Parker's Eating Habit's

WE WILL BREAK PARKER OF THIS!!!!

Most of you know that we've been dealing with Parker's food issues since he was a baby. But I want to give everyone a clear picture of what we have been dealing with since he was 10 months old.

When Parker was a baby he wasn't interested in food. At 8 months we started rice cereal but he didn't really seem interested so I waited until he was 10 months old when he started show signs of wanting to eat. I've always made homemade baby food. Well, Parker didn't want anything to do with it, for about a month we did food maybe one time a day sometimes I didn't even mess with it because it was so hard to get him to eat. At 11 months old the only thing he would eat without a fuss was yo-baby yogurt, so I would mix veggies in with his yogurt and he would eat it. When he turned 1 he really didn't even care for his bday cake. I remember him gagging and crying over it! Finally we got him to take a couple bites but really didn't care for it!

So from the age of 12 months old until about 18 months old he would only eat crackers, breads and yogurt o yeah and apple sauce. I would mix veggie in with the yogurt and apple sauce but that was the only way I could get the boy to eat veggies. He was 16 months old when Cooper was born so looking back I think during that time I did what was easy and just gave him the foods he would eat! NOTE TO MOM'S, DON'T DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Once he got closer to the age of 2 we started to worry about his eating habits and that's when we started researching, asking for advice and tried everything that we could think of to get him to eat.

Parker is now 3 years old and this has been our routine for 8-10 months. Out of these 8-10 months there have been a handful of times I've taken the easy way out and just made the boy a grilled cheese sandwich but when I say a handful of times I really do mean that, minus the times we are eating out and of course we really take the easy way out and let the kids pick what they want and of course it's always grilled cheese! So this is what we've been doing......

During dinnertime, I make one meal, if you don't eat it you don't get dessert. If you cry or whine at the table you must go upstairs and sit on your bed until dinner time is over. You can stay and hangout with the family but you can't get upset. Now Parker is the only one that doesn't eat so it's always him sitting there. He has learned that you can't get upset so he just sits there and watches everyone eat dinner and dessert. There are a very few times he gets upset at the table but that's mostly on the third or fourth night of not eating. Now the next morning I would let him eat our normal breakfast and lunches. The boy for the past 8-10 months has only eaten dinner on Monday nights and Friday nights. Monday Night I have my girls night so to make it easy I make the kids hot sandwiches and Friday nights are homemade pizza night!

We've tried everything!!!!!!!!!!! AND ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS IS, HE WILL NOT EVEN TRY FOODS! The boy will not even touch food to his tongue.

Parker's Food

-Grilled Cheese (but it can't have crust on it and it has to be cut in half)

-Peanut Butter and Jelly (but he will only eat those at my mom's house, because of the sandwich cutter she has, this is a new thing that started about 3 months ago)

-Peanut Butter crackers

-vanilla yogurt

-applesauce

-pancakes

-oatmeal

-pizza (only pepperoni or cheese)

-string cheese

-apple (but only if he hasn't eaten in a long time)

-frosted mini wheats

-life cereal

-ice cream (vanilla or chocolate)

-blueberry muffin

-chocolate chip cookie

-milk

-pretzels

-granola bar

-fruit snacks

-cheese quesadilla

-cupcakes or cake

-bacon (cooked well done)

AND THAT IS IT, Those are all the foods he has put in his mouth! I'm not missing anything!!!! Now as you can read that list it's not a very healthy list and it's actually really embarrassing for me to see that list but it is what it is!!!! Now that doesn't mean he gets those things on a regular bases some of the foods he has only had a handful of times!!!

So are new plan!!!!!!!

Dinner- you don't eat it for dinner you get it for breakfast, you don't eat it for breakfast you get it for lunch and then we start all of at dinner time. And that mean you get nothing in-between, NO SNACKS!!!!!!! The only thing I'm giving him is a glass of milk with his Reliv in it (it's our vitamin supplement) And no more hot sandwich or pizza night, for a while at least!!!! I'm planning on make pizza this week but I'm going to change it up. It will be like a calzone which in the past he has refused to try.

Update:

The last time he has eaten was lunch on Monday. Tuesday morning he has a glass of milk. Tuesday night he did try something he has never tried before, carrots. For dinner I made chicken and rice and had raw carrots on the table while I was making dinner. He ate 5 of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were shocked!!!!! But still wouldn't even try his dinner so guess what today he will get chicken and rice for breakfast and if he doesn't eat three bites then he has to take it to the gym in his lunch box! Then tonight is beef and noodles and we will start all over!!!

I want to make this clear, I don't think it's a food thing I think it's a stubbornness.