Hi everyone,
I don't know how this happened, but slowly DS has transitioned to only drinking juice
. It all started back in April when he was diagnosed with gluten, casein, and egg intolerances, so his whole diet had to change. He used to LOVE drinking his milk, but has gone completely off of it because he will not drink almond/coconut/rice milk straight. I kept putting it out for him for a very long time, but eventually stopped because he just wasn't drinking it. I was able to get the milk into him by making smoothies -- which he used to love -- but now he doesn't even want them. He wants juice in a sippy, but mostly juice box. I never really even gave him juice boxes until probably February of this year. He has apraxia (difficulty coordinating oral motor movements for speech) and drinking out of a straw was something his therapists worked on with him and a juice box was the easiest way to teach him. I don't have an opposition to some juice -- I only give him the "healthier" kind or water it down in a sippy -- but he literally will not drink anything else. On occasion, he'll drink from a little water bottle, but it's rare. Now he doesn't even want the smoothie. My problem is this -- it has been excessively hot where we live. I tried taking a hard line and saying no juice if he's thirsty throughout the day, only water and if you are thirsty drink it, but when it is so hot, I don't feel like it's the right thing to do because I'm afraid he will dehydrate (he is super stubborn and I don't think he would definitely drink if he got thirsty enough). Should I just wait until the summer is over and then only allow the juice a few times a day and tell him to drink water/smoothie if he is thirsty? I *think* the smoothie denial is more about his age and being picky than him just not liking it anymore (he is refusing favorite foods constantly these days).
I am really stressed about this -- his doctor doesn't seem to be bothered by it, but I am! I feel like I am being a bad mother, but I don't know how to get him to drink something other than juice and ensure he stays hydrated in this unbearably hot summer we've been having.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
