u/beeee_throwaway

My 2 year old toddler has a feeding aversion d/t medical trauma and sensory sensitivities.

Last month I asked his feeding therapist how delayed his feeding was in months. She was hesitant to tell me but I was just curious and she eventually said he has skills that might be expected of a 8-10 month old. I was mad at myself for fishing for that knowledge but it did give me some perspective on my own attitude about his feeding. He was still predominantly drinking milk from a bottle at that point. Maybe would eat a Madeline cookie here or there.

In the past month he has made a huge amount of growth. He’s eating 2 meals a day and asking for solid food snacks. Drinking lots of water from a straw up and has cut down milk. He has tried things that he found very aversive in the past like sun butter and crackers. He ate his first fruit - watermelon- and has been devouring it every day. Fruit has been a huge struggle for him so that is a huge win. I discovered the “protein” Honey Nut Cheerios made with pea protein, and that has been a great snack that he occasionally eats a banana with.

He’s eating quesadillas with smashed meat and veggies for the first time, which I feel opens up so many options. He hasn’t had a chicken nugget or French fries meal in weeks. He’s now eating almost like a normal very picky toddler minus the berries , he still doesn’t like berries. He is struggling with some motor skills like scooping with utensils and chewing, and the quantity is still very small, but the jump in development has been astounding.
I was feeling so discouraged after 1.5 years of feeding therapy with no improvement and even some regression. I’m just so happy for him. Food is such a big part of our lives, when a person struggles to eat it really impact their quality of life.

If you’re struggling with a child who is very picky and still mostly drinking milk, don’t let go of hope.

Anyway, here is an unremarkable ham and Swiss croissant and some water melon, just posting so I can share. I’m a single mom so sometimes Reddit gets to be my co-parent 🤣

Can I interest anyone in a slice of left over pizza with Dr. Praegers Veggie pizza stars smashed on top and a layer of mozzarella cheese melted to tie it all together? 🤣 that’s how it likes it, what can I say. There are worse things he could be eating…. like last nights meal- a single Annie’s bunny cookie with a sip of water.

I’m burnt to a crisp yall, my toddler has a feeding aversion d/t medical trauma. I do all the things and he’s in feeding therapy (two kinds… SLP and OT). I wish he’d just eat. He was doing so well. This past week he was triggered by a safe food contaminated with an unexpected flavor, and since that moment he survived on 200 calories a day and actually lost some weight. I try hard to not show my anxiety around his eating but it’s hard when it gets like this, at this rate he’s buying himself a one way ticket for the G tube train. He just had it removed not even 3 months ago, clearly his team moved too quickly on that milestone.

Where are all my medical/ feeding aversion parents at? Please come out of the woodwork, I’d love to hear from you ! Feeding a typical toddler is already such a struggle. Add a feeding aversion to the mix and it’s like parenting on “master mode”.

He ate the pizza and a bite of the shredded butter lettuce . Finally some relief after a difficult week of uneaten meals.