matthan's eating update.

I posted this blog post a couple days ago- and somehow it disappeared from the blog. weird. here it is again!

Over the past several months, we have struggled to figure out how to overcome Matthan's eating issues. He is truly the pickiest fella I've ever met. A year ago I was concerned, but was able to chalk it up to typical toddler picky eating behavior. Now, a year later....this is getting to be a problem. He eats NO meat (other than bacon), beans, eggs, cheese, pasta, bread, peanut products, cookies, cakes, or any other sweets, ice cream, etc. What DOES he eat? Well, fresh fruit, sweet pea crisps, small carrots, french fries, occasionally green beans, crackers, yogurt and dry cereal.

We have tried lots of techniques to try to get him to eat- however with no success. Meal time tends to be a battle. We decided to have him assessed by the Infants & Toddlers Program to make sure there wasn't an actual issue with texture that they could assist us with. In the meantime, he had reacted a little strange to a dip, and after Mark & I had eaten eggs recently, so we made an allergist appointment. After some testing the doctor informed us Matthan is severely allergic to eggs. She said, " I cannot stress to you enough, how allergic he is". She said he scored 6/6. The normal IgE score for a child his age/size is between 0-60 and Matthan's score was 936. wow. She said "He is a very allergic child." He apparently is borderline allergic to milk & soy, although since we have seen no problems with these foods he's not to eliminate them. The only dairy item he eats is greek yogurt-which is also is main protein source- so we are glad he can still eat that! There were several items that he couldn't be tested for simply because he's never been exposed to the food item. He has to have eaten it at least once for his body to build up resistance to it. So- he will likely need more testing in the future. He's also allergic moderately to dogs and slightly to cats.

While this news is not ideal- we couldn't help but to be amazed by the way the Lord has created Matthan. We see God's sovereignty over so many details- even how picky of an eater he is! To think that Matthan WILL NOT eat cookies, cakes, bread, pasta- all of the things that eggs are likely inside of has literally saved him from a possibly life threatening reaction. Amazing. I quickly become tearful as I consider that GOD KNOWS ALL THINGS. HE IS OUR PROTECTOR. Its impossible for us to know every detail of our children's bodies and be able to protect them from every possible thing that could harm them. But God DOES know and HE can and does protect them. So grateful.

Fast forward to today- he had his assessment, and he did really well. He is scoring much higher than children his age in all areas (cognitive, emotional, social, motor skills- etc). He had pretty poor behavior during the eating part of the assessment. He was able demonstrate that there is nothing impairing him from eating. The conclusion was made that this is a behavioral issue. Humbling to say the least, given my background in working with children w/behavioral problems. But, its always different when its your own child. We also know from Asher's allergist that kids with allergies are often very picky simply as a way to protect themselves (even as infants!) So, we will be beginning mealtime boot camp around here soon! :O)

So that's the latest with Matthan....I'm overdue on Asher's 16 month post, but waiting until next week when he has his check up- so all details can be posted at once! :O)