Eli

"Better be pruned to grow than cut up to burn." -- John Trapp

My son is causing me a great deal of stress today. His limited diet has gotten so out of control that he's actually lost weight over the past four months, rather than gain it.

Our pediatrician did a bone age test in May, which showed delayed growth. We followed up with an endocrinologist in September, who said that all this blood tests were normal and he was just a slow grow-er. Not to worry!

At his follow-up appointment with the endocrinologist last week, we found that he had only grown 1 cm in the past four months and, as I mentioned before, he'd lost a bit of weight. Now she's concerned and she wants to send us to another specialist.

Before I go and haul him off to another specialist, I'm taking him to the Naturopath that Lila's been seeing. She will look at the big picture of his life and our family life. I want her opinion on growth and nutrition, as well as any advice she might have on getting the boy to eat.

And, honestly, I trust her nutrition knowledge and advice over any medical doctor's.

Here's the list of foods that Eli will eat:

Pepperoni
Cheese
Bread
Peanut Butter
Pretzels
Crackers
Cereal Bars
Peanuts
Popcorn
Bacon

That's it.

And to make things worse, he periodically decides that something he's been eating consistently "tastes funny" and he'll no longer eat it. Just today, he did this with the chocolate coconut milk yogurt that has been the backbone of his school lunches all year.

Here's the list of foods that Eli used to eat, but will no longer touch:

Red Bell Pepper
Grapes
Bananas
Apples
Cucumber
Eggs
Rice
Blueberries
Strawberries
Sausage

If it were just a matter of stubbornness, we wouldn't have such a problem. I'm fine with being tough, if that's what needs to be done. But being tough does not work with this kid. Especially when it comes to food. Reasoning with him doesn't work either.

He is legitimately afraid to try new foods. If I put a bite of something on his plate and tell him that he has to eat it... he basically has an anxiety attack. He will get so upset that he ends up on the toilet with tummy problems.

So, I can either give the kid anxiety attacks or let him slowly malnourish himself. This is a no-win situation!

Making sure that he is healthy and well is in my friggin' job description! If he were a picky eater and thriving, then I wouldn't worry so much. But he's not!

I don't care if he's a short guy. I just want him to be a healthy short guy!