Saturday, January 30, 2010

operation jonah eat

Aunt Kim sent Jonah a present with Granny.


He was much more interested than he was at Christmas.



He really liked it.


Like, a lot.
****************************************

Jonah's little boy parts did not blister as badly today. I think we only had to drain two. Desitin works well for us and doesn't seem to hurt him, I just don't know how to stop the blisters. But if I knew that, he wouldn't have EB, I guess. Anyway, it's frustrating, and he's still crying when he pees, but hopefully it will get better soon. Thank you for praying.

I'm going to take a risk tomorrow. I'm beginning Operation Jonah Eat. Jonah is fighting his bottles again and is wanting to cut back on his napping (he used to take four very short ones with every feeding. Now he only seems to want two, so eats poorly when he's not tired). And my Mommy gut is telling me that he's not into solids (AT ALL!) because he's too full on high calorie/rice thickened formula. He doesn't like when I take all the rice out, so I've cut it down by half, but between that and the 27 cal formula (normal mix is 20 cal), I honestly think he's just not hungry enough to want to put in the effort to eat anything else. So...

Operation Jonah Eat is in effect. Tomorrow I'm going to try switching to only three bottles instead of four. And I'm going to try to fill in the gaps with solids. Right now I give him bottles at 9, 12:30, 4, and 8. Tomorrow I'd like to try bottles at 9, 2, and 8, and try solids at 12:30 and 6:30. I don't know. I'm worried because I'm concerned he won't compensate, but even if he doesn't, I don't suppose a couple days will do any permanent damage. And I fully understand that formula is LOADED with nutrition and baby food is pretty much void of anything substantial (except yogurt maybe), so this is not so much for nutrition as it is to see if he has any interest when he's hungrier. If he does get interested, I'll look into more nutritious things, but for now, we're just testing the waters.

At this point, I wouldn't even care if he just ate chocolate pudding and ice cream. I so desperately want him to like eating.

Okay, that's it for me. We're watching 500 Days of Summer, and it's hard to type and follow it at the same time because they keep jumping around. I really like it though and am especially diggin' the music.

30 comments:

Jennifer said...

ShoooWeee! Take a few days away from the computer and now I am crying and happy all at the same time! I am praying for the "parts" and for the eating plan. I think this is a good one. I do think you are on the right track with the "too full to eat" business. I will keep praying. I am enjoying all the changes he is making. You need to 'walk' through your blog and just see how he has changed since Christmas! Love you guys! Jennifer in Southeast, NC

Unknown said...

So glad to hear that his boy parts are doing better--keeping that in our prayers. You should be given a PH.d in nutrition. You seem to have a good plan ready to take in action, and I agree that a couple of days isn't going to hurt. It takes time for a new pattern to take effect and Jonah needs time to adjust to the new pattern. We will be keeping you in prayer for all things Jonah, as always.

--Mari

Anita said...

Hey Jonah,
Tripp told me to tell you that the chocolate pudding and ice cream plan is the best one!! :) Sure beats those green beans and squash!! Yuck!

The pictures are just adorable and I'm praying for all of you.
Anita
Louisiana

Kelly said...

Patrice,

Have you tried thickening his bottles with Simply thick insteadof rice. It is a gel thickener thatt is water and xanthan gum and no calories so nothing else to digest like rice. My little one has horrible reflux. only east bottles when sleepy and that is what we thicken with becasue she could not handle rice. You have to buy it online buit our pediatric dietician turned us on to it and the stuff is AWESOME! Kepping you in my prayers always!

Stacy K. said...

Do you think that he would drink yogurt or kefir in his bottles?
You should go for the dense calorie solids like avocados again, and perhaps you can even supplement it with another fat like unsweetened cream mixed in. The fats are good for brain development at his age anyway.
Much love to you and Jonah.

onlyhuman13 said...

Praying for his boy parts and that Operation Jonah Eat goes well tomorrow... just have to delurk and also mention that I loved 500 Days of Summer... Best soundtrack of last year, I'd say. :)

Michonne said...

Good luck! We recently cut back on our son's breastmilk intake to see if that would get him more interested in solids. The occupational therapist that we had seen for a feeding consultation warned us that it could take a few weeks for him to learn a new eating pattern -- and she was right! I expected there to be a more immediate response to the decrease in milk, but it seriously took two or three weeks for him to start compensating. Now he's doing better, but still not eating tons. The OT also said some babies are just drinkers....

Jenny said...

In my experience Desitin burns on open sores. I always used Pink Salve. It is not spelled that way but it is pronounced that way. I worked miracles for us. Good Luck! Still Praying in Delta.

Heidi said...

What did Jonah think about the snow?? Will you post any snow pictures?

Jonah looks very happy. I hope he will eat well for you.

caseymommy said...

Hi Patrice..Good luck on the eating operation...You are very right that the formula fills him up and he may not want to eat..I have that with my son. His feeding therapist had us cut down on his formula feeds and just get him to put something in his mouth before the desire passes forever..If you don't get it in now, he will give you trouble forever..now is the time to do it...I did just that with my son...and he eats solids for pleasure..not really his nutrition..but he gets the rest from his formula. I hope it works for Jonah too...It's great your mommy wheels are always spinning thinking of the next way to move him forward!! Hugs to you all...beth

Angie Davis said...

will be praying it goes well - for both of you!

you may already have plenty of ideas...but another is eventually adding mashed avocado to a fruit that he likes (hoping he will like some). avocado is nice and fattening - the good kind!

Lauren said...

Aww, good luck on the eating plan. Go with your mommy gut!

And we watched 500 days of Summer on Friday night. So between that and the orange sweet-rolls yesterday morning, it really is like we were there...

(But not really.)

WendyBee said...

Cuuuute pics! (In case you're wondering!)
WendyBee

Beth said...

Good luck with the eating! I have a 5 year old with no medical problems who still doesn't like to eat! Argh, kids!
I have loved following your family and watching Jonah grow into a big boy this last year. Sounds like he is growing and thriving quite well.

Unknown said...

My little guy HATED solids for a long, long time. Then we discovered (in a moment of desperation) that he would eat banana pudding. So he ate that. Lots of it. Eventually we moved on to other (healthier) food. But hey, you do what you have to do. Follow that mommy gut!

Reba said...

Good Luck Patrice....You know our Mommy guts are the best predictors of what will work with our own kids!! Trust in yours and God and I know it will work out!! Prepare yourself for some crying but it will be worth it if it works. But I totally understand if it doesn't. If it is any consolation, Tyler only ate certain solids as a baby and still only eats 5 things!! He is supplemented by Pediasure and totally on target for his weight and height. He is turning 5 in July and I am happy where he is. Now I get a lot of grief from family members but I know it is all because of his texture aversion to certain foods. I'm so glad he loves Pediasure-- he drinks two full ones a day. He loves Chocolate the best. He also eats oatmeal with applesauce, Nutrigrain bars by the truckload (honestley we should have stock), cupcakes, yogurt-- the OT got him on this and he LOVES the Yoplait Chocolate whipped!! I am not worried about the solids since he has hit all his milestones and is on target for growth. Aaron and I both have this texture aversion to foods and feel he will grow out of it. We do expose him to new foods all the time. Other than the bad looks we get at restaurants and from family members, it is all good. I am praying for you and Jonah, and Matt. BTW on the other hand Courtney is a bottomless pit!!LOL.....Good Luck. I shall be in prayer all day today as you try this!!

Reba Bullard

Molly said...

I know nothing about feeding babies, since i have no babies, but I do LOVE 500 days of summer. It's an awesome movie. Hiiiii Jonut! Sending you love from NYC!

Heather said...

Praying for him to eat!

Ryley @ That's My Family! said...

A funny thing we feed my 13 month old who is alergic to EVERYTHING is sugar free jello snack packs. (you know the ones that come in the little cups?)
They have no sugar, just made with fruit juices. and he LOVES them.

kdliberty said...

you can make your on baby food. The advantage is you can make it high calorie/nutrient rich. The easiest way is just to blend it in a magic bullet. Use instant potatoes (or the rice you know he loves) to make it thicker and add calories. I know a dietitian. I will ask Patti about other ideas to get more calories in him...

Emelie said...

He is super duper cute. It looks like he is feeling good =)

Hugs Emelie

Anonymous said...

I love the twitter pics of Jonah in the snow! hoping eating issues will resolve quickly as well as blisters under diaper. Enjoy your beautiful snow and beautiful young son.
Hugs !
Linda G.

Unknown said...

When Avery really was not eating well, we cut a small piece of the tips of his sippy cups from "Think Baby".......Avery had given up on sucking hard, so thismade him taste the milk, have it in his mouth and swallow.....Surprisingly, he didn't mind it and he didn't have to work as hard to get his milk.....It took a day or 2 to get used to that extra continuous flow, but now he drinks better for us and he has learned how to control it.

Unknown said...

Follow your momma instinct and most often it won't lead you wrong! I will be praying tomorrow.

Wanda Wilkinson said...

I love the twitter picture in the snow==look at those precious little shoes on his precious little feet...

Will keep praying for the blisters to decrease, the pain to go away & for better eating.

Keep doing what your mommy gut tells you--you have done wonderful these past 11 months, look how great he looks. He can tell is happy--just look at his face & those beautiful eyes.

Love

jrc said...

This is way off topic, but I just watched that movie today too - and I loved it! Can't wait to see ya soon! :-) Good luck with the new "project" - will pray that it works out!

Libby said...

I hope the eating trial went well and that you are able to enjoy the snow!

Bethany said...

Have you made the holes a tiny bit bigger in his bottle nipples? Maybe he's frustrated with working hard to get his milk? I dunno...

Maria B. said...

I hope you don't mind that I added your blog button to my son's blog. May God bless your family bountifully.

Laura A said...

What sweet pictures - but then again, they always are!!

Will continue to pray specifically for his boy parts, and also that Operation Jonah Eat will be successful! Just for grins, do you think he'd go for a CFA milkshake? Probably not the greatest in the nutrition department, but maybe you could get a vanilla one and throw in some pureed fruit?

Hope you all rest well this evening!!

Love from TX!
Laura