Support thread for moms of picky eaters - Part 2

[~inbalance~]

We tend to do rotini, penne, or spaghetti, and occasionally shells or macaroni.  With F I just don't think the kid likes to eat!  It's not even like he thinks about it sometimes, it's either "alright I'm a bit hungry so I'll eat some of this" or "nope, don't feel like eating today, I would rather throw it at you".    At lunch he took ONE look at the food I put on his tray, yelled at me and threw it!

[Mom to M&M]

HUGS - food presentation doesn't work here either (well DD loves it but DS couldn't care less). And I often feel like Matthew doesn't like to eat either! And with him getting sick so often he eats even less.

Pasta wise, he likes penne or mini-wheels the best.

Does F eat any better on the go? Or in a different setting? Occasionally if Matthew hasn't had breakfast he'll eat a piece of challah french toast or the like in his stroller on our morning walk to the bus and for exercise. Or sometimes when he refuses lunch he'll eat a bit of it as a sort of picnic on the play table in the family room.

[~inbalance~]

Sometimes...sometimes not.    He doesn't eat in the stroller, just sits there and holds it.  Eating in different places is hit or miss.  Yesterday I packed a lunch to take to the Early Years Centre with us and he really didn't eat much while we were there.  But then when we got home I just put all the same food outside in the backyard, and they picked most of it clean while playing.  A few days ago I did lunch outside as well and it was a disaster!  There are so many variables!  lol

[Jiinx]

aah..these children. Wonder what they're thinking when they see food. "Food bad. Must throw at mommy."

[Mom to M&M]

LOL Sarah.

So not too bad here. He's still not himself and quite tired and tires easily but he did play some and eat some. After the square waffle (with Earth Balance spread) for breakfast he totally refused lunch but did have two of those breakfast cookies (I made them with crushed Kashi Heart-to-Heart cereal and Sheep's yogurt this time) for snack. And a LOT of his smoothie. Then for dinner he had a small but fair portion of pasta with meat sauce (I made his with mini-wheels this time), half a pouch of spinach/peas/pears and then some pistachio nuts. And more smoothie.

His holistic doctor today recommended we start giving him Sambucol (echinacea/elderberry syrup) for two weeks on/one off and astragalus daily to build up his immune system. We'll see if it helps!

[~Sara~]

My cousin swears by elderberry syrup, so I hope it does M some good, too!  Looks like he did have a pretty decent day yesterday, all things considered.  *Whew*  Must be a relief!

[Mom to M&M]

Yup Sara, just hope he can stay healthy for a little while this time. And for sure at least through his birthday party Sunday! I didn't take him to his gym class this morning to be safe...

Something bothered his stomach last night though, he was up a LOT - the way he is with tummy cramps. Thinking either the elderberry or the cookies since I used sheep's yogurt this time (usually I use tofu or goat's yogurt).

So far today he had another square waffle with EB spread this morning, some freeze dried pears, some smoothie and a few bites of plain bagel (they have him one for free at the store this morning when I bought our challah). Guessing he'll refuse lunch after all that but plan to offer goat's yogurt or kosher mini pigs in a blanket. Not the healthiest but a good source of protein. And dairy free. He's always refused in the past but nodded at the box when I showed him in the freezer so we'll see.

[Mom to M&M]

He actually ate one pig in a blanket! Only one but still! He seemed to like it but probably wasn't all that hungry after what for him was a huge breakfast.

[~Sara~]

*high five* Way to go, buddy!

[Jiinx]

that's so great, Karen!! Yay!

[~inbalance~]

Yay, that's great Karen!

Still plugging along here.  F has been eating decently today.  T has been kinda off, he hasn't been feeling well.  So that considered, he at least did eat a bit so better than nothing. 

Breakfast:  T - some strawberries, a few bites of oatmeal, a few sips of smoothie; F - same
Lunch:  T - about 2 bites of a PBJ, 1/2 pint of raspberries; F - same but he also ate about 5 brussel sprouts, yay!
Dinner:  T - 1/2 hotdog (we tried those new natural ones with no preservatives so I didn't feel too guilty, lol), 1/2 corn on the cob, handful of sweet potato fries; F - about the same but a little less in quantity, plus a piece of cheese and a few crackers

Wow, it's so sad that I don't think that's too bad. 

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

That's awesome, Karen!  And Martina, that sounds like a good day to me!

We didn't have a great day yesterday, but DS was kind of funny.  At breakfast, he immediately threw his carrot french toast on the floor (not so funny), but ate his eggs (with pureed cauliflower).  As soon as I took him out of his highchair, he started walking around and I handed him a bite of french toast and he ate it! He continued to eat a fair amount of it as he was walking around.  I love that I have to follow him around handing him pieces of food to get him to eat sometimes!

[Jiinx]

oh martina that would be a GREAT day for us!

[Mom to M&M]

That would be an over the moon good day for us too Martina!

So I'm now going to be adding zinc to our growing supplement list. Ionic zinc - 7-8 mg daily. Apparently zinc deficiencies can lead to both picky eating/loss of appetite AND chronic illness - both of which afflict Matthew.

BUT in the meantime we are hanging in there. He definitely likes eating at the kids table better so for now we've moved the art table from the family room into the kitchen and will look for a folding kids table this weekend.

[~inbalance~]

Zinc deficiencies eh?  Interesting.

Pretty cr@p all around today so far.    A bit of oatmeal and some blueberries for breakfast (F ate maybe 4 blueberries and that's it).  For lunch I made grilled cheese, and even used a cookie cutter to make T's into a star shape.  Did he eat it?  Not one.single.bite.    They both ate a handful of grape tomatoes and that was about it.  :p