Tuesday, March 23, 2010

10 months. A little young for anorexia?

My baby won't eat anything but breastmilk or paper. (Not that I'm trying to feed him paper, but when he gets his hands on some he has no qualms about putting it in his mouth).

I snapped these pictures today at lunch because Wesley and I were caught in a grudge match and needed something to break the tension. He loves the camera, so he couldn't help by give his signature, impish, closed mouth, melt-your-heart smile-- but notice he won't open his mouth. Oh no. I might sneak some delicious tortellini in there.
Since we first introduced solids at 6 months, he's never been a good eater. There were periods where he didn't hate it as much, but I would never say it was his thing. I tried everything. Homemade baby food, store-bought jars, bits of what we were having for dinner, pure steamed veggies, chunks of fruit, pasta, you name it. He WILL NOT eat vegetables. I always try and sometimes I can sneak a bite or two in.

However, lately, he seems to have embarked on a total hunger strike. Even foods he previously enjoyed he will not eat now. What you see smeared about his face in the picture used to be his absolute fave-- BeechNut Apples and Blueberries. Today: won't do it.

Aside from being really frustrating and annoying, I'm starting to get worried about his no-eating habit. The truth is-- he's lost weight in the past month! At his 9 month check up he was only 18 lbs 7 oz (the 19th%) and when we weighed him on our friend's scale on his 10 month bday, he was down to 18 lbs 4 oz. Geeeeeeeeez. I'm getting nervous! Keep in mind he started life in the 70th% for weight.
It's not that I'm not trying! Today I have given him oatmeal, yogurt, banana, graham crackers, club crackers, chicken, rice, tortellini, apples and blueberries, and probably a gallon of breastmilk. I count myself lucky if he eats two bites in a row of anything. We play games and sing songs while eating. We've tried distraction free eating-- nothing but us and the food. We've tried both high-chair eating and letting him crawl around and following him with a spoon.
I don't think you can understand my dilemma until you try to feed him or unless you have an anorexic baby yourself. At this point, it isn't WHAT I'm feeding him; it's eating in general. I'm starting to wonder if I should seek medical attention. Did he develop some weird intenstinal problem that makes him fear food? I haven't noticed weird poop or rashes... I'm really trying to make mealtime not associated with torture, but I don't know how to help him grow without a little force feeding at this point.
I'm open to suggestions here. If you have a chubby baby that eats like a dream with little or no effort from you, please don't gloat. I see enough chubby babies already. However, if you share my pain and your baby wants to be emo-skinny like mine, please share tips on how you got him to open his stinkin' piehole and enjoy some delicious nourishment.

4 comments:

Team Avarell said...

I am so sorry that is too frustrating! We have just found recently that Jax has decided to only eat pieces of real food. He will NOT open his mouth for the pureed foods anymore. I don't have much advice since I don't have too much experience but I know that once I stopped giving him pureed foods he started trying everything else. He likes those Gerber puff things...all varieties but the cheddar ones seem to be a favorite, if you haven't tried that already. Good luck!! Jax also likes to feed himself more than be fed, so I do bread and string cheese. Maybe when we are there for Eric's graduation, Wesley can teach Jax to be more friendly and walk :) and Jax can teach Wesley to eat his food!

Guinevere said...

Sounds like Ben. We suffered and fretted and begged and wondered what his/our/the problem was. And then we had Cash, with the same parents, household, and diet, but with different issues, and I realized it was ok. Ben still is a frustrating eater, and we do our best to pack calories into him. The hunger strikes come and go. But he's healthy and energetic, and that's what matters.

The most helpful advice I was given was from our pediatrician. You've probably heard it all before:

1) When children learn a new trick they temporarily regress in other areas of their development. When babies become more mobile (e.g. walking) they have accompanying developmental tendencies to stop putting so many things in their mouths. Including food. This helps keep them from dying by poisoning or choking. And like so many other things, it's a stage that passes.

2) The most important thing is to create healthy and happy food habits. He's not going to starve without complaining about it, so don't if it's making you crazy it's not worth the battle.

3) Is he alert and energetic? Then he's not starving.

Bottom line-- he's going to be fine. Pray, and if you feel like you need to take him to a dr, do. He seems darling and alert and happy, so he's going to be fine. Don't stress too much. Easy to say, no?

LadyCarma said...

All good advice from the other comments. Guinevere's experience with Ben is great advice. I would follow that advice and not worry or fret. Tristan and Ethan both went through the same "no eating solids" stage and Ethan is now 5 feet tall at age 11. Hang in there. This too shall pass.
PS-Love the shirt- Clark do you recognize it as one of your shirts at that age?

Allyson & Jere said...

Ok, I'm just laughing a little at Lady "clark do you recognize it as one of your shhirts at that age?"
comment, because I'm fairly sure no 10 month old remember what they wore. I love her, she slays me! But anyway, I just wanted to say sorry your struggling, that really sucks. I wish I had ANY advice to offer, but I just simply don't. My kids are eaters. Well, except Maggie now has decided that eating is optional. But, I've just learned that there is no need to force, because she will always come around to it if she's REALLY hungry. Good luck friend, I'm sure this too shall pass.