[hg808]

Hope someone can help me with this one. The main food staples in my son's baby house were porridge and yogurt (kefir). He is 18 months, and since we came home, he eats everything pureed (no meat - he won't touch pureed meat). I tried to puree our "adult" dinners, but he won't eat that. He eats Gerber's Stage 3. He has 11 teeth, and is still teething, but just doesn't get the concept of chewing food. For now, I prepare for him fruit and vegetable purees and give him rice and tapioca pudding, as well as very small pasta ("pastina") mixed into Stage 3 foods. He chews on Gerber's biter biscuits, but just spits them out. My friends advise me to wait it out until he is hungry, and then feed him new foods, but he is so small, and needs to gain weight ASAP.

From what I see, this is just a food issue - nothing to do with attachment or behavioral problems.

Thank you in advance for your advice.
Helen

[ATHiker]

We had the same problem with Jackson when we got him home. He wouldn't eat ANYTHING that had texture to it. We did the same thing you are, just kept giving him what he would eat and trying to offer the other things every day. By the end of the first couple of months he was up to very soft noodles, but still primarily eating Stage 3 gerbers.

Six months later he's eating pretty much anything we put in front of him... within reason. He still won't eat meat unless it's pretty ground up (think meatballs and meatloaf)

I would add Carnation instant breakfast to all of his milk, it packs quite a whallop in terms of calories. I will warn you that it makes their stools quite soft/mushy until they get used to it. If he's really little you can ask your pediatrician for something called 'Duocal'. It's a tastless, textureless product you can put in any food and add calories. We use it for preemies that need to gain weight.

We did get Jack to eat meat by pureeing Hormel beef tips and mixing them with mashed potatoes. He would eat just about anything we added to the potatoes, especially if we added gravy to it. One other calorie laden (preservatives too, unfortunately) is Chef Boyardee ABC's and 123's. There are 220 calories per container, and Jack LOVES them.

Just keep offering things with more texture, particularly off your plate while you're eating. We've been able to expose Jack to several new foods by giving him "a bite" of Mommy's "fancy" dinner. He's had Chinese, Mexican and some Thai food that way. He is certainly more accepting of different tastes and textures now.

Hope some of this helped....

Kim

[Ktates]

Gerber wheels really helped DD learn how to chew - the gerber cookie things I thought were wicked hard...what about hamburger ground up or macaroni...sometimes it takes them a bit to really warm up to new flavors. I think I read like 5 or 6 times so keep trying even if you dont' succeed at first...

what about straberries or fruits that are sweet...and along with what athiker said - we gave our dd pediasure as well to help with getting some calories on.

[hg808]

Dear ATHiker and Ktates,

Thank you for the advice! The problem is, Samuel does not want even to try anything new. To get the first spoon of new food into him is a huge struggle. And he absolutely won't eat anything off our plates. He makes a face, like I'm offering him rocks instead of food. As to fruit purees, he won't have anything even remotely tart. Banana, peach and pear purees are ok. Strawberry, blueberry and apple are absolutely off limits. And he is a smart guy - he watches very attentively what I prepare for him, and points to what he wants, and waits out or resists until he gets exactly the food of his choice!

Even though I realize that he is probably doing his best to adjust, I feel frustrated sometimes. Here's all this food he could not even dream about in the orphanage, and now he refuses to eat!

Helen

[dlhall]

We had the same problem with our son when he came home right before his first birthday. It took about six months. He wouldn't even eat stage 3 baby food (too chunky!) I would give him the baby cereal and stage 2 foods and yogurt. The first solid food he ate was cheerios and that's because he saw another kid eating them and wanted them.

Try not to enter into a power struggle with him. And keep eating in front of him; eventually he'll want what you're eating. Good luck--this won't last forever (even though it feels like it!)

Liz

[crick]

Have you tried offering him cold things too? To help with the teething pain while chewing? Things like frozen waffle sticks or yogurt bars etc? Sometimes the harder things like the biscuits etc. are too hard to start with when introducing the concept of chewing.

Another thing that I have done is to sneak a few "chewables" into the soft food. Like putting a cheerio in a spoon of his tapioca etc. Sometimes the mixture of both helps to transition to the harder things to chew. He likely will spit it out, but eventually he'll chew it.

While I do agree with keep offering him new things, I wouldn't introduce too many new things. All the changes he has been through, food is the only thing he can control. While it's a food "issue", it's also about what makes him feel safe and in control with all the changes. I had a "squirrel" eater...held food in the cheeks of his mouth. And he was picky too...with not having had much variety. But the variety scared him, so for awhile, I only introduced a couple new foods a week really, to ease him into it.

I also gave him pediasure or smoothies to make sure he was gaining weight and getting the nutrients he needed while going through this food battle.

[Mykidsmom]

Do you notice him with texture in other areas? EXamples--Textures of clothing , likes or dislikes sand, likes or dislikes warm or cold.

As long you get the vitamins and nutrients he needs I would not be concerned. Treat him like a baby, not like a 18 month old, he has missed out on some of the infant time. Will he let you feed him a bottle or let you hold his sippy cup with milk or formula? Maybe he needs the sucking action to excercise his mouth for chewing. I know in some of the orphanages they get the children off bottles ASAP to make it easier to feed the hungry crowd.

[jrwall68]

We took a similar approach to Athiker.

I don't think our daughter had anything but formula at 12 months. We started with baby food and continued formula for 3 more months as we sloooowly started on solid foods.

Noodles and soft veggies like squash let to lots of eggs.

She'll now eat about anything, but she's still not much for meat. A hamburger...forget about it...which, as a veg makes me happy!

Just go slow.

[angelkisses0102]

It could be sensory issues...they are pretty common in PI kids. Our son has always been very picky with foods, especially trying new foods. He was recently diagnosed with SPD/SID and since we started treating him, many of his food issues are being overcome, including trying new foods.

If you have an IA doctor or clinic nearby, a visit to them could help offer some solutions. Also, a full assessment by Early Intervention could ease your mind and possibly offer some great ideas. Good luck.

[ajjhmf]

I'm going to second getting an early intervention assessment for SID. My son has SID and certain food textures really bother him. My best friend's son only ate 5 foods until he was diagnosed and started getting treatment.

And like Karen said, it may give you some more answers and solutions you are looking for. The best place to start is with your pediatrician. They can refer you to the right agency for the assessment. (Which is usually free until age 3 through the government.)

Blessings!

[sak9645]

Your son has texture avoidance, a very common feeding disorder in both homegrown and adopted children. It is easily addressed with a little professional help.

If your city has a children's hospital, check to see if it has a multidisciplinary feeding disorders clinic. It may well. This is an ideal place for diagnosing and treating texture avoidance.

If not, be aware that some OTs and speech therapists are trained to work with kids who have feeding disorders, especially texture avoidance. Ask your pediatrician to recommend one.

The therapists, wherever they are, will teach you some techniques to use with your child. As an example, they may have you gently brush your child's tongue, to decrease its sensitivity. Or they may have you gradually thicken the purees you are giving your son.

The good news is that texture avoidance is one of the easiest feeding disorders to cure.

Sharon

[angelkisses0102]

Is he still on formula and a bottle? We left DS on formula and the bottle until well past age 2. We mixed the powered formula with whole milk for extra fat and calories. Then we switched him to pedisure. In fact he still gets a little pedisure mixed in with his rice milk...

[hg808]

Many thanks to everyone for their advice. Samuel is not on a formula; no bottle either. Our endocrinologist who we are seeing this Friday does not want us to give him Pediasure (I have to discuss that with her). We already spoke to Early Intervention Program people. Unfortunately, as many of you know, before the therapy actually starts, one has to get approval on several bureaucratic levels. We are going through this process now. By the way, EIP services are free only until a family's income reaches certain level - but still it's great to have it.

We will certainly follow up with a nearby hospital to see whether they have specialists in treating this particular type of disorder - the earlier we start, the better.

I really appreciate everyone's input. Please keep it coming!
Helen

[bange]

Do you let him feed himself any?

I can't remember what age my babies were when I started putting soggy cheerios on the high chair tray. I would let them get soggy in milk first and then put a few on the high chair. They loved trying to feed themselves (it also helped with their finger dexterity).

This may get him used to food with substance because he wants to do it himself. I would start this while he is hungry.

Our adopted son from Russia at age 3yrs! had a hard time with any food of substance. He would gag. He tried, he just wasn't use to it... time and practice changes all that.

[kizibits]

I have the same problem with my daugher Alivia who is now 20 months old and has been home for 8 months. She also doesn't care to drink--AT ALL! We've been going to a speech therapist for a month now who is helping with her sensory issues and I'm finally starting to see some improvements. The other day she actually ate some fried catfish and some black-eyed peas--none of it mushed! I was shocked. It does help when she sees mommy eating something first--she's much more likely to try it. And patience is key! Alivia is still below the charts for height, weight and head circumference, but we are seeing steady growth every month.