If someone were to ask me the most challenging part of being a parent (besides the obvious NICU stay/premature birth) I would have to say eating. It has been challenging from the very beginning. She started off on breastmilk with fortifier added. I pumped for 8 months because breastfeeding never took off. It's difficult to start them on a bottle and then expect to switch back. Then, we had her reflux issues, obvious pain when she ate and daily vomiting. Not daily spit up. . .daily projectile vomiting. . .those who have experienced the latter know the difference. She is very apprehensive about things being put in her mouth. We tried many different formulas and settled on Enfamil AR (that has added rice cereal) When she turned a year old, we switched to Enfamil Next Step, which Olivia is still on. She loves it! She hates milk. . .the only way we get her to drink milk is to make strawberry (and sometimes chocolate) milk. Currently, she takes 3 bottles a day along with 3 meals a day. She is very picky about food and would eat fruit all day if she could. How do I complain about that? And, her choice of drink is ah-ger (water.) Again, it's healthy, but. . .doesn't quite put on the weight. Yes, then the weight is another tough issue. If only she'd gain a few more pounds so mama wouldn't worry about it so much. She is still hovering around 20 lbs. We're thinking about getting Duocal to add some calories to the few foods that she does eat. Speaking of foods, here is her current list of "eatable" foods that I can consistently get her to eat.
Velveeta Shells and Cheese (she'd have this every day if she could)
toast (with butter only)
Fruit (strawberries, grapes, cherries, apples, peaches)
Pizza
Club crackers with spreadable cheese, Goldfish and other various crackers
Cheerios
Gerber Puffs and Yogurt Melts (I'm trying to get her off of these since they don't add many calories.)
Gerber Farmer's Market Vegetables and Gerber Sweet Potatoes and Turkey (one of the only ways that she gets vegetables.)
Fruit snacks
French fries
Pretzel with cheese from the mall
Chocolate chip ice cream
Oh, and how could I forget? Sara Lee Cheesecake Bites
I'm almost out of ideas and I wish she would develop even a little love of food. Currently, she loves her bottle and who would have thought that would ever happen. :)
Mmm. . .ah-ger!!
I'm going to be a tulip fairy for Halloween. Do I really have to wear this on my head, though?
Mmm. . .ah-ger!!
I'm going to be a tulip fairy for Halloween. Do I really have to wear this on my head, though?
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4 comments:
If she can have peanut butter, Maddie has always loved PB on celery (and if you shave/peel the outside it gets rid of the strings that drive me crazy), carrots and apples. Its a good mix of sweet and salty and a great way to get some protein. I had trouble with her being picky until about 3 months ago. We always have v8 and pediasure on hand but I still give her the PB any time she gets picky
We never had much luck with Duocal, my daughter, Romy, hated the taste and refused any kind of food we mixed it in. We have had decent results with heavy cream. I coat it on all of the fruit she eats and replace 1.5 ounces of milk from her bottle with it too. 1.5 ounces has 150 calories! If you do that 3 times a day that's an extra 450 calories! Chances are she won't even be able to tell. I also agree with the peanut butter idea, that's great protein. Come on Oliva, you can do it!
Have you tried smoothies. My son is small, 23lbs at age 2, and hates eating, kind of like Olivia. Smoothies are good because you can sneak things in, like vegetables and add caloires with yogart and ice cream. You could try to make a strawberry one like her milk. Just a thought! Good luck with her eating.
Tara
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