7 year old extra-picky eater needs extra calories...oral sensory issues involved!

Kellie - posted on 09/26/2011

Kelly, I had not heard about the powdered milk thing. I will try that. I also will try the protein powder. Part of the doctor's suggestion about letting him whatever he will eat is that when presented with a food he didn't like (or thought he wouldn't like) he would prefer to go hungry than to eat. I think it's an attempt to get just get anything in him at this point. I'm hoping that the new gastro will be able to offer more advice.
We have looked at going to another town, as their are excellent choices 90 min both north and south of us. However, the insurance my son has will not cover anyone outside of our area, and unfortunately, cost is a huge issue for us. HUGE. I've even neglected taking care of some of my own issues so that I could afford the doctors he sees now.
My son is extremely active. He's not hyper active, just "typical boy" active. His body seems to get what it needs to function from what little he does eat, but then there isn't any left over for growth.
Sometimes I just wish he'd just eat more. That he'd eat things like chicken nuggets, spaghetti, tacos. That he'd eat something new and decide he likes it. I'm frustrated, and sad.

Kelly - posted on 09/26/2011

My son has very similar issues and I struggled with them as a child too.
We to add powdered milk to his mac & cheese (in addition to the regular milk it calls for)--it adds extra calories, along with a dose of calcium and vitamins A & D. (this can be added to anything with a creamy consistancy--peanut butter, etc.)
If you need even more calories and higher protein, you can mix protein powders into almost anything as well. You can get them at GNC.
Also, for J, we cooked a different texture for an entire week--so when he tried steak (a current fave) we had it for a week. When we try soup, we go for a whole week. It gives him an opportunity to adjust to it.

Our doctors put J on a high protein diet, as empty calories will not help a child gain muscle mass and can actually be detrimental to his weight gain. I'm very surprised at your doctors's advice to allow so many carbohydrates, unless perhaps your child is very inactive in which case it will turn to sugar, then eventually to fat, but if he is active, things like cookies, bread, and pastas will burn right off.

Also, it is not always a bad idea to go to doctors in another town. J's docs were 4 hours away because our local doctors just were not cutting it, and besides, he was my kid and I wanted the best of the best....and they happened to be across the state. It was a pain, but well worth the effort, as he is a healthy, happy boy now.

Kellie - posted on 09/26/2011

Thanks! He says the carnation makes his tongue feel funny. And the cost of the boost and pediasure is something that has been a problem for us. He pretty much lives on the same foods as Serena's son. He hates rice and pasta, unless it's Mac and Cheese, and then he really doesn't eat it unless it's Kraft. So far, this high fat, high calorie diet is proving to be just as difficult. He's still eating the same foods he was before, and just more of it, since we are not limiting things like how many cookies he is allowed in a day. Usually we allowed just 2, after lunch. Now he can have them for snack as well, and if he eats dinner, 2 more then. Things like that. No new foods. And no weight gain that we've been able to detect on our scale. We finally have an appt with a pediatric gastrointerologist, and I don't know if they will do anything. We saw them for this when he was 2, and they poked his belly, asked a few questions, and sent us home, saying their wasn't anything they could do. They didn't even run any tests, to see if maybe he's unable to absorb calories well, or something along those lines. As this is the only pediatric gastro doc in town, our choices are limited. We are seeing a different person in that practice this go 'round tho. Thanks for the help! It means a lot to know that I'm not the only mom out there with this struggle.

Serena - posted on 09/25/2011

"Boost" drinks and pediasure have vitamins and protein. My picky 7 year old loves the chocolate milk taste of Boost and protein drink mixes. She lives off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and bread. I have to keep all types of food separate at dinner--no sauce, ketchup, etc. Plain and bland has a better chance of her eating--like plain noodles, plain rice. Maybe that will help with your son.

Julie - posted on 09/25/2011

you might try giving him carnation instant breakfast with his meals. Not the premixed, but the powder mix it yourself kind, it tastes better with meals. I know how hard it is to find high calorie foods now a days too. We have an almost 7 yr old who doesn't even weigh 40 lbs and a 9 yr old who barely weighs 55 lbs.