Desperate for Food Ideas

I am a mother of a 6 year old son, 4 year old daughter and 22 month old son. All of my children enjoy eating frozen mixed vegetables right out of the freezer without cooking or thawing them. We usually give them to the kids to snack on while we are preparing dinner and they LOVE them! They each started snacking on the frozen vegetables when they were old enough to pick them up and feed themselves. At that point I usually picked out the green beans because they are larger and I was afraid of choking, but now they even eat frozen green beans. I know it sounds a little strange, but it's good for them and one of their favorites.

Your request sent off an alarm for me. Reflux plus resistance often equals food allergy. This is commonly missed by doctors, but I have seen it repeatedly. I am an occupational therapist for children and deal with oral defensiveness, and I am the mother of 2 children with food allergies. My youngest has had a lot of resistance to any new foods, and it only improved as we removed things from his diet that triggered a response. Both of my younger two were diagnosed with reflux, too. I have seen it in practice, too, that kids resist new foods until the allergens are removed. Unfortunately, the foods kids crave are usually the ones that they are allergic to. Milk and wheat are the two biggest ones which cause problems that are not always identified.

Allergy testing sometimes provides answers, but the scratch testing that is commonly done only identifies one type of allergy and often not food problems. You may try researching how to do a single food elimination diet or rotation diet to see what happens. There is information available on the web or in books like "Is This Your Child?" by Doris Rapp.

If it is not allergy related, but please explore this completely before deciding against it, you should find that getting your child to touch food, tolerate it on his plate, kiss it, put it in his mouth for a moment, take a bite, etc in a gradual fashion will often help to desensitize. You can also try dipping foods in a favorite condiment to increase his tolerance. Don't be limited by what you think would taste good. You'd be amazed at what ranch or fruit dip will do for expanding choices even if you turn up your nose. Once this improves, you can generally fade out the dip. Also, brushing with a vibrating toothbrush, including the cheeks and lips sometimes helps with defensiveness.

I am a 34 year old mother of 8, 5, and 3 year olds who works part time as a pediatric occupational therapist.

K.

my little one LOVES avacado.
it's easy too you can cut it in half then twist the halves from the pit. take a butter knife and slice the halves inside the skin then use a fork or spoon to scoop them out. it's soft enough that you can serve it as is or mash it a little with the fork.
The fatty content is ALL GOOD for the little growing tummy
hope that helps

My son was the same way, he is now 18 months.I tried showing him the food that he didnt like, mommy would eat and it would encourage him to do so as well. Im not sure what textures he wont eat but my son LOVES noodles! They are easy for them to feed themselves with, also he loves peas! I would just try to show him that momme eats those things too and I think eventually he will come around. (My son was a preemie too)

Check out wholesometoddlerfood.com or wholesomebabyfood.com - they have a lot of great ideas. If your little boy likes pancakes, you can make a pancake out of ANYTHING, and my daughter (who is also picky about texture) will eat it no matter what is in it because it's hidden.

M., Have you considered seeking the help of a professional who has specialized knowledge in feeding. I would start by getting an appointment with Help Me Grow or Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities ###-###-####). They will assist you in getting the services your child may need. No reason to try to figure this out by yourself when people already know the answer. T. C

M.,

What about trying to sneak in purees of veggies into foods you know he will eat? I read about making cauliflower purees and mixing them with mashed potatoes, or baking chicken breaded with zucchini, etc. Theres a ton a manipulative ways to sneak in the good stuff-The Oprah episode with Jessica Seinfelds newest book gave me the tip.

My son also had digestive problems as an infant. He still has problems from time to time. At an early age he learned how to help himself. At meal time he would eat a little and then sit back. We would tell him to eat-he would tell us he was digesting. After a few minutes he would eat some more. There are still times when he will be hungry, try to eat and get full quickly. This was caused by the fact that the flap the is suppose to open and close for your stomach does not always do what it should. It will either stay closed, making the food stop and not enter the stomach-causing the full factor-or stay open-causing the not full factor. The latter will cause you to eat too much and possibly vomit.
You did not mention what formula you have him on. Try a soy based formula.
Also since he is having texture issues try pureeing his food. It may seem more like baby food, but it will taste better. It may help him digest it better.
You may want to discuss this with your childs doctor.
I hope this information will help.
Good Luck,
M.

You need to see a specialist. They can do therapy that will get rid of the sensory issues.
My now 6yr. old, has motor sensory issues and they found that at a special school for 2 yr. olds and they worked on it and now she eats any texture.