Re: meals - oh, and great news

[Guest guest]

Michele:

I think several small meals a day is a good idea/approach to try. I figure

if it is a good plan for diabetics, it should be a good plan for everyone.

(11, 12 in July!) has to eat many times each day. She can't handle

large amounts of food at one meal, so she eats several times. Tonight, for

instance, I made a tuna & noodle casserole. She ate about 1/2 serving of it

and a large helping of peas (her favorite veggie!). She told me she was

full, and wouldn't even eat a single strawberry. This is her very favorite

food right now, so I knew she must have been stuffed.

We've noted this happen on other occassions; then 2 hours later she'll come

and tell us she's hungry. We've kept things like applesauce (unsweetened,

but with cinnamon added), yogurt (usually custard style Yoplait with higher

calories), pudding (it is actually hard to find ones that aren't labelled

" low fat " ), fruits (lately it is exclusively strawberries), etc. on hand.

She also takes 2 cans of Boost with Protein daily. I have tried to keep

those from her during " regular meals " , giving her milk, juice or water, and

save the Boost for those mid-time meals. Sometimes the Boost is all she

needs to make her feel full. She goes on and off the yogurt. I've had some

sit in the fridge until it expired; other times I can run to the store twice

in the same day to keep her supplied. We also have adopted the attitude of

" If she'll eat it, she can have it. " She has been growing pretty well and

in good proportion lately, and we hate to knock her off that by forcing her

to try to eat things she doesn't like and creating an aversion to food.

(Struggled too hard to get her to eat at all!)

I thought I'd have problems trying to keep things from Ken (14, soon 15),

but the only thing he usually snacks on is fruits. likes chocolate

pudding and Ken doesn't eat anything chocolate. Ken also doesn't like

yogurt. So we haven't had too much problem with the

" everyone-in-the-house-eats-her-stuff " situation.

Currently she is also on a Froot Loops kick - lots of sugar, but at least

she's now eating a " regular " breakfast - with strawberries (of course). She

sometimes wants the cereal during the day, but I try to discourage that and

steer her towards just the strawberries or applesauce. Hmmm...wonder how

long this will last? It used to be I couldn't keep bananas in the house -

she'd eat 5 a day if we let her. (That one I put a limit on because of

potassium level concerns.) I've been trying to steer her to puffed rice

cereal, and she will sometimes eat it with - you guessed it! - strawberries.

But she wants to add sugar to it and I won't let her. Figure she is getting

enough with the pudding, etc. she eats during the day. Guess I might try

honey instead of sugar; she likes honey on cream of wheat when I've fixed

that.

Have you tried Boost dietary supplement? Just wonder if the taste is

different enough that Aubrie might like one of the flavored ones?

is still on a tactile eating jag, though. If there is meat involved

she will always ask if it is hard or soft. Just LOVES meatloaf. Also, she

is " hooked " (you'll catch the joke in a sec) on Mc's fish sandwich.

Promise that child a McD's fish sandwich and she'll perform on any task you

ask! She also loves the soft serv ice cream they have. She doesn't like

hard pack ice cream at all. I've stopped buying it at home except to

occassionally make milk shakes for a treat for everyone else. I think it is

a consistency she doesn't know what to do with - kind of solid but not

really; but she will drink a smoothie. Ken made strawberry-banana smoothies

one day and got most of it.

Now for the really GREAT NEWS: has been accepted and I will be

heading with her to Shriner's Hospital in Chicago on June 22 & 29! We

initially were scheduled for Sept. 14, but when we asked of any possibility

of moving up, they said if we could make 2 trips we could be moved to June.

We jumped on it. Since we live in Indiana, it will not too difficult to

handle the 2 trip aspect. June 22 is the rheumatologist for her migratory

joint/swelling/pain problems and June 29 will be with an orthopedic

specialist for the scoliosis. is still getting ibuprofen nearly

round the clock for pain/swelling of joints. I don't think any of us could

have handled waiting until Sept. to hopefully resolve/treat this problem.

Need to go and finish some packing for . She is going to camp

Sunday, and she won't settle in bed until she's sure most of it is finished.

She's been in 2 times to check on me and her suitcase!

And I've gone on...again!

Friends in CHARGE,

Marilyn Ogan

Mom of Ken (14 yrs., ADD) and (11 yrs., CHARGE+)

Wife of Rick

oganm@...

oganr@...

[Guest guest]

Marilyn-

First of all-- great news about Shriners!!! I want to know what you think

of the facility and how treatment goes. We'll be in Chicago (at Children's

Memorial) on June 24th. So we'll just miss you guys.

Thanks for all the info on food/cals. I hadn't thought about Boost or one

of the adult formulas having a different/better taste than Pediasure. I'll

try that. If she'd just like it, what a difference that could make.

Although we are doing well with the fortified milk so far. If I get good at

it, I could add extra powdered milk to her portion of other foods, but she's

too aware and right in there when I'm preparing meals. I'd have to be

really sneaky to do that.

Looking forward to hearing about your dr visits!

Michele W

Aubrie's mom

[Guest guest]

Hello,

My husband was on a liquid diet for awhile, and as I've said my daughter with

spina bifida is a difficult one to feed. In both cases the nutritionist

recommend Carnation Instant Breakfast (CIB). we are just feeding the

foods

she likes ( I didn't know you could eat the same thing 2 meals a day for 3

days in a row and not be tired of it!) Our 2 year old is tube fed, so we have

lots of Pediasure, and have occasionally gotten our daughter to drink the

flavors. For my husband's diet he was directed toward the Boost BREEZE, which I

think had more protein, and the CIB. They also had him putting extra protein

powder in/on just about anything. He did this because of a surgery. He met

someone who had the same surgery who told him she lived on Rita's Italian Ice

for

a month, but for him it was just a passing phase thank God.

[Guest guest]

Hello,

My husband was on a liquid diet for awhile, and as I've said my daughter with

spina bifida is a difficult one to feed. In both cases the nutritionist

recommend Carnation Instant Breakfast (CIB). we are just feeding the

foods

she likes ( I didn't know you could eat the same thing 2 meals a day for 3

days in a row and not be tired of it!) Our 2 year old is tube fed, so we have

lots of Pediasure, and have occasionally gotten our daughter to drink the

flavors. For my husband's diet he was directed toward the Boost BREEZE, which I

think had more protein, and the CIB. They also had him putting extra protein

powder in/on just about anything. He did this because of a surgery. He met

someone who had the same surgery who told him she lived on Rita's Italian Ice

for

a month, but for him it was just a passing phase thank God.