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#7705 July 23rd, 2005 at 12:23 PM
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I have discovered that my dd(6.5) likes canned pumpkin sprinkled with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, she will eat it like there is no tomorrow.

This is the child who didn't eat bread until about 6 months ago, who right now won't eat potatoes, has never eaten rice, except the rice flakes I hid in meatloaf. I love my dd dearly but it is hard to keep up with what she likes and what she doesn't.

sca

#7706 July 24th, 2005 at 02:11 AM
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I'm sure you'll have some mom's come thru..
and give you some pointers..

I'd like to add mine first to the pile.....

But you just never know what may or may not work..

#1. Sometimes when dinner is late and my kids are yellin' "They're starving and wasting away to nothin", I will hand them some thing that's not normally on their eating range, and let them try it...
*example cutting slices of raw green pepper*
it's a finger food, and they can take it and walk with it..*
That way, they're really hunger, almost hungry enough to try anything.. it might work, it might not???

#2. Something is always put on their plate,
wether they like it or not...
Keeps them firmiliar with it, being seen and and when another dinner comes along you don't often cook, this one thing they WILL RECONIZE...
does that make sense?? Even if they don't eat it,
they will reconize it, and are more likely going to at least try it, cause they don't want to eat that OTHER NEW FOOD..

#3. This process doesn't have to last forever,
just until they eat good....
but I serve something they don't like first...
say for example MEAT, some kids dispise it??
So, that is always served first, that way,
when they are hungry, that's what they get...

A. Don't make what you've given them large portions and freak out their eyeballs..
small amounts and if they want more, then give it to them...

I am very fluent in getting stuff eaten that
isn't liked...

and I'm never mean about it...

*****Desserts are only given to those who
"EAT A GOOD MEAL", so, it's up to them to
eat the good meal to get that dessert...
thumbup

And if they wanna know why you want them to eat
that stuff.. it's because you "WANT THEM TO GROW BIG AND STRONG"
(I use those words and add, LIKE DADDY, because he's 6'3"......and jokenly we add, not short and whimpy like mom...)
But, you tell them it's because you want them
to be strong individuals when they are all grown up and have kids of their own someday......
And you don't expect them to understand it now, but they sure will when it's the right time for them to remember this time here with you...
and eating a good meal...

P/S
Quote
This is the child who didn't eat bread until about 6 months ago
Both my kids eat bread, wheat, *the softer kind*
but they EAT THE CRUST OFF FIRST!!!
grinnnn

#7707 July 24th, 2005 at 12:34 PM
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Lucky you! My dd sometimes will sometimes won't eat the crusts.
I can't put disliked food on her plate at all or she will not eat anything, all portions are small, my dd won't chew and swallow if the taste or texture are odd. And she is VERY strong willed

She does have to try new foods at least 1 time for her to tell me she doesn't like it.

Dessert at our house is a rare treat with little extra money we manage most months to buy neccities.

I should add, my dd was born at 25wks 5 days weighing 1lb 13.25 oz and spent 5 months in the hospital.

I don't make food a battle, it won't get me anywhere with her, within reason I let her choose what to eat and what not to eat. I am lucky that she loves meat esp chicken and pork elk, moose, and bison, the last 3 being treats that usually we are given to us, fruit is another thing she really likes faves are apples,grapes, and bananas. Her all time favorite food is peanut butter, I swear if I could find a marinade for veggies and stuff she would eat it.
I have noticed that since I pulled her out of the public school she has a much better appetite(anxiety at work)

In the meantime if she wants pumpkin,pumpkin she shalll have- I am glad it is something healthy.

#7708 July 25th, 2005 at 04:04 AM
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Topcat, what you are describing is VERY typical for children who were born at an early premature stage.

There is something about some textures of foods that will "set them off" about it, no matter how good it might really taste! My son has this problem too, and he also was an early premie.

As he has gotten older (he's 9.5 now), he has learned to cope with a larger variety of texture and seems to be able to manage chewing and swallowing more foods easily.

These things can just take time. And I'm with you...if she'll eat pumpkin and peanut butter, well, that's better than nothing!

The only veggies Maxi would eat before age 6 were the ones I would chop up superfine and add to his soup. If it was REALLY SMALL and IN THE SOUP, he'd eat anything. The same vegetable, cut larger and put on his plate would stay there.

One day when he was 3 or 4, I was in a BIG rush to get supper on, so I cut the veggies for his soup larger than I normally did. I thought, "Well, it will be CHUNKY style soup" and served it to him.

He looked at his bowl and said "Mama, I HATE when there is food in my soup!"

When I got up off the floor from laughing, I used a spoon to cut it down smaller for him and again, he ate every bite. Heaven help us all, the child really couldn't have food in his soup, could he?

Merme

#7709 July 25th, 2005 at 07:11 AM
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My theory is if they want to dip a carrot in ketchup, and they will eat it, then so be it.

You can do the same for PB. If she will eat anything if she can dip it there, then go for it. It certainly cannot hurt her.

We have had major food issues here, having an autistic son, so texture issues are rampant here as well.

#7710 July 25th, 2005 at 10:13 AM
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merme, Kendra won't even eat soup, she will eat the noodles from chicken noodle soup.

Triss she loves peanut butter as a dip or spread on apple slices.

Kendra's diagnoses are NLD, ADD, DCD and Atypical Williams s syndrome. So much fun for such a cute little girl who is amazingly bright and dangerously naieve.

My 67 inch pumpkin vine grew another 2 inchs or so overnite, it is raining here again. And just for unusual fun we are under a tornado warning.

#7711 July 25th, 2005 at 10:40 PM
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Topcat ~ Good luck with that monster size vine!

Oh I had to chuckle when you mentioned Kendra likes to eat the noodles out of the soup but not the soup.

Maxi used to love it if I put the big ziti noodles in the soup. Then he'd pick them up and put one noodle on each finger like a sleeve and eat it that way. He still prefers any kind of pasta to just about anything else.

I'm sorry your sweet child has such difficulties to face in her young life, Topcat, I really am. And as a parent we hurt when they struggle and cheer when they progress and sometimes life just seems to whirl and whirl around the fact that our child is so beloved.

All the best to you, Topcat, all the best ~

Merme

#7712 July 25th, 2005 at 11:01 PM
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I do the rice pudding and add things to it. If she likes pumpkin I would add that.

I make it without the egg so I don't have to worry about the skin developing and I like it just as well even though I have to cook it longer to get it smooth.

#7713 July 25th, 2005 at 11:20 PM
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TKHooper, my daughter will not eat rice no matter how I cook it, I have tried rice pudding, I even put peanut butter in it and she still won't touch it, she has never eaten rice and I don't think that one is gonna change anytime soon

#7714 July 26th, 2005 at 01:50 AM
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When Maxi was still very young and VERY undersized, it was so important to make every spoonful of food pack the biggest nutritional value I could add to it. If he'd only take two bites of something, those two bites had to count!

So when everybody was yelling that I needed to make the kid jell-o (of all things!) I decided to make it with his formula rather than water. Later I made it with his special milk. It gave him the fruity flavors of jello that you can't get with ordinary puddings but the nutritional value of his milk products. It always set up just fine, too, except that it was opague rather than clear.

Parents with special needs kids just have to be persistantly creative, huh topcat?

By the way, you didn't get that tornado did you?

Merme

#7715 July 26th, 2005 at 01:56 AM
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What an awesome idea there Merme! I would ahve never thought of that and I create all kinds of crazy stuff.

#7716 July 26th, 2005 at 02:04 AM
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My first one was allergic to cow's milk,
peanuts, pork and animals hair....
and I'm an almost total vegetarian...

Talk about special help!!!

Breast milk was fine, it's when he switched over..
and that means no milk on your cereal, what kid doesn't eat cereal with out milk???
Or cheese on pizza, cheese puffs, creamed soups~
and I LOVE CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP~
no puddings, ohhhhhhh come on, what kid doesn't like pudding?
No cottage cheese, no grilled cheese sandwiches,
no cheese sticks, oh gosh, the list goes on and on.

But he couldn't have any of it...

I had to find sources of Calcium in other foods,
like baked beans, romaine lettuce's..etc., etc...
No hotdogs, or bolgna, or porkchops, ham, or hamsteaks, smoked pork chops........
and
NO PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES!!!

but, I read alot, listened to alot of folks
who all had stories to tell, and culminated my
own things to give him...

They also, held out hope for me, that in time
soooooommmmmmmme children out grow it...
some will never out grow it....
sommme may be a little sensitive....

We're still working on ours, but we've come
alonggggggggggggggggggg way to gettin' there. thumbup

#7717 July 26th, 2005 at 02:09 AM
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Weezie,

I have 3 kids who will NOT use milk on cereal. We avoid it with Zack but Jonny will hardly drink it at all and Mikey has yet to start asking for it on his cereal. In fact, just this summer Lys started using it on hers. I have weird kiddos!

#7718 July 26th, 2005 at 02:22 AM
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My husband would drink a gallon of milk in 2 days if I let him!!! Interesting thought....we are the only mammels who still drink milk even after we've been weened. I, personally, rarely drink milk. I use it to cook, and sometimes I eat cereal, but that's bout it.

In my family, we never made a separate meal for the kids. They ate what we ate. Even if it meant they turned up their noses...they just went hungry that evening....and when they said something about it, their plate from dinner was reheated. I guess part of the reasoning is that you can't expect to get catered to for your entire life. When the kids get hungry enough, they'll eat. Kids won't starve themselves.

I see this alot with the kids at school. You give them their lunch and they know they have a good "snack" for after the main part of lunch, alot of times they push the bowl away and say "I don't like it" I just pull it away from them (so they can't throw it on the floor) and let them sit. They eventually figure out that they aren't gonna get their snack and ask for the bowl....and these are 1 year olds.

#7719 July 26th, 2005 at 02:42 AM
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Like many little ones, Maxi was lactose intolerant also. So after the breast milk failed and he was still so small, he had special soy formula. After THAT it was Lactaid milk -- very pricey! But now that he is older, he can seem to tolerate the low fat milks just fine.

But a good friend of mine has a child with MAJOR food allergies -- the kid is even allergic to GLUTEN, for heaven's sake! So they have to make all their own breads and she had a really hard time even finding calcium and other supplements that didn't contain gluten.

Yet her son has done really well on Rice Milk; I forget what it is called. He is 12 now and growing well, catching up in height and weight.

Sometimes, these things just take time as Weezie said, and other times it is a permanent thing that will have to be adjusted for throughout life.

I always enjoy hearing other's stories, reminding me of hope. There is hope. Even when the kid is refusing yet again to eat anything sensible yet again.

Merme

#7720 July 26th, 2005 at 02:43 AM
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I don't cook separate meals for my kids-my son is almost 12 and right now eats almost anything. My daughter is tougher because I can't always cook a side dish she will eat(fyi my 6.5yr weighs a whopping 34lbs), so I will cook some regular macaroni and put butter and salt and pepper.

It is hard weighing the food dislikes with needing to get food into her, also surprisingly preemies are 20% more likely to have eating disorders later in life.

#7721 July 26th, 2005 at 02:45 AM
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We don't have a choice here for seperate meals. Zack cannot have too much milk or it wigs him out. Something having to do with his autism. It really makes him spacey. Charlie is also allergic to milk but we are hoping he outgrows it, unfortunately he is also allergic to soy so he is on a special formula. Lys was allergic to milk but outgrew hers. Dunno what the deal with Jonny is but he prefers just about anything to milk. I figure they are eating the cereal so with or without milk is really no big deal.

We tailor dinners so that Zack can eat them by not mixing his foods and keeping things as clean as possible. Also we make everyone else at least try everything we are serving. Even if they have tried it before and not liked it. I guess it is the one bite rule. Eventually they will grow into more adult tastes and this way they get a wide variety of foods.

I always thought that my kids will eat what I put in front of them, period, but having an autistic kid who cannot eat things and others who are or have been allergic to them really changed my thinking and I am a bit more lenient now.

#7722 July 26th, 2005 at 02:48 AM
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Merme,

Sounds like celiacs disease. We actually had Zack on a gluten and casein free diet, no wheat and no milk. I was AMAZED at the diffeerence it made in him. His tantrums and screaming went down to almost nothing and he excelled in school and FINALLY was able to get his body to function normally. He was just completely potty trained last year and mostly that was due to his diet. He still has to take meds to keep his body working properly.

#7723 July 26th, 2005 at 12:55 PM
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I have Celiac disease and let me tell you you have to be rich to eat well.

My dd was so allergic to every formula we tried she ended up on a very special, partially digested formula.

I should back up a bit though and say that she was fed by ng tube for most of the first year + of her life, she also had horrible horrible GERD once we got that sorted out she started being able to keep food in her stomach longer.

She also has Nephrocalcinosis(calcium deposits on kidneys)for which she took medication for about 2.5 yrs then was taken off of it, but almost had to go back on it late last year- however of her accord she has almost completly stopped drinking milk.

My kids have never eaten cold cereal with milk on it, both right now prefer instant oatmeal.

#7724 July 26th, 2005 at 10:24 PM
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Topcat, we went through the ng tube thing with Maxi also, but not for nearly as long as your daughter did. And also the GERD....seems to be part of the aftermath of the ng.

I know about that very expensive pre-digested formula. Fortunately, Maxi was able to handle a very high quality soy instead, so that was a big help.

We don't eat cold cereal here too much; neither one of us likes it. Maxi prefers hot food in the morning and so do I.

I am completely ignorant of what Celiac disease is, topcat, but I take it to mean there are many food intolerances with it?

I'm glad your daughter is doing as well as she is now. And I'm cheering about the pumpkin thing...so maybe next summer you can plant more vines! Stock UP on that stuff!

Unfortunately, Maxi is in the 20% of premies who develop weight issues later. And weight control has become a tough reality around here. Being away from me for the 9 months from 2003-2004, living with people who didn't feed him right, he gained something in the neighborhood of 35 pounds.

Heartbreaking, really. So we are working on the wieght and on exercises that he can actually do with his hypotonia.

By the way, the macaroni with butter, salt and pepper you make for your daughter sounds so yummy I almost asked you to serve me up a bowl!

Merme

#7725 July 27th, 2005 at 05:26 AM
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I am completely ignorant of what Celiac disease is, topcat, but I take it to mean there are many food intolerances with it?
Celiac is an absolute intolerance to gluten, which is found in ALL the major grains, so no wheat, oats, barley(including the malt on most cereals), rye.

Symptoms include, toilet runs, grouchy days, bloating, fatigue(like I don't have enough of that with the fibro)

Heartbreaking, really. So we are working on the wieght and on exercises that he can actually do with his hypotonia.

Kendra has hypotonia as well, she can't stretch her feet down to normal ranges. As well the NLD causes general weakness on the left side.

She still has reflux now not often but sometimes it seems to be every day.

the pumpkin plant which started in the middle of a 44 inch wide garden has grown out and across the 44in garden I just dug and is still growing. I cut off some of the babies along the big vine and left the 2 inch pumpkin to grow.

#7726 July 27th, 2005 at 05:53 AM
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Not to mention that gluten a wheat by product is found in darn near every processed food imaginable. It was so difficult going from the way we cooked to completely gluten and casein free for Zack but it sure opened my eyes to processed foods and we use so few of them now.

What is hypotonia?

#7727 July 27th, 2005 at 07:10 AM
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Triss ~ "Hypotonia" is simply just general allover the body muscular weakness. Or "low" "tone" of muscle groups.

It can be severe, in which case the person can't sit or stand.

It can be more moderate, like Maxi's, who started having PT when he was 2.5 years old. And he has made significant progress!

He'd been in PT for about 2 1/2 years when he started at the local primary school for Pre-K. He would be out with all the kids, trying his best to do what they did, trying to run, to climb the ladder for the slide, etc. He was ENTHUSIASTIC! He was TENACIOUS! DETERMINED!

The playground teachers would stand there watching him with their hearts in their mouths so scared that he was going to hurt himself, but knowing if he was safe, he should be allowed to keep trying.

So the other kids would climb and go down the slide half a dozen times to Maxi's one time, but he wouldn't quit! He'd just keep right on trying.

He had an easel with newspaper paper on it so, When he was very young and I was trying to give him a sense of the passing seasons and holidays of the year, etc., I would draw some simple picture depicting the holiday as one would see in a coloring book. I'd tell him the story as I drew the picture, and let him color it in.

So when he showed an interest in writing, we of course turned to the easel. Maxi's hands were too weak to actually write, so he'd hold the marker and DRAW his letters about 16 inches high, using his shoulder to move the hand that held the marker.

Over time, with much therapy, by the time he started school, he'd gotten strong enough to write his letters about 3 inches high, but it has taken him to age 9 to develope a tripod grasp of his writing tool.

His doctor ordered a therapy chair for him to use here at home. It is called a Tripp Trapp chair. Made of simple wood and shaped rather like a Z, without the top horizontal bar, the Tripp Trapp has a moveable foot rest as well as a changeable height for the seat.

When Maxi is seated, he needs to be able to keep his feet on the floor because his trunk is too weak to keep his balance without assistance. So if his feet can't reach the floor, he uses his arms and shoulders to balance himself, making it very difficult to use his hands for fine tasks such as using a spoon or a pen. Put something under his feet, though, and he can maintain his posture and still write or eat or whatever easily.

The hypotonia has caused difficulties with bike riding as well. The summer he was 4, we got him a tiny two wheeler with training wheels. But he was too weak to push it. His PT told me that by the end of the summer she believed he would be strong enough to achieve riding it.

ALL summer they worked and worked on strengthening him to ride. And I tell you what, THE VERY LAST DAY OF THE SEASON, wearing his helmet and joint safety pads and his little Robin's Cape flapping in the wind, with Papa and Mama running alongside, the kid went wheeling down our street, proud as punch about what he could do!

He still needs training wheels, though, because of his balance issues and is terribly reluctant to let anyone see him ride his bike with trainers. I'm seriously thinking of getting a bike of my own, putting trainers on it, and letting us BOTH go for a ride through town that way!

Oh, sorry, topcat, I didn't mean to hijack your thread!

That celiac disease sounds very difficult to contend with! So you eat fruits and vegetables, meats, fish and poultry, mostly homemade things rather than processed, rice and some pastas?

No Couscous? What about cornbread?

Merme

#7728 July 27th, 2005 at 11:12 AM
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Oh, sorry, topcat, I didn't mean to hijack your thread!
Thats ok we are all learning something here.

I see you said Maxi still needs training wheels, Kendra is 6.5 and as tenacious as Maxi by the sounds of it, got her training wheels off 3 weeks ago. We used a method suggested by other NLD moms we started at the top of a small grassy bank. First time down- and for as many tries as he needs let him go down the slope just holding his feet up, this helps to learn to balance without the worry of where his feet need to be. When he has mastered this and is comfortable using the same slope have him put his feet on the pedals, but not peddaling yet, have him rest his feet on the pedals and go down the same hill again until he is comfortable, doing this allows kids with balance problems a chance to learn to balance first then ride. Kendra had trouble riding a tricycle the first year, but with lots of physio she was able to master it eventually, of course given her small stature did we ever have a tough time finding one to fit her. she is so proud of herself for learning to ride the two wheeler.

celiac Disease is very tough to manage- yes meat, rice, potatoes, veggies, fruit-when we have money to pay for them- meat and such for the kids to eat(neither of them have it) often leaves no money for special diet. Corn bread is fine if I use a gluten free reciepe. Same for breads, rice and corn pastas are very expensive though.

#7729 July 28th, 2005 at 04:12 AM
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Thanks for that explanation Merme. It really gives a lot of insite.

Zack cannot balance either, so we ended up geting him a 3 wheeler. It is really cool looking and he loves it.

I know what you mean topcat on foods being expensive. Trying to avoid all that bad stuff is not easy.

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