Re: the drive to eat

[Guest guest]

> What age do they become more motivated to eat?

-

My case was probably nothing like your daughter's, because I had NO

intervention in childhood (I wasn't even diagnosed until I was 15

years old). So no G-tubes, no Periactin, no nuthin'. So take what

I say with a grain of salt.

My appetite truly sucked throughout childhood. I was born in 1966

and, medical science not being what it is today, my pediatrician

suggested putting wine in my baby formula as an appetite enhancer.

NO JOKE! It didn't work, by the way . I had an NG tube a few

days after birth but after I pulled it out with my hands and then,

after tying my hands back, I pulled it out with my feet, they didn't

bother anymore (to say I was tenacious from Day One is an

understatement). So from that point on, my mother's goal in life

was to get me to eat. She was Jewish (typical Jewish mother) AND

overweight (she lived to eat) so she just couldn't " get " how I had

no interest in food. And for 3 meals a day for most of my pre-

pubescent childhood she sat with me to make me eat. Except at

school...where she had the lunch aides rat on me when I tossed my

sandwich out and only ate the icing of the Hostess Cupcake .

I don't recall EVER being hungry as a child, except for ONE night

when I was 7. Woke up in the middle of the night with this weird

feeling in my stomach I had never had before. I made myself a

sandwich and the feeling went away. But that was the ONLY time.

EVER. Mealtime was a power struggle of " You have to eat it or

you're not getting up from this table " (BTW, she's a control freak

to this very day. We're currently not on speaking terms )

and " But I dont' want it, I don't like it, I'm not hungry. " I just

had no interest and liked very few things...and even when I DID like

something, I ate very, very little of it.

I finally started developing something of an appetite around age 10,

which is also when pre-puberty was starting to set in. Things got

better and better and nowadays, at age 38, I can empty my plate with

the big boys...and I even eat weird stuff like sushi and calamari!

Even have to watch my weight, to make sure my (size 4 petite) pants

don't get too uncomfortably tight.

But again, that's from someone who had NO intervention. From what

I've read here, Periactin and other appetite stimulants help a LOT.

-Sharon-

Just an RSS kid who grew up

38Y, 93#, 4'6.75 " (but I prefer to say 4'7 " )

[Guest guest]

,

I never ate a lot in one sitting as a kid, but I did eat fairly

constantly throughout the day. I still eat five or six mini meals a

day instead of three full ones. I don't have any appetite advice,

because I was never on a g-tube or had an appetitie stimlulant, BUT I

do have a protein suggestion. What about a soy product? The texture

is a little weird, so she might not eat it, but it might be worth a

try. I choose not to eat red meat, so I eat soy based products a lot.

Things made with soy are generally softer and fall apart more quickly

than meat, plus they are very low in fat and have a lot of protein in

them. My two favorite brands are Boca and Morning Star. Boca even

makes patties (they are supposed to mimic hamburgers) that come in

different flavors. They're relatively inexpensive, so you might want

to at least try them.

~Hillary

21, RSS

[Guest guest]

Hi,

This sounds so much like Colin a year ago. He is now 40 mo. and will

eat a huge variety of foods, but we definitely went through the

salty phase where he ate a lot of cheetoes and fish crackers. He

wouldn't go near anything sweet or of a texture like yogurt or

pudding, but now he eats it. He especially likes lime or lemon

yogurt. He even ate a piece of birthday cake over the weekend for

the first time and I was shocked!

I think you just need to keep offering different foods with no

pressure to eat them. Keep it fun. Is she in feeding therapy? Our

therapist is great and always makes a fun game out of it to get him

to try new foods that he may otherwise not even taste.

Also, he started preschool in Jan. and I told the teachers about his

tube so that they would be aware that he may not eat snack. They are

quite amazed that he eats as well as the other kids and it must be

the peer pressure of a group setting.

Is she on a reflux med? Make sure you keep up on the proper dose as

we just learned what a huge difference it can make.

Protein ideas that Colin will eat - scrambled eggs with some sour

cream or salsa mixed in, bacon, shredded sharp cheddar cheese,

cheese whiz, peanut butter, small nuts (pieces of cashew), tuna fish

with mayo, egg salad with mayo, fish, crab dipped in butter, pieces

of turkey or ham lunch meat dipped in ranch or mustard, cottage

cheese, string cheese.

Feel free to email me with any specific questions.

Colin (RSS, gtube) and Hayden - 40 mo.

Grant - 4mo.

> Hi Guys,

>

> It's again. I have yet another question. Jillie will eat

> very small amounts of food and it takes her an hour or more to

> consume the morsels she eats. She gets her nutrition via a GT. I

sit

> her down at the table 3 times a day and offer a variety of foods.

> She refuses to eat anything resembling baby food like yoghurt or

> apple sauce and dislikes sweet foods and drinks. She likes salty,

> spicy, crunchy stuff like crackers, cheese (esp goat), salsa and

> cheese puffs. On a really good day, she'll eat 6 or 7 small pieces

> of cheese, a cracker and take sips of water. She goes through

phases

> with cheerios and baby raviolis. She has a speech therapist. My

> questions are: What age do they become more motivated to eat? She

> doesn't really care about the food she eats, she's merely putting

up

> with it and agreeing to please me. I'm stopping her GT feeds for 2

> hrs before meals and giving her periactin prior to breakfast and

> dinner but I see no interest in taking more in. We've been stuck

at

> this stage for ever. My other question is, does anyone know of a

> protein food which partially dissolves in the mouth (she's not

great

> at chewing but tries) that is on the salty, spicy or crunchy size.

I

> know by it's nature, protein starts to break down in the stomach

vs.

> carbs which can start dissolving in the mouth because of the

enzyme

> amylase found in the saliva. Meat generally doesn't get swallowed

> and cheese is higher in fat. She hates cottage cheese by the way.

> There must be something out there that I havn't come cross yet

that

> is higher in protein and easier to get down. Anyone know of

> anything??

> Many thanks,

> (Mom to Ethan 5, Jillian (RSS) 23.5 months)

[Guest guest]

Hi, ,

How about deviled meat or potted meat. I know it is kind of scary

that you cannot immediately identify what 'meat' it is, but it is

salty and disolves easily and you can smear it on a cracker or piece

of bread. Also, how about cheese whiz? And Spam. That is also

soft, like cheese and salty and easily eaten. You could cube it and

put with the cheese. Also, maybe tofu. That is high protien and you

can flavor it different ways. I am not much of an expert on tofu,

but I even saw someone on TV bread it and deep fry it! Then, your

kid can dip it in sauce. loves sauce: catsup, bbq, whatever.

Conny, 's great-aunt

> Hi Guys,

>

> It's again. I have yet another question. Jillie will eat

> very small amounts of food and it takes her an hour or more to

> consume the morsels she eats. She gets her nutrition via a GT. I

sit

> her down at the table 3 times a day and offer a variety of foods.

> She refuses to eat anything resembling baby food like yoghurt or

> apple sauce and dislikes sweet foods and drinks. She likes salty,

> spicy, crunchy stuff like crackers, cheese (esp goat), salsa and

> cheese puffs. On a really good day, she'll eat 6 or 7 small pieces

> of cheese, a cracker and take sips of water. She goes through

phases

> with cheerios and baby raviolis. She has a speech therapist. My

> questions are: What age do they become more motivated to eat? She

> doesn't really care about the food she eats, she's merely putting

up

> with it and agreeing to please me. I'm stopping her GT feeds for 2

> hrs before meals and giving her periactin prior to breakfast and

> dinner but I see no interest in taking more in. We've been stuck at

> this stage for ever. My other question is, does anyone know of a

> protein food which partially dissolves in the mouth (she's not

great

> at chewing but tries) that is on the salty, spicy or crunchy size.

I

> know by it's nature, protein starts to break down in the stomach

vs.

> carbs which can start dissolving in the mouth because of the enzyme

> amylase found in the saliva. Meat generally doesn't get swallowed

> and cheese is higher in fat. She hates cottage cheese by the way.

> There must be something out there that I havn't come cross yet that

> is higher in protein and easier to get down. Anyone know of

> anything??

> Many thanks,

> (Mom to Ethan 5, Jillian (RSS) 23.5 months)