Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Food Issues

Hayleigh has an eating disorder.

We were at her 6 month check-up yesterday and the doctor asked how she is doing on solids. Simple answer: she's really not. We've tried just about every kind of pureed crap out there and she just won't do it. Now, put a banana in a mesh feeder and she goes to town. Give her a slice of banana to gnaw on and she's in heaven. Open up a jar of pureed bananas and try to feed it to her, and she looks at me as if I have committed the most heinous act of betrayal imaginable. My girl just hates that stuff. And, apparently this is a problem. Ped. says if she isn't eating in the next few weeks, she'll have to be referred to the eating disorder clinic.

I suppose this type of referral was inevitable, given that she is female, and she is related to me. Food issues were bound to be part of her life, but really, this is earlier than I ever could have imagined. I wonder if they'll have little baby recovery meetings. Hayleigh can string together a bunch of babbling, which in baby will mean, "Hi, I'm Hayleigh. I'm here because I refuse to eat disgusting pureed crap." Hmmm. I wonder if they'll make her be an inpatient and refuse to release her until she eats.

Seriously, though, I understand that the fact that she may have "sensory issues" is important. She seems to have no problem sticking anything else in her mouth: paper, stuffed animals, lead-ridden plastic toys, markers, pencils, batteries, or anything else that may have been left on the floor. I think it's just that she's smart and doesn't like the disgusting stuff. I mean I won't even taste it before giving it to her it's so gross. I'm thinking I might just wait and follow her lead when it comes to eating solids. There's always plenty of time for the eating disorder clininc.

2 comments:

AmyinMotown said...

Maybe mush up a ripe-ish bananna--Maggie wouldn't eat that horrid stuff in the jar either. It smells like Barbie. If she eats cereal, maybe mix the mushed up banana in with whatever she will eat. Maybe also try a mushed-up avocado? (babies allegedly love them, Maggie did not). Or a mushed up sweet potato? (Maggie LOVED) And applesauce (like grownup applesauce)? All of those don't have that grody baby-food smell, and maybe that is what is turning her off? She's clearly brilliant and deep and complex, so I am sure she's just too sophisticated for the jarred pureed food. When she's an award winning chef you'll be able to tell everyone you knew from the time she was a baby :-).
Of course, this is unsolicited advice so take it for what you will :-).

Mindy Richmond said...

Have you ever tried that banana baby food? It's disgusting, it doesn't taste anything like bananas. I say keep giving her the real thing if she likes that. I do that with Luke and he has so far eaten everything we've given him. Just puree some bananas or whatever and freeze it in ice cube trays, then store the frozen cubes in ziploc baggies. I do that with bananas, apples, pears, peas, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes... it's a little more work but it tastes a heck of a lot better and it's healthier too.