Do I just stop stressing and think of calories not healthiness ??

[worriedabouthealth]

Ds is 2 and won’t eat

When he does it’s not healthy. He possibly has some kind of SEN we are not sure yet but he has a lot of difficulties

I can’t get vitamins into him and what he eats is awful but I’m at the point so I just be grateful to get some calories in ? I’m stressed and worried his long term health will suffer

The things he will eat are
Small plain biscuits
Chocolate
Potato waffles
Baby fruity snack

Very occasionally he will eat some plain chicken or a bit of toast

Used to like smooth yogurt hates them now

He will drink toddler milk or breastmilk and occasionally some water

Brushing his teeth is horrific he fights and screams as well but I worry with the sweet stuff he will get decay so I have to force him

Don't stress - it's not ideal but you do what you can.

My 13yo has ASD and has been restricting his diet since 14 months - he's at the lower end of normal BMI but he's growing and thriving otherwise! For comparison my DS will eat:
A banana or grapes (occasionally)
No veg
Potato waffles or French fries
Thin skinless sausages
Birds eye battered chicken dippers
Birds eye breaded fish fingers
Butchers sausage rolls
Smooth fromage frais
Bread with butter, jam, honey
Bacon
Toasted cheese
Reese's peanut butter cups
Milk
Salt & vinegar crisps
Weetabix, shredded, Cheerios, rice crispies
Asda pepperoni pizza

That's it, literally nothing else will pass his lips without him gagging or getting anxious and having a meltdown.

Every dietician, doctor and paeds we've seen over the years has told us that calorific content is the most important part and anything else is a bonus!

Thankyou I’m just so so worried about his general health and his teeth especially as he cannot tolerate dentist or dr he got so stressed last time he went temporarily blind and had to be hospitalised we think it was a stress reaction

So his health is important as taking him to be checked anywhere is quite frankly hell as he has a complete meltdown

Are you able to get a multivitamin in to him?

No he won’t take the liquid he gets so distressed

I’m thinking to try one of the chewy sweet like ones they are for 3+ but I’m desperate o might cut it up

Oh yes, that sounds tough!

Excuse me if I'm suggesting things you've done a million times before but have you tried introducing social stories before appointments, introducing him to specialists without any pressure to stay - even if it's just in the waiting room (I'm not sure if everywhere does this but our local services were really accomodating) and/or showing videos of these situations so he has an idea of what goes on?

Is he generally healthy in himself? If so I wouldn't stress too much - just gently introduce the concept of doctors and desists through role play or books maybe.

Also, you can mix multi-vitamins into his milk.

Have you tried mixing the liquid vitamins with milk? My kids have the gummy ones but I've heard they really don't ingest many of the vitamins from them. The liquid is better... My children are both fussy but the doctor said as long as they're growing (they're both very tall for their age) and have lots of energy then they don't worry.

He could taste them which I think was due to the iron in them
I’ll try the sweet type ones just cut as he does like a similar kind of thing with the little baby fruit snacks

It’s hard with social stories etc as he doesn’t talk at all yet and although I think he understands well he has no attention span at all and won’t listen and once he sees we are going to drs for example that’s it he starts and it’s horrific screaming fighting trying to get away , he holds his breath and is nearly sick from screaming so much

If it’s a choice between a feeding tube and what he’s having, you’re doing great. Not to be dramatic but there are parents on here who’ve had to do NG tubes or even PEGs as children would even stop taking in fluids.

I would try not to worry too much and try not to obsess over it as it only makes things worse in the long run. Just keep trying small amounts of different things alongside anything he does eat and don’t stress if he doesn’t eat it. My eldest has SEN too and if I could go back in time I would tell myself not to stress about food. Easier said than done though as it’s so emotive isn’t it. Mashed potato was a favourite here at that age and I did manage to sneak some things into that even shredded steak!

That sounds so tough for you. I expect you've tried smoothies? My little boy doesn't eat much fruit or veg (he likes apples and dried mango. Dried fruit is worth a try because it's so sweet ...). I give him a small glass of smoothie each day. I know it's high in sugar but I'm desperate. He's so thin and needs vitamins.

That would be the worst thing ever for him he cannot tolerate drs etc so you’re def right I suppose I need to see it as calories and forget the rest

Going to the drs just for a check up when unwell ended up with him traumatised then blue lighted to hospital as coukd t see they thought he had meningitis but it was a stress response a feeding time would be hell for him so I think I need to remember that at least he’s getting some calories even from less than ideal foods

No idea if your son is ASD or anything related, maybe not but regardless this channel is just a mom who’s been through food refusal with her son and she has some really interesting videos you might be interested in

www.youtube.com/user/EMPRESSATL

Drinks get tipped usually I
Could try a smoothie in his cup it’s worth trying

Currently we are unsure what his issues are but there’s definitely something he has a check later this week with hv so will see what the next steps are

You might want to ask about a dietitian referral and pediatric occupational therapy referral. The sooner you can get some intervention the better it is for not only your son but your sanity too !

Not sure if you've tried anything like this but would he eat an ice pop? You could make a small one in a mould and mix vitamin drops into the juice. Or you could try putting them in his milk.

You could possibly melt a little bit of the chocolate he likes stir in the vit drops, then spread it on his biscuit? Or he could just eat it off the spoon?

I stir my sons into his porridge which seems to work. Hope you find something that works and can put your mind at rest xx

My daughter's dietician always said the first thing was to get her eating and then worry about what she's eating afterwards.

Getting a vitamix was a bit of a game changer for us. It's surprising how much fruit, veg, vitamins etc you can hide in milkshakes and smoothies and can use frozen ingredients to make sneakily nutritious icecream and perfectly smooth soup, sauces, purees etc

Character branded foods were a bit of an in for us too. Yoghurt was totally unacceptable but apparently yoghurt with minions on the pot was OK

I don't know what to suggest about the food but my big Asda sells orange multivitamin gummy bears that are age 2+.

Well baby or wellkid are tasteless in drinks my son is 4 and has never noticed them in his drinks he also has floradix kids mixed into his drinks he is also very fussy and asd

He will also drink innocent smoothies yet doesn’t eat fruit has your son tried those

I also have the same thing with taking him to the doctors full on meltdown

Have you seen The Nurse Mum on Instagram? She’s getting her disabled son to eat and is just worrying about the calories, which makes total sense when she explains it.