this is a long and personal post... read at your own risk.
Anyone who knows this little guy well knows he is a lot of things:
A happy kiddo, a great climber, amazing coordination, a creator, fun loving, an amazing bike rider, a sweet brother, a great reader...i could go on. Although all these things are AMAZING, the one thing he ISN'T, is a great eater.
It has been the cause of many tears (from both him and me), many frustration, and many heartfelt prayers.
It is always on our mind.
How can we help him?
It goes beyond just being 'picky'. I have a picky eater-K claims that title-but I can still get him to eat and taste things. G's problems go much deeper. We tried 'starving him out and giving into the hope that he will eat when he's hungry', we did that for a month, he went to bed crying every night, begging for a piece of bread because he was so hungry and chose not to eat dinner. We tried forcing food into his mouth which ended up with him throwing up.
He hasn't tried anything new for over 3 years.
It has been a long journey.
He went through a phase when he wouldn't eat at the dinner table with us, because he didn't want to smell the food, finally overcame that with tears and persistence. Birthday parties are hard, because he doesn't want to be around the food, but he wants to go so bad. Going on vacation is SO hard, because I have to plan and bring food for him that he will eat.
It is always on my mind.
The biggest red flags for me recently have been when he would smell something that I was cooking and ask what it was because it smelled so good. When I offered him some, he would just say 'no thanks.' He also keeps telling me about ice cream days on Fridays. He is so excited for them! Has he ever brought his .50 cents to buy one,? NO. Why not, because he's worried he wont get the flavor he likes and he is too scared to try a different kind. But he tells me every Friday that it's ice cream friday-it breaks my heart. Finally, we were at stake conference, and got home and he said he was starving. I opened the fridge and kneeled down by him and said, let's find something for you to eat, what do you want. He burst into tears and said, 'mom, i just don't know what to eat.' He has eaten the same thing for lunch and dinner for 3 +years, PB&J, with an occasional pancake or bowl of cereal.
At the beginning of this school year, I brought it up with out pediatrician ( i have talked to them before) and I told her I wanted to take him to a psychologist. She laughed at me. And said he would outgrow it. Really, i've ben hearing that for the past 3 years.
Recently my friend sent me an article that put into words so many of the things I have felt for my little G. He is scared of food. The same way that people who have a phobia of dogs are scared of dogs. Asking G to eat something he hasn't tried before is like putting a dog on a person who is terrified, and asking them to pet it. OK, so I don't know if it runs that deep, but maybe.
We are finally taking the first steps!
C took G to the doc for an ear ache, I asked C to bring up eating again. He told him everything, without hesitation they gave us a referral for a food doc. We have some paper work to send in, BUT
there is a weight off my shoulders that has been there for too long.
Food is such a big part of everything we do.
It has been such a long battle,
I couldn't be more excited for G and so excited at the hopefulness of everything.
