Getting kids to eat....

[PrincessFiona]

We just can't get Aidan to eat...He is 'milky' obsessed despite a recent attempt at a garlic on the nipple treatment. If the 'milky' is denied him, he screams and cries hysterically .... and will throw any food or drink offered to him as a replacement. He is waking up at night for a 'milky' and when I refuse he literally wakes the whole house up with his crying. There isn't a room in the house I can take him to where there is quiet. My dh has basically put his foot down and said that not nursing at night isn't an option because he 'has' to get his sleep. :!

Our little dude is small for his age, underweight and we have finally resorted to pediasure...which we got all of the kids to call Aidan's 'Coke'... When we open one up for him the kids say "yummy, Aidan's coke...I want a sip...and then they pretend to drink some and carry on about how great it is" and he just...won't drink it.

At mealtime, he throws his food to the dog. The only time I can get him to eat is when we go to McDonalds and even then he just eats a chicken nuggets and a few fries.

I'm really concerned about how to get him to eat. I haven't experienced this issue with any of my other children, and I've never had this kind of a weaning experience.

Does any mom or dad out there have any suggestions?

kris

[houseelf]

hmmm....a kid not eating....What is that like?

Clearly this is the result of bad parenting. I mean honestly, what kind of mother....



Honestly, Kris, this just takes time, time, time. DS wasn't on the growth chart for FOUR YEARS!!! Even now, I have to buy jeans with the button tabs to tighten them up to his waist. I wish that I had that problem.


Aidan appears to be super picky. We have tried everything and little by little it has gotten better. He hasn't starved himself. He used to want to just drink milk all day long to the exclusion of all else. We just kept trying and trying and trying to expand his palate. It has paid off. I know that it is frustrating and trying. You will get through this too.

BTW, your posts have made me reconsider the extended bf. It may be easier to wean her at a little after a year. I don't know. I just don't want to give up DD's babyhood.

Kelly

[PrincessFiona]

dude, don't for a second think that I'm not remembering our discussions a couple of years ago and am being humbled by this experience .

kris

[houseelf]

Oh yeah,

Just play games like pea ball and cowboy pies....

I can only give you this ration of sh** because I know that you have/will give it right back at me...

Kelly

[Rapunzel]

I don't have any suggestions but I'm wondering if this is about food or about control for Aiden (ie the screaming gets him what he wants....). I could see it going either way or being a bit of both. Sorry I can't help you - I've got piglets for children and they tend to be off the height/weight charts on the other end of the spectrum due to their gigantic"ness" (not a word, I know).

Sorry.

Jennifer

[PrincessFiona]

Oh yeah,

Just play games like pea ball and cowboy pies....

I can only give you this ration of sh** because I know that you have/will give it right back at me...

Kelly

OH GOD, I had forgotten that...didn't I even play that 'game' when you guys were here to 'show you' how to get him to eat them?

Would someone please slap me! :!

[PrincessFiona]

Jenn,

It could be a control issue. I just don't know. You just can't console him if I'm nearby, but he ate fine when he was at the sitter's house on the mornings that I taught.

:|

[Rapunzel]

Hmmmm.... Have you tried vacating the premises around mealtime and having Thomas feed Aiden? At least you wouldn't have to hear him screaming.... (Yeah, I guess that sounds cruel - I'm a bad mommy. ).

Jennifer

[HeartRN]

I'm sorry it's been difficult with your little guy. I don't have too much advice to offer...but I will tell you I know somebody at work who also has a son about Aidan's age and they are still nursing. She said he is just simply a "lover, not a fighter", and is a huge momma's boy. I think I would log onto Babycenter.com to see if other moms have similar issues. Sometimes it helps just to hear about other people, and often they give helpful hints/advice. The night time nursing (for me) was the hardest. If we didn't get Keelin out of our bed (around 10 months), I don't think she ever would have weaned. She would nurse every couple hours MINIMUM when she was lying next to me. I had to pretty much go cold turkey with the nursing at night, and the rest just sort of followed, right around a year or so. I have a really hard time letting kids cry at night, so I'm not one to give advice...but it's always an option I guess. Good luck!

[Meenah]

My suggestion, for what it is worth: When he wakes up at night, offer him a sippy cup with pediasure, and hold him. After about two weeks of consistent not nursing, he will soon forget milky!!! Maybe
Luanne

Not much personal experience here on my kids not eating. From the perspective of a sibling.....my brother was the pickiest eater. I don't recall if there were any growth issues but he was always small/smallest for his age. One thing that didn't help -- well-meaning relatives who asked him if he would like "super yummy and healthy salad" etc and tried and tried to get him to eat. He is also rather stubborn.....and once they made a big deal of it, he refused to budge. My parents did this to some extent as well.
He did end up expanding his diet but didn't really tell anyone. A friend's mom told my mom how surprised she was to see him eat salmon cakes, mashed potatoes and salad (at their house for dinner). My mom was shocked. Turned out that in a lower pressure environment where he could be "anonymous" he ate more. But he was 14 or 15 by that point.

I remember that it was really frustrating for my parents.

I don't know if that helps at all. Good luck! That's a tough one!

[PrincessFiona]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and thoughts. I couldn't get him to eat lunch yesterday and then when we went to Andrew's physical therapy appt. he shrieked, screamed and pulled at my breasts in the middle of the waiting room and...bad mommy...I gave in. I was just so embarassed and it drew so much attention to us all. He actually...laid down on the floor and shrieked as if in pain. "Mommeeeee, Mommeeeee"! It sounded pathetic.

I have to do something. The garlic thing isn't a good idea because it stinks so much. The lemon juice wears off quickly and can be uncomfortable. :!

Last night at dinner when I called everyone to the table, he was running through the house calling them too. Once everyone arrived, he hopped up onto his chair and gobbled down some food. He still didn't eat a lot, but he ate...freely, willingly, without me sitting there with him on my lap. A lot of times I try and feed him separately from everyone else...so I think I am going to do the group feeding thing with him all day long. He appears to eat more when he is with the other kids. It usually works out that he wakes up before the other kids and the kids usually want lunch later. I'm just going to get them all on the same schedule and get him involved in helping me get the kids to the table, etc.

I'm just at a loss.

kris

The last part of what you said made me think of something with Anna. I can't get her to eat by herself -- even when I can tell she is hungry but if I sit down at the table with her or she is sitting down with her sister, she eats. I guess she is sort of a social eater? I've been trying to do that more because if I don't she gets really cranky from being hungry and it's harder to get her out of that funk.

Man, that kid likes his milkies, huh?

[houseelf]

I don't know about the milky aspect, but I do know that texture/shape was a HUGE deal to my guy. Anything that appeared remotely different was out of the question. He would eat things that I wouldn't eat: Carrot clif bars, dehydrated corn (rather than normal corn), turkey pepperoni, etc. But he wouldn't touch tomatoes or peaches because of their slickness. ? WTF. Anyway, try giving him stuff that you don't like but he might.

Just a thought.

Kelly

[HeartRN]

My daughter will only eat the dehydrated corn, too. I tried to pull a fast one tonight with the real deal, and she just laughed and pointed at it and said "corn, corn, corn". Oh well, at least she will eat a vegetable in some form. When is Gerber coming out with other dehydrated varieties, anyhow!?!!!!