I finally put a banner on my etsy shop and wrote a brief shop description on what my batts are about. I borrowed some equipment from my friend Carol to try to get good pictures of the batts… it hasn’t worked so far. It was my intent to take the softbox into my bathroom today to utilize the natural light, but after exercising, showering, running Veronica to Barnes & Noble to use her gift card, taking a phone call and feeding Max… all the daylight hours were spent. So I’m pouting a little bit because tomorrow isn’t looking good for daylight free time, either.
I’m not feeling very patient.
We’re taking Clark to the doctor tomorrow because I can’t get him to eat. He’s a walking sack of bones and I’m really getting worried about chronic malnourishment. The few things I could count on him eating (peanut butter sandwich, chicken, turkey lunchmeat, eggs, apples, grapes, canned peaches…), he no longer eats, with the exception of an occasional peanut butter sandwich, no jelly. I went and bought Flinstones Gummies the other day. He’ll eat those.
I know he’s hungry. He’ll ask for food in a general sense, but doesn’t actually want anything specific. He never eats dinner. He’ll come to the table looking all excited, take a look at the food, whatever it is, and leave. There have been days where the only thing he’s eaten the whole day is a quarter of a peanut butter sandwich. Three days in a row. A few times, he’ll ask for “food”, reject everything I have to offer, and then he’ll just look at me and cry. Not a tantrum cry, a sad, desperate sort of cry.
It’s heartbreaking, and I’m going crazy.
So, I don’t know what the doctor will do besides send us to Children’s Hospital for tests and evaluations that we can’t afford. Which brings me to a topic that I can’t talk about too much without getting angry. We buy the best health insurance available, which is better than the best that is currently offered ’cause we’ve had ours some years now. We pay through the nose for it, and at the rate it increases every year, it’ll soon be more than our mortgage. And yet the coverage isn’t good enough that I can take my kids in to the doctor when they need it without worrying about how we’re going to pay for it.
And that’s wrong.
January 4th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Yes, this is very worrisome. Trust your gut on this one, Laura. You’ve had 3 children and know the difference between a picky eater and this.
Have you tried sweets, like a milkshake? You can hide all sorts of things in those, like peanut butter, protein powder etc…What about plain pasta?
January 5th, 2010 at 12:14 am
Yes, it is wrong. 🙁 I could go on and on about that, but I won’t… Poor kiddo – that does sound odd that he wants to eat, but then doesn’t. I would get him checked out in case he has a stomach infection or something that makes it hurt when he eats. Or maybe an allergy to something.
January 5th, 2010 at 7:12 am
what about doctored up food? like adding candy sprinkles to mashed potatoes? or making milkshakes with protein powder? My little cousin was a non-eater and for two separate months, it was peanut butter sandwiches and chicken noodle soup (for 1 month) and then mashed potatoes and oranges (month 2)
January 5th, 2010 at 7:56 am
You need healthcare reform. We have it in Canada & it works for everyone. Plus, we have added insurance we pay for that covers the extras like dental, vision, physiotherapy, etc. No one is denied/cannot afford medical care in this country.
January 5th, 2010 at 11:03 am
My heart just breaks for you and Clark. A friend has a nephew who went through something similar. They determined it was an issue with swallowing and he’s going through PT to re-learn how to eat. I’ll be praying for your family to find a solution quickly.
January 5th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Oh poor you and poor Clarke too, not being able to eat much. He isnt stressed is he or anxious about anything as that can affect kids too with their eating. I went through it myself but was older than Clarke. Maybe you can make some smoothies for him to drink as they can have lots of nice things hidden in them and he doesnt have to chew anything either. He isnt getting any new teeth is he. I hope that you can find a solution very soon for him (and it doesnt cost too much). Maybe you need to revise your health insurance and see if there is any way you can change it to suit your needs.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
Poor baby. And poor you! What a huge worry. At least the doc can take a blood sample and see if he’s got any nutritional deficiencies before referring you to a specialist. Good luck with it.
January 7th, 2010 at 2:46 am
My grandson had something similar. he finally told us at age 4 that ” his mouth tasted like vinegar” when he woke up. he improved after being treated for acid reflux. Unfortunately his constipation continued until they switched to a gluten free diet. Milk may be another problem causing food. Read up on these a bit and experiment with it a bit.