God really does work in mysterious ways. I've said a lot of prayers over the past week and God has truly comforted me and taken my worries away.
After my last blog post about Lilly being labeled "failure to thrive" (ugh, that still makes my blood boil) a lot of people reached out to me. And I mean A LOT!! Some people I didn't even know sent me private messages about their little ones being picky eaters as well and shared a lot of helpful advice. But perhaps the coolest thing that happened was a text I got about a girl that had read my blog through a mutual friend on Facebook. She is a pediatric occupational feeding specialist and she lives in Greenville... As in Greenville, NC.... AS IN THE SAME TOWN I LIVE IN! Coincidence? I think not... That's God answering prayers.
I called Emily Monday afternoon and we talked for a long time. She had loads of advice! We think that Lilly is sensitive to textures and we talked about sensory things I could do to help her. These were just a few of her suggestions:
-Brush the insides of Lilly's cheeks and the back of her gums to desensitize her gagging reflex. Lilly only has 2 front teeth so the back of her mouth is an area that we haven't brushed. (back story- Lilly started gagging on pacies and bottles at 3 months old and this was part of the reason she hated bottles. She also gags on foods that she doesn't like).
-Let Lilly play with things like pudding in her highchair to get her use to touching and feeling foods. Lilly is very picky about things being on her hands.
-Put some dry pasta in a shoe box and hide things in it and let Lilly dig through it. Again, this will help her feel different textures.
-Start mixing some foods that Lilly likes with other foods, slowly at first and then add more over time.
-And of course, just keep being patient and keep trying.
Emily even offered to watch Lilly eat and said I could call her whenever I wanted to. She also said that this was very common... something that the doctor did not seem to think! I felt a huge weight being lifted off of me after I hung up the phone. God had answered my prayers.
So, here is what has been going on this week with miss picky pants... She's refusing to eat any table food at school but is eating all of her oatmeal and baby food. They even caught her putting her table food on another babies tray! Ohhhhh that makes me giggle. Only Lilly!
At home she has spit out peas, potatoes, carrots, bread, and chicken. BUT she did taste them so that's a plus.
And lastly, this is what she did eat this weekend... Cheerios, gold fish, Cheerios dipped in bananas (yay!), strawberry yogurt, Cheerios dipped in strawberry yogurt (ha!), cheese, chocolate pudding, chips, and french fries..... The last three items were her favorite. Uh oh! I obviously only want Lilly to eat healthy foods but right now getting anything in her mouth is an accomplishment! Maybe she will like sweet potato fries! This is probably the most she has eaten on a weekend. I have found out that she is more accepting of food if she is not strapped into her highchair. So we ate while playing and while holding her. It's harder for her to swat food away if her hands are occupied. Overall I think we had a very successful week. Thank you to everybody who reached out to me. Your words of kindness and reassurance were just what this momma needed.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
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