Food Fights

I thought I'd write an update on how Ryan has been doing lately with eating. Anyone who knows him knows that he is a picky eater. Beyond picky. As in, the only fruit or vegetable he has eaten in the past year is a banana. And there are many normal "kid" foods that he won't even touch. Here's a quick summary of his likes and dislikes:

Likes: crackers, chips, ground meat, peanut butter, yogurt, sausage, bacon, bologna, cheese pizza, white rice, boxed mac n cheese, frozen taquitos, parmesan, chocolate.......I know there are a few more I'm forgetting.

Dislikes: all fruits, all vegetables, potatoes, eggs, soup, corn, grilled cheese, oatmeal, beans, tortillas, ice cream, anything too "mushy", anything too "crunchy".....the list is endless and I don't have time to type it all out.

A lot of this is just little kid pickiness, but two things concern me. One, the lack of fruits and vegetables in Ryan's diet. Second, his manners at the table. If he sees something he doesn't recognize or like on his plate, he will just pick it up and throw it. And sometimes he will angrily scream "I don't want " just to make sure he gets his point across. It's frustrating and I feel helpless every single time I feed him. I hate that mealtime is a battle.

Lucas is my dream child when it comes to eating habits. I know he's still young and has plenty of time to develop aversions like his brother has, but right now I'm so pleased that he'll pretty much eat anything. The below picture is him stuffing salmon and broccoli into his mouth.

In contrast, here is Ryan suspiciously eyeing his broccoli.

 And cringing when I suggested he take a little bite.

 And posing happily, only because I told him to hold it up and smile.

So where are we at these days with Ryan's pickiness? Well things have been getting a little bit better! We've been trying the approach lately of telling Ryan he has to take just 1 bite of the "offensive" food on his plate, which is typically a fruit or vegetable. If he cooperates and takes a decent taste, then he can have more of whatever else he is eating, or ask for a bowl of cereal. But only if he takes a bite of the new food first. I guess it's kind of like bribing, but it's the only thing that seems to work.

Over the past few months of using this new method, Ryan has tried raspberries, blackberries, broccoli, scrambled eggs, salmon, green smoothies, apples, and a carrot that he licked. (Seriously, we cheered when he licked the carrot. Such progress!) I didn't realize we were making much progress until tonight, when I made him try a bite of salmon. I told him he could have more rice if he ate a decent sized bite of fish. So he tried it. And loved it! He kept asking for more fish and stuffing it in his mouth. Between him and Lucas, they ate Adam's entire portion of salmon! I was so surprised, and it only confirmed what I have heard.....some kids have to see a food up to 20 times before they will try it or learn to like it. With Ryan it may be more like 50 times, but I won't give up!