Davids has been diagnosed with a pediatric eating disorder of a non-organic nature. It basically means that there is no medical reason why he refuses to eat, that it is psychological. David was first hospitalized at the age of 6 months when he had an adverse reaction to rice cereal and again at seven months. I had plans to feed my son organic, home-grown baby food and spent many hours preparing and dollars on supplies to make that happen. I quickly realize he wasn't going to follow the standard guidelines of introducing food. It broke my heart to throw away all the food i had prepared and frozen. At nine months, David began the first of many blood tests to determine if there were any allergies or medical reasons for his refusing to eat anything other than breast milk. He endured many pricks before they came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong and diagnosed him with failure-to-thrive. He remained below the fifth percentile for three and half years.
We have come a long way since that first year. David was breastfed until he was three years old and his first food of any kind was pizza (one of his favorites still today). I've had to get use to the idea that my kid would never eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or cheerios like every other kid i have known. I've had to get used to the fact that i couldn't go out to eat with him and order a kids meal cheeseburger. It has been hard to accept but by listening to what David has been trying to communicate to me, we have come up with a great routine that allows him to receive the fuel he needs to keep alive!
He LOVES to eat in the car and actually does his best easting riding around. Sometimes we go to the train or fire station or just drive around the lake. It takes him about an hour and a half for David to eat one meal. Always with a drink in between each bite and constant reminders to finish. He doesn't sit when he eats but wanders around.
He eats:
Chick-fil-a sandwich: cut up in to perfect squares and eaten with a black fork
Cheese pizza : only half way up
Bagel, bacon, egg: one bagel lightly toasted. ABSOLUTELY no brown, buttered with two strips of crispy bacon and one boiled egg no yolk lightly salted.
Pancakes: he mostly just eats the batter but manages about one pancake down with OJ
Cinnamon rolls: cut up in to fours
Wheat Thins: only the square ones. no broken or curled edges
Banana smoothies: two bananas and whole milked blended and poured in to a green cup. he won't eat milk or bananas separately.
David eating at his favorite pizzeria. lots of room to run around and arcade games!
I get some flack from people who just tell me that if it was their kid, they would make them sit at the table until the food was gone. Ha! David doesn't sit or respond to that threat. He has several times refused to eat for days at a time until he is hospitalized for dehydration for no reason at all. It is not about rebellion but about David feeling insecure in his environment. He has been evaluated at the Marcus Autism Center by a pediatric feeding therapist and is on the waiting list to undergo feeding therapy.
I am proud of how far we have come with him and I celebrate every pound he gains. This post is intended to be informational to the people out there who don't know how many times I have been on my knees begging and praying that my son eats enough to hang on another day. It's for the people who HAVE celebrated and encouraged me along the way and have supported Davids unusual habits. It's for my own sanity!
