pedisure. They tried several times to wean her from it but she just refuses to eat other than noodles until 2.5yo. My niece is now 8 yo and developmentally she is fine. It is not medical advice but thought I share this with you.
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Thanks Mimi, that does make me feel better.
Yeah Zach complains about his tummy a lot also and says he is going to throw up and starts gagging or does actually throw up. It was really bad a few weeks ago and now he has not thrown up in 2 weeks.
Sharon, I have not seen an update about Ella. Did you ever get the results from the biopsys to see if she has EE?
Wendy
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Wendy the test results were good. No damage and no EE. So the reflux meds are doing their job. But it begs the question what is going on then? The only thing was her pylorus was very tight. They couldn't even fit the scope through. So they stretched it and it helped for about a week. She has an allergist appointment on the 19th and on the 13th she has a renal ultrasound and a gastric emptying study done.
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I can't wait to hear the update. Good luck. thinking of you as always.
BTW: Here is what Zach ate today.
1 hotdog
2 bites of peanut butter sandwich
a few cheetos
3 french fries
1/2 of a chicken nugget
3 mini muffins
dry cheerios
and 3 cups of pediasure.
Not much at all
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Lovelies!!!!!! let me reassure you! Yup, you can do just pediasure and have a healthy kidlet! Took care of a little who did just that d/t dysphagia. Did just fine. Wendy, from a not-his-mama standpoint, Zach ate rather well. A mix of textures and the pediasure. :-*
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Good point. I think it is a little of both.
I'm not going to stop giving him the pediasure though because I know he is getting his nutrients with it. He also takes juice plus vegetable vitamins everyday.
I know I should just offer him what we are having for dinner, not make him a seperate meal, not give him so much pediasure, but when you have dealt with a child who has always had eating issues, it is nice just to see them eat something. I will make 5 different things if I had to, just to see him eat.
I swore I would never ever do that. I have actually learned not to worry about it. He tells me when he is hungry and I make sure he has good choices and stuff he likes. Everyday I offer him something new. He either takes it or not.
Jenn - :-* Thank you! It is always hard when YOU are the one/ the mother dealing with a picky eater. Whenever DH and I see him eating something new, we are like "look, he's eating ______, don't look at him". We are scared if we say something to him like good job, etc. he may stop eating whatever it is.
On the other hand, whenever he does eat more than just 1 or 2 bites, I always tell him good job for eating so well.
I just wish I had a kid that had never had eating issues :( Guess you can't have it all though because I do have a very well behaved, calm toddler. :)
Thanks again, you made me SMILE.
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Wendy - what is his growth like in general? (height and weight).
Your list of what he ate today does look small, but I guess it's also because he's filling up on Pediasure. He's taking small amounts so while he is eating those things he likes, he's doing it as a snack (although one hotdog is probably a full meal for a toddler and 3 cups of pediasure are probably equivalent to 2 meals (?)). So he's probably had his 3 main meals in the hotdog and pediasure.
How often does he vomit, and what is likely to bring it on?
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Lets see. He is 29 months old. He weighs 30 pounds (sometimes goes down a pound or two, depending on if he eats or not), he is tall for his age. He is in 3T pants for the length, but the waste is way to big.
He actually has not vomitted in 2 weeks now. For about a week straight, he was getting sick almost every night. It would be brought on by laughing to much, crying, or just all of a sudden.
This past week he actually has been making himself gag and seems like he is trying to throw up.
He has very large tonsils and year round allergies.
He has always been a very small eater, since he was a baby. We have been to the feeding clinic, everything. He was on rice milk and a very strict soy/dairy free diet until 18 months old. Now he handles milk just fine.
Even if he does not drink pediasure, he will still only take a few bites of his food and be all done.
You know though I am not a big eater at all. I eat very very small amounts at a time, but a lot through out the day.
Tonight Zach and I shared a kids meal and did not finish it. It was 5 chicken nuggets and french fries.
With that being said, I am hungry right now though. LOL...
My stomach cannot handle a lot of food at once or I just throw it up. I think I have DGE, so who knows he may too.