Feeding the taste-challenged child

Eon has some weird eating habits already. At first, I thought it was just texture that he deplored. He does fantastically well with stage 2 baby food...from a jar. When I grind up whatever the rest of us are having (usually just the veggies), he stops all mouth movement, looks at me accusingly, and gags. Every time. We introduced Cheetos Naturals for him to self feed. He did great...when the therapist was here. Then, he did the gagging thing a few times and now he just takes them and tosses them off the tray.

Over the weekend, we went to Pokagon State Park to celebrate "Thanksmas" with my side of the family (don't ask), and he got to try apple spice cake. I was expecting the gagging/vomit routine, and he did gag once, but then he got excited and ate almost a whole piece, one tiny bite at a time. The next morning, he did the same with coffee cake.

I'm starting to see a theme. Cake = good....mom's cooking = very bad. So maybe it's not texture; maybe it's taste. Who knows?

And so it begins.

Today, we started solids. There is not much that I like less than the mind-numbing task of shoveling food into an infant's mouth. I tend to delay the onset as long as possible. Couple that with fact that I can never seem to remember which order to do it in. Food and then bottle or the other way around? Anyway, I've been procrastinating on starting this. At first, I was waiting until he seemed ready, but he's been exhibiting an interest in feeding and the trunk/neck stability for awhile now. So, today I got Eon all settled in the high chair for the first time. I adjusted the straps, realized it needs a serious cleaning as older brother Zak just moved to a booster seat, and found the baby spoon. I decided to feed him oatmeal as that's what we thicken his formula with. After the first few bites, I realized that we are in for the long haul. He made no attempt to close his mouth, move his tongue, or swallow. It all came dribbling out. Ugh. I thought I had low expectations, but that was about as unsuccessful as you can get.

BUT, the next time, I remembered to push down on his tongue with the spoon and he closed his lips around the spoon. Then he started to smack his tongue and taste the cereal. A few more bites and he seemed to enjoy it. He still got way more on himself than he swallowed, but it really went pretty well for a first attempt.

(I am quite aware that the OT will invariably find fault with just about all of it next time she comes, but I choose to bask in the glow of success while I still can.:)

I'd like to try some new foods in the coming weeks. Is there anything in particular that we should wait to introduce? I can't seem to remember if there is a particular order or if little ones with Ds are more prone to food allergies.

Feeding Woes

This morning Eon took 6 ounces of thickened milk instead of his usual 4. I've noticed him wanting more in the last two days, but I'm not sure if it's a growth spurt or he's just needing more calories because he's getting older and bigger. I've never had a bottle-fed baby before, so I feel like I'm floundering here.

The problem is that I am not making enough milk for him. I've been exclusively pumping since he was 3 weeks old and had the swallow study. I know other EPers who pump and have freezers full of milk. At first, I probably could've done that, but it didn't make sense to me to continue pumping every two hours and store up milk that I'd never use, so I settled into a routine that allowed me to pump just enough to keep up with his needs. Until now.

I need to pump more frequently, but who has the time to do that? It was easier to pump every two hours when he was tiny, because no one expected me to do much. Now, however, our lives have returned to the "new normal" and everyone is involved in their various activities. I'm expected to feed them all, and keep up with everything else...you know...little things like the education of my children, laundry, bookkeeping for the business, baths, housekeeping, etc.

I don't want to transition him to formula. I'm still hopeful that he will one day be able to nurse (although that hope is waning). I also know that breastmilk is the best to help him stay healthy. And, last but not least, formula doesn't seem to agree with him. He's spit up and struggled more with constipation when he's had it. (He rarely spits up.)

I guess I just need to suck it up (or out, as the case may be) and increase my pumping sessions. Yet more television and fast food for my littles won't kill them, will it?