A visit to the nutritionist
We saw the nutritionist this past Tuesday. I dragged my feet writing about it, because honestly it was beyond underwealming. I didn’t get much out of it. I’m not much of a reader (if it’s more than a web-page long I loose interest… seriously), but I guess I had done enough poking online that I received no new information from our visit.
In short: no clues as to why G goes on hunger strikes. No suggestions on what we can do to reverse them or shorten their duration. Am I frustrated? Yes. We’re at the end of the road here as far as people with letters after their names go. The only thing I can hope for is to continue tracking what’s going on around G when he goes into these phases and see if there is any environmental correlation.
None-the-less, there were a few things that the nutritionist mentioned that might be of interest to those of you reading. Changes in eating patterns may occur in youngin’ if:
- they are teething
- they are coming up on on a developmental milestone, or have just reached one. It’s apparently a lot more fun to do the new activity then eat.
- their eating environment is too distracting
- their parents make a big deal about eating. Ok, I AM guilty of this one here. I do try to be as casual as possible about giving him dinner, and never push food on him once he indicates he’s done, but I’m sure some of my concern is apparent to him
- the parents don’t eat at the same time. This is also something we are guilty of. S and G get home at 6. I get home a bit before that and have just enough time to feed Neko, clean the litterbox and put away my pumped milk. G goes to bed between 7-7:30, so his dinner time is as soon as he gets home around 6ish. There is categorically no way I can have dinner ready for G, as well as S and I in order for us to all eat together. As much as I’d love to, it just isn’t going to happen. However, eating together is important for two reasons:
- the child doesn’t feel stared at, so anxiety levels don’t creep in
- the parents model eating behavior, and display how to eat, as well as that the food the child is about to have (provided it’s the same as the parent’s) is not poisonous, but rather edible
So S and I are doing the best that we can. Ironically, we all eat best together when we go out for dinner.
- there has been a change in the home. This can be a big change directly impacting the child (such as a new home), or an indirect change (parent starting a new job). Any change to a set routine will require an adjustment period.
So while some of these items do apply to us, they don’t change over time, so there’s no reason why G would have good periods and bad periods. We are doing our best to address them.
Since G is starting a new daycare on Monday though, I expect we’re about to enter a new phase in eating revolt. I’m ready for it this time though and know to expect it. Honestly, I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t happen.
Some other things the nutritionist mentioned:
- establish a dedicated eating space and eating etiquette. It’s bad for kids to run around the dinner table while they’re being fed. The primary reason is because they never get enough and it reinforces a habit of eating on the run (ha! pun)
- for G’s age group, the daily caloric intake should be around 900-1100 calories. This I already knew btw, from http://www.ohsu.edu/academic/picu/PedTPNguide.htm (I’ll spare you the article: just read section IIA). Based on G’s weight and age, right now he should be consuming between 630 and 750 kCal daily to stay on a normal curve. To increase growth, increase that intake 50-100%. So yeah, my kid is supposed to have the same portion size as me. Unreal, right?
We also talked about adding fat to his diet. Again, butter on bread, or mixed in with his cereal. Olive oil mixed in with his pureed food, or used for dipping his veggies or bread.
So yeah, while S and I pant to the 30 Day Shred (more on this in a later post) each night, I’m supposed to be fattening up the kid. Can we trade places?
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