Feeding Therapist

At the end of the summer we started taking Logan to a feeding therapist. I've had several people ask about it so I thought I would write a post about it to get all the details out there. Logan's been a picky eater forever.

The therapist said it is likely tied to my Gluten Intolerance since I was undiagnosed while I was pregnant with Logan (therefore not getting the nutrients I and the baby needed). It is common for babies that have failure to thrive in the womb to result in extreme picky eating that causes an aversion to food and all kinds of problems. It was very validating to know Logan actually has a problem and that we could come up with a game plan of how to correct it. 

She assessed Logan's situation, asked about all the things we've tried to do to get him to eat foods he doesn't like and over the next few visits she gave us assignments and things to try out at home to encourage Logan to eat foods he doesn't prefer. She was very firm in letting me know a child in Logan's situation will not eventually eat a food he doesn't like and the make him eat or go hungry method won't work for him. 

We stopped going to the therapist a few weeks ago and the changes have been night and day! He's still a picky eater, but I can get him to try new foods and even eat some of the foods he doesn't like. I realized it was working when we had grilled chicken, peas and rice for dinner. He doesn't like any of these foods but he ate and filled up on dinner! Even went so far as to say he LIKED the grilled chicken and tolerated the peas. "If I swallow the peas whole I can't even taste them!" I'd call that a win.

Now were working on introducing new foods and trying to repeat foods he tolerates so he doesn't forget he doesn't mind eating them (yup, we're having fish sticks for dinner tonight!). Meals are still exhausting, but not AS bad as they were before. I'm no longer making two completely different meals just to ensure Logan won't starve to death. And let's be honest, I don't want to eat the cucumbers in my salad either! We all have to tolerate something.