Re: Re: venting/vitamins/supplements-Kris

[Guest guest]

Kris, thanks for the kind words. I don't post often and  I must admit that I

regretted posting after I did it.  I should have researched it myself, but the

subject came up and I was curious.     My son's dx of Autism in July has my

brainwaves crossed.  I am still so emotional and some of the comments have hurt

my feelings.  I started to drop out of all the groups, but I know that nothing

has been said to belittle me.  My son has no medical conditions besides the dx

of DS/ASD.   He is just so picky about eating.  He would drink and never eat

if you let him.  He is 4 1/2 y/o and is 38 " and 38 lbs. Thanks, Ruth

Subject: Re: venting/vitamins/supplements-Ruth

To:

Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010, 7:16 PM

 

Hi Ruth!

Your son sounds a lot like mine (when he was younger) regarding textures and

eating varieties of food. When I became his mama, DJ was just 2 but ate only

stage 1 baby food (veggies & fruit & cereal) & still on a bottle. At the time he

did not eat a whole jar either.

He was extremely underweight for years until his thyroid stopped working. Sigh,

now we are on the other side of the moon. Finally got him where he could & would

eat more of a variety (took years!) & now we have to linit foods due to

excessive wight gain from the hypothyroidism. :(

Long story short, I too was very concerned about nutrients. So I gradually

trained DJ to orally process different food viscosities. At one point he would

eat things like kale, spinach, cous cous, etc. This suddenly stopped one year

though & he became very rigid about his food-even to the shape of his crackers.

So I again became concerned about his diet & discussed with pediatrician. For

several years his food was supplemented with pediasure. I know that it is

expensive, but I also know that WIC will pay for it for ages 5 & under & in some

cases so will medicaid.

(I know this from when I was working with the 0-5 population)

Another alternative to pediasure is instant breakfast. Use either as a

supplement-not in place of food. Pediasure vanilla is ok but the strawberry,

choc & banana flavors are very strong. To dilute the strong taste, just mix half

vanilla with another flavor.

I used either one when making his cereal or as a drink (milkshake or just as is)

It helped my child grow & gain some weight. Just remember to not allow either to

replace a meal. And do keep in mind that along with providing required daily

vitamins etc, either also provides CALORIES-so be careful in that respect or

your little one could end up very round

Sometimes it is just easier & less stressful to pump up calories or RDA's by

using alternatives to a pill.

When DJ suddenly quit eating certain things (like high impact veggies), I merely

pureed the ones I could & added them to foods he would eat. He had baby food

meats for many years by doing this until he finally could process some meats on

his own (sigh at about age 10!)

I admit to being into super foods that naturally provide boosts to bodies-but

frankly am not or ever will (unless medically necessary) a rigid adherent.

Rather, I try to be mindful & promote calmness & a sense of understanding &

adventure re food samplings & choices. Otherwise, I'd be in looney tunes

land...lol

Hope this helps some. On a note of encouragement-although it may seem like

forever-many kiddos do expand their food choices over time. Especially once they

hit school & are encouraged to try diff things & see other kiddos eating diff

things. My child would never have eaten a burrito or pizza at your child's

age-that happened in middle school!!!

Now in high school, he is suddenly interested in chips/coke-ahem-which I am not

too happy about but will allow in moderation on special occasions. Somehow, he

also ate a subway sandwich this past year. I almost fainted but danced a jig

since it was his first ever bread+lunch meat & he was 14!!!

Funny the things that make us parents dance a jig over, eh.

Take some hope from all the posts here & find something that will work for your

family. Try not to fret if none seems to fit or work out for you-if doctors say

your child is fine-then try to just relax into the current flow of things.

Heart hugs,

Kris (whose child recently is eating asparagus & broccoli -strong stuff-but will

NOT eat a green bean,any sweets except orange sherbet or vanilla ice

cream,salads,rice or any potato. Go figure...lol)

>

> He doesn't drink chocolate milk.  Before the Autism, he ate good, but now

eats hardly anything.  He has never eaten fruits.  He ate mostly baby food

fruits and veggies until having his tonsils and adnoids out in April, which

he refuses to eat now.  He wants to drink alot.  He drinks milk and

watered down apple juice.  He eat (maple and brown sugar only) oatmeal,

biscuit and gravy, bean burritos, pizza, soft cookies and soft serve vanilla ice

cream. 

>  

>

[Guest guest]

Ruth, I think he's the same size that was at 4.5, except maybe a little

taller. He's around 40# now.

I'm so sorry that you're struggling to deal with the dx. It really hits hard.

.

My son is a very picky eater and I have to say that it's awful watching him

not eat, and hate food so much. He's 6, will be 7 in Sept, and weighs around

40#. DH says that did one of those weight thingies at the movies Monday.

It's supposed to be accurate. was fully dressed and weighed 39.5#!!! I

will be weighing him tonite, but UGH, it seems like he's actually losing weight.

He's beginning to try to eat more but it's clearly a struggle for him. . Very

very hard and mealtimes are just awful. Between trying to get him to eat enough

to stay alive, and making sure that Annika chews, and dealing with 's

ATTITUDE (ugh), and DH being constantly hooked into his stupid iPhone, I dread

mealtimes. Thank goodness, will eat anything with ketchup on it...

Ruth, you're definitely not alone. I agree with Kris that it gets better, but

it takes time. Keep trying, it will happen...

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 4, 2010, at 4:58 PM, " agirlnamedsuess21 "

wrote:

38# at 4 1/2 is good. Mine was only probably 32#.

Now, he is 7 and 45 or 47#.

He jumped a big step.

> >

> > He doesn't drink chocolate milk. Before the Autism, he ate good, but

now eats hardly anything. He has never eaten fruits. He ate

mostly baby food fruits and veggies until having his tonsils and adnoids

out in April, which he refuses to eat now. He wants to drink

alot.  He drinks milk and watered down apple juice.ÂÂ

 He eat (maple and brown sugar only) oatmeal, biscuit and gravy, bean

burritos, pizza, soft cookies and soft serve vanilla ice cream.ÂÂ

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> >

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[Guest guest]

Ruth, why are you apologizing?? I know someone pointed out that you could

research the archives, but I think they meant that in addition to the current

discussion. Plus, new members are joining all the time, who may want to talk

about it, too...and new books and new techniques are constantly coming out so

things change. Your question could possibly get a recommendation for a new book

that may help others, too. That's what the list is FOR.

I think it's fine to just ask whatever you need to! And, no apologies.

My $.02!!

Sent from my iPhone

Kris, thanks for the kind words. I don't post often and I must admit that I

regretted posting after I did it. I should have researched it myself, but the

subject came up and I was curious. My son's dx of Autism in July has my

brainwaves crossed. I am still so emotional and some of the comments have hurt

my feelings. I started to drop out of all the groups, but I know that nothing

has been said to belittle me. My son has no medical conditions besides the dx

of DS/ASD. He is just so picky about eating. He would drink and never eat if

you let him. He is 4 1/2 y/o and is 38 " and 38 lbs. Thanks, Ruth

Subject: Re: venting/vitamins/supplements-Ruth

To:

Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010, 7:16 PM

Hi Ruth!

Your son sounds a lot like mine (when he was younger) regarding textures and

eating varieties of food. When I became his mama, DJ was just 2 but ate only

stage 1 baby food (veggies & fruit & cereal) & still on a bottle. At the time he

did not eat a whole jar either.

He was extremely underweight for years until his thyroid stopped working. Sigh,

now we are on the other side of the moon. Finally got him where he could & would

eat more of a variety (took years!) & now we have to linit foods due to

excessive wight gain from the hypothyroidism. :(

Long story short, I too was very concerned about nutrients. So I gradually

trained DJ to orally process different food viscosities. At one point he would

eat things like kale, spinach, cous cous, etc. This suddenly stopped one year

though & he became very rigid about his food-even to the shape of his crackers.

So I again became concerned about his diet & discussed with pediatrician. For

several years his food was supplemented with pediasure. I know that it is

expensive, but I also know that WIC will pay for it for ages 5 & under & in some

cases so will medicaid.

(I know this from when I was working with the 0-5 population)

Another alternative to pediasure is instant breakfast. Use either as a

supplement-not in place of food. Pediasure vanilla is ok but the strawberry,

choc & banana flavors are very strong. To dilute the strong taste, just mix half

vanilla with another flavor.

I used either one when making his cereal or as a drink (milkshake or just as is)

It helped my child grow & gain some weight. Just remember to not allow either to

replace a meal. And do keep in mind that along with providing required daily

vitamins etc, either also provides CALORIES-so be careful in that respect or

your little one could end up very round

Sometimes it is just easier & less stressful to pump up calories or RDA's by

using alternatives to a pill.

When DJ suddenly quit eating certain things (like high impact veggies), I merely

pureed the ones I could & added them to foods he would eat. He had baby food

meats for many years by doing this until he finally could process some meats on

his own (sigh at about age 10!)

I admit to being into super foods that naturally provide boosts to bodies-but

frankly am not or ever will (unless medically necessary) a rigid adherent.

Rather, I try to be mindful & promote calmness & a sense of understanding &

adventure re food samplings & choices. Otherwise, I'd be in looney tunes

land...lol

Hope this helps some. On a note of encouragement-although it may seem like

forever-many kiddos do expand their food choices over time. Especially once they

hit school & are encouraged to try diff things & see other kiddos eating diff

things. My child would never have eaten a burrito or pizza at your child's

age-that happened in middle school!!!

Now in high school, he is suddenly interested in chips/coke-ahem-which I am not

too happy about but will allow in moderation on special occasions. Somehow, he

also ate a subway sandwich this past year. I almost fainted but danced a jig

since it was his first ever bread+lunch meat & he was 14!!!

Funny the things that make us parents dance a jig over, eh.

Take some hope from all the posts here & find something that will work for your

family. Try not to fret if none seems to fit or work out for you-if doctors say

your child is fine-then try to just relax into the current flow of things.

Heart hugs,

Kris (whose child recently is eating asparagus & broccoli -strong stuff-but will

NOT eat a green bean,any sweets except orange sherbet or vanilla ice

cream,salads,rice or any potato. Go figure...lol)

>

> He doesn't drink chocolate milk. Before the Autism, he ate good, but now

eats hardly anything. He has never eaten fruits. He ate mostly baby food

fruits and veggies until having his tonsils and adnoids out in April, which he

refuses to eat now. He wants to drink alot.  He drinks milk and watered

down apple juice.  He eat (maple and brown sugar only) oatmeal, biscuit and

gravy, bean burritos, pizza, soft cookies and soft serve vanilla ice cream.Â

> Â

>