Eating solid food has been a continuing challenge for Lou. It all started a few months after introducing solids and reached a peak around 6-9 months, at which time he was refusing baby food altogether.. and he wasn't able to eat any of the beginner finger foods (puffs etc.) without gagging or choking. During this time his weight was at a stand still. My once 95th percentile baby was now barely holding on to the 5th percentile. There were a lot of emotional and tear filled dinners and mealtimes (mostly by me) and it was just sooo incredibly agonizing not to be able to feed my baby. I just wanted him to eat sooo bad.. and he wouldn't. I had done a TON of research and knew how important it was to never force him to eat anything and to try and make mealtimes an enjoyable and fun experience. So this usually consisted of me putting out about 20 different options (and praying there would be one item in there he'd eat) but much to my disappointment EVERYTHING would end up in his lap and on the floor. Looking at our dining floor every night after meal time and I longed for a dog.
THANKFULLY since that point he has made tremendous improvement. He gobbles down purees now (he really only likes the very basics - i.e pears, sweet potatoes, etc. - if we get too fancy he won't eat it), he also will eat several finger foods. He eats most finger foods in small portions but there are some things that he'll eat large quantities of.. like croutons. LOL He is by far the pickiest eater ever! Texture is HUGE for him.. he won't eat anything soft or mooshy or slippery. I originally wanted to raise him on a vegetarian diet like me but that was thrown out the window when we discovered his eating issues.. during the worst of it there was nothing I wouldn't offer him.. just to try and get him to eat. Some of his favorite solid foods are blueberry waffles, bread, tofu, cornbread, spanish rice, crackers, pretzels, croutons and popcorn. Carb lover just like mom. I wish he would eat a wider variety of foods (some fruits and vegetables would be nice!!) but thankfully for purees and smoothies, we cand still get him to eat/drink them.
His 1 year doctor appointment was a bit of a disaster. We had to go back FOUR times since every time we went he was too sick for a well visit and coudn't get his vaccines. The first time he had an ear infection and needed to be on breathing treatments for weezing (my poor baby spends so much time being sick), the second time he still needed to be on breathing treatments and the ear infection wasn't completely gone (despite the antibiotics), the third time his lungs sounded great but now he had a double ear infection in full force! :( Fourth time was this last Friday and FINALLY he was better and was able to get his vaccines. Anyway, at the first visit we discussed his eating issues and weight with the doc. She was worried about his weight (still hanging on to the 5th percentile) and sent us home with instructions to feed him very fatty fried foods... like tator tots, fries, fast food, etc. This did not sit well with me at ALL since we understand the importance of eating healthy and how impactful it is on your overall health. So after a couple nights of feeding him tator tots, chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries I decided despite doctors orders we would not continue on this path. I don't care what anyone says (including the doctor), I am going to do what feels right and what I believe is best for my child. That's what it's all about anyway. So after learning that he had lost 4 ounces between his 1st and 3rd doctor appointment we decided to try another approach. Back to the purees!! We had been trying to do mostly finger foods with some purees mixed in for some fruits and vegetables but now we were going to flip flop things. Why not? He does great on purees and we can get him to eat a lot more that way. So what if he's supposed to be on all finger foods by now. We are going to do what works best for him.. and if that means blended moosh - then that's what we'll do!! He is doing GREAT so far. He still eats finger foods (mostly the carb favorites listed above) but the bulk of his diet is now purees. And at his 4th doctor appointment last Friday he was back up in weight!! At a wopping 19.7 lbs. :) The doctor was very happy with his progress and thought he looked great! No need for another weight check before his next appointment at 15 months!! VERY happy about this!
So despite all the challenges we've had we feel like we are now on the right track and mealtimes are MUCH happier now. :) It might take a while before he's on a pure solid food diet but that is perfectly fine with us!
