An Update on Eating

Grayson had his 9 month appointment last Thursday and weighed in at 18 lbs 5 oz, unfortunately not gaining since his previous month visit.  Though that could in part be due to his increased movement, it is most largely due to his eating habits or lack thereof.  He has dropped into the 15th percentile and though that isn't a dangerous place to be, it also isn't a great sign.  His acid reflux and a reluctance to swallow solid food have made feeding very difficult and in the last month he has started to show signs of hunger in the evenings that I can't satisfy with just breast milk.

The doctor commented on his size because he doesn't look like he's lacking and is now in size 12 months clothes but she said that his weight is not dense weight and so size doesn't always accurately reflect weight gain.

Let me indulge my need for historical documentation and chronicle his food intake to date.

September 18th at 7 months he had his first rice cereal, followed by squash, bananas and pears, all of which he swallowed one bite of before refusing more.  After seeing his hatred of baby food I let him try whole peas which he promptly spit out.

September 27th, I went back to just rice cereal with breast milk to see if we could make any progress but he made it clear he wanted nothing off of a spoon (though he will play with an empty spoon).

October 9th, his reflux was so bad that I decided to stop solids all together.  Within two days his symptoms were gone.

November 5th, tried giving him mashed bananas off my plate with great success, he ate 1/4 of the banana happily, only to refuse any more than one spoonful in the days following.

November 11th, I stopped all solids again because his reflux was coming back, again he was symptom free within two days.

November 13th, I gave him adult white rice and cheerios, both of which he spit out but kept going for more, spitting it out, going for more, spitting it out.  I considered it a success that he was even interested in putting food in his mouth!

Since then he has had blueberries, yogurt bites, puffs, pear, sweet potato and yogurt and hasn't liked any of them though sweet potato he will spit out and at least go for another bite.  He continues to love cheerios and rice, might be swallowing some rice but cheerios he still chews and then spits back out.

December 2nd, I reluctantly gave him his first ounces of formula.  Ever since sleeping through the night (since October 30th) he has been unsatisfied with the amount of breast milk he gets during the day since he isn't eating anything else.  I was exhausting myself trying to pump enough milk to supplement his evening feeding with a bottle of breast milk but it was barely doable.  The first bottle I gave him when he was hungry, he drank 3 ounces and then refused the rest, finishing his meal by breast feeding and was very fussy for the rest of the day.  Since then I've been unable to get him to drink any formula even when he shows signs of still being hungry after a feeding and I know he'd take at least 2-3 ounces of breast milk if I offered it.

Next Thursday we are scheduled for a Modified Barium and Swallow test at Phoenix Children's Hospital with a speech therapist present to specifically look for problems with the muscles in his mouth and his tongue as he swallows.  They want to rule out any anatomical reasons for his reluctance to eat and swallow solid food.  I am also looking forward to getting another opinion on why his acid reflux flared up so badly after starting solids when most doctors will say that it should get better with that introduction.

I honestly don't know what I'm praying for except a conclusive answer that gets him eating.  I'm guessing that pickiness is a big factor given that the only things he will continue to put in his mouth are things without flavor, but the fact that he will chew those things, spit them out, and then reach for more, is concerning.  I am hoping that we can get some clear answers and a plan for the future, especially as it pertains to his weight gain and satiating his appetite.