Feeding issues with my deaf daughter.

ashleysmommy

ashleysmommy

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Any advice for feeding issues? It is so hard to get Ashley to eat solids. With a hearing child you can talk it up make funny sounds and make it fun. With her not hearing for so long and now having to start from newborn hearing level it is hard to hold her attention and get her to accept the food from the spoon. I am at wits end with this. I let her play with her food. I also give her a spoon and put stuff on it too. I have tried tons of different things. I have found a small few that she likes but she only eats enough for a baby bird. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. We go to a feeding clinic in June. I hope they can help but nothing like sharing good old life experiences to help each other out.
 
hmm... well I've noticed some stores sell forks/spoons with airplanes on them or whatever (like an actual shape of an airplane for the handle).. maybe it can attract her attention towards the utensil?

With my kids, all I did was wave their attention to me and let them know the spoon was coming... but I also had to reduce the distractions around them.. like no tv, no music, cats out of the kitchen, blinds closed, etc.

It takes time and patience with all kids, I think.
 
ashleysmommy said:
Any advice for feeding issues? It is so hard to get Ashley to eat solids. With a hearing child you can talk it up make funny sounds and make it fun. With her not hearing for so long and now having to start from newborn hearing level it is hard to hold her attention and get her to accept the food from the spoon. I am at wits end with this. I let her play with her food. I also give her a spoon and put stuff on it too. I have tried tons of different things. I have found a small few that she likes but she only eats enough for a baby bird. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. We go to a feeding clinic in June. I hope they can help but nothing like sharing good old life experiences to help each other out.
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Maybe try really small meals throughout the day so she doesn't have a big meal in one sitting. It might be too much to sit still. Mine is hearing, but can't sit still and doesn't want to eat much of anything on his plate most days (though you wouldn't know it looking at him!). We just do it in little bits and pieces - ie six or so mini meals as opposed to three. Try letting her pick what she wants out of choices and do a small breakfast, snakc, lunch, snack...maybe another snack, then for dinner (usually the hardest) don't give her her own plate - have her ask for some of yours - this has been known to work because toddlers always want what they can't have. Try a mini snack before bedtime if needed.

Sometimes I have to follow mine around the house with his food to try to get some because he just won't sit....HIGHLY ACTIVE! So I feel your pain.

Just thoughts...use what you want.
 
Does her pediatrician say that she must eat more, or is her nutrition and weight OK? Sometimes picky eating bothers the parents more than it harms the child's health. If she is getting enough nutrition, maybe she's eating enough.

Sometimes letting the child help in the preparation of the food increases their interest. Also, letting them sprinkle their own decorative or tasty "additives" on the food can increase interest. Some like chopped pickles, bright colored candy sprinkles, shredded cheese, whatever is colorful. (Not good in large quantities, just as a little eye or taste appeal.)

Some kids are "grazers" or snackers, not formal "diners."
 
I agree with Reba. All you need to do is to provide Ashley with healthy, attractive looking food at timely intervals - it is her job to eat it and she will eat it if she is hungry. Trying to take control too much can backfire, as children can start to make it a control issue by refusing to eat or insisting they will only eat certain foods.

I read an excellent book on feeding young children called "How to get your Kid to Eat" by Ellyn Satter - it got rave reviews by a group of parents on another board I was on. It covers from baby to adolescence and it has a section for children with special needs, including premies like Ashley. You might find it helpful.
 
Ashley is a 20 month old preemie. She is not even on the growth chart as far as her weight. She has gained a little. She is 16lbs 4 oz and 30 in long. Her height is catching up just fine but her weight is still lagging badly according to her pediatrician and her gastro doc. The NICU follow up doc also says she needs to be gaining a little better than she does. She is super active and burns most of what she gets off. They know this and we are all working together to see how we can get her to eat more food high in fat and calories. She wants to only drink a bottle most of the time. I try to feed her solids but she refuses most of them and i wind up giving her a bottle any way. She has big issues with things going in her mouth by spoon. I have had to give her meds and she is associating food with the meds we think. I have tried letting her do it on her own and she still will not put the food in her mouth. She will put toys of all textures in her mouth but nothing to eat. I have even put cookies and crackers in her toy box to play with and she looks at them and throws them aside. She is a hard one to crack. Oh and did I mention she has vision issues too. She has glaucoma and ROP in both eyes and has been through 5 surgeries for her vision. She sees just not great. Sorry to ramble on just trying to give some background to see if there may be a trick I haven't thought of yet. Thanks for the advice so far.
 
ashleysmommy said:
Ashley is a 20 month old preemie. She is not even on the growth chart as far as her weight. She has gained a little. She is 16lbs 4 oz and 30 in long. Her height is catching up just fine but her weight is still lagging badly according to her pediatrician and her gastro doc. The NICU follow up doc also says she needs to be gaining a little better than she does. She is super active and burns most of what she gets off. They know this and we are all working together to see how we can get her to eat more food high in fat and calories. She wants to only drink a bottle most of the time. I try to feed her solids but she refuses most of them and i wind up giving her a bottle any way. She has big issues with things going in her mouth by spoon. I have had to give her meds and she is associating food with the meds we think. I have tried letting her do it on her own and she still will not put the food in her mouth. She will put toys of all textures in her mouth but nothing to eat. I have even put cookies and crackers in her toy box to play with and she looks at them and throws them aside. She is a hard one to crack. Oh and did I mention she has vision issues too. She has glaucoma and ROP in both eyes and has been through 5 surgeries for her vision. She sees just not great. Sorry to ramble on just trying to give some background to see if there may be a trick I haven't thought of yet. Thanks for the advice so far.
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If I remember correctly, u mentioned that she has sensory issues? That could be the case to why she is not eating much..too much stimulation? Remember, I am not a doctor so it is just a guess. I have worked with students who have sensory issues and all of them had issues with eating. Hmmmm...the feeding clinic sounds like a good start!
 
She does have sensory issues.. We ( all of her therapists and I) are trying to help with those. Bless her heart she has had to overcome so much. She in my eyes is doing great for a little girl with so may hurdles. She is a very determined little girl so I know she will be fine I just need to be patient. I just worry sometimes because I don't want her docs to suggest a feeding tube if we can't get her to gain a little here and there. I know sometimes she must feel bombarded.
 
ashleysmommy said:
She does have sensory issues.. We ( all of her therapists and I) are trying to help with those. Bless her heart she has had to overcome so much. She in my eyes is doing great for a little girl with so may hurdles. She is a very determined little girl so I know she will be fine I just need to be patient. I just worry sometimes because I don't want her docs to suggest a feeding tube if we can't get her to gain a little here and there. I know sometimes she must feel bombarded.
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Yea, she sounds like a very fighter and with a great supportive family! :) Just take one thing at a time?
 
Thanks. I am trying. It is a lot to keep up with. It is hard to try to teach her sign with those issues too. Any advice there?
 
ashleysmommy said:
Thanks. I am trying. It is a lot to keep up with. It is hard to try to teach her sign with those issues too. Any advice there?
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That age...they have such a short attention span. My son doesnt maintain long eye contact to catch all the signs so I have to sign in his view even if he is looking away. U can try that and see if that works?
 
I just want her to be able to communicate better with me. Right now she whines or gives me a really fake cry to get what she wants. I am trying to teach her up, down, eat, mama, dada, and a few other basic signs. She will hold her hands up when she wants to be picked up and thats about it. She will pat my face when I ask her where mama is. I know patience patience. I try but sometimes it is so hard. I wish the deaf-blind school here had programs for her now. They start at age 3. I am going to try to get her in their program then.
 
ashleysmommy said:
I just want her to be able to communicate better with me. Right now she whines or gives me a really fake cry to get what she wants. I am trying to teach her up, down, eat, mama, dada, and a few other basic signs. She will hold her hands up when she wants to be picked up and thats about it. She will pat my face when I ask her where mama is. I know patience patience. I try but sometimes it is so hard. I wish the deaf-blind school here had programs for her now. They start at age 3. I am going to try to get her in their program then.
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I know the feeling. My son is 19 months old and signs about 10 words and has yet spoken a word despite his tests showing that he is not deaf. We are having a special educator come to our house next week to assess him. It is always hard at that age cuz every baby develops at a different pace but my son hasnt spoken a word yet so the drs are concerned. He had a hearing test again last week and it was inconsistent cuz he wasnt cooperating during the test. He is either HOH or delayed in some area..who knows?

Hope all goes well at the feeding clinic! :)
 
Thanks. Good luck to you too. Kids are so different. No one grows and develops the same. I know Ashley has defiantly been writing her own rule book from the beginning.
 
Similar with my 3 yrs old younger daughter is one hard and picky than her older sister at same her age I was easy with. She doesnt stay looking at me signing to finish or for long, only few sec or 1 word/sign she would turn her eye to other side. And run away when I signed "eat". So I let her favorite foods, like ice cream instead of milk, water instead of juice, waffle instead of egg scrambled so on, her weight went good, whew. I am getting her favorite to keep her eat well. Nutrition nurse suggested me to cut cube or finger one or two of any vegetables and fruits put in cupcake tray to let her play, it worked she played and tasted but few not all, better than nothing!

Before she didn't have alot sign language at all due of her not pay attention/wouldn't look at me and any person signing for long, she was isolated but great drawing, coloring and writting sentence like I love you, puppy, blue clue and e.t.c. started before her 2 yrs old, her teacher and counselor thought she might have autistic. Recently she joined preschool she definitely learned alot, and social with peers to communicate, she finally signs far more lately. To join in preschool definitely helps.

At her birth she has passed her hearing test, in few months she lost hearing, they thought she is deaf she couldn't sit still then. When she went to preschool she responded few noises, checked her hearing again, found out she actually is hard of hearing, tried hearing aids on she doesn't like them, oh well, her decision :)
 
ashleysmommy said:
Thanks. Good luck to you too. Kids are so different. No one grows and develops the same. I know Ashley has defiantly been writing her own rule book from the beginning.
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:ty: for the good luck. Whatever the outcome is, we will be fine. Important my son is a happy baby and grows up to be a happy person. Ashley looks like she is enjoying herself. :)


Freewoman..interesting story. Wonder if that is what my son is going thru now. Maybe he is HOH after all?
 
ashleysmommy said:
Thanks. Good luck to you too. Kids are so different. No one grows and develops the same. I know Ashley has defiantly been writing her own rule book from the beginning.
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Exact! My older daughter and younger one are different, too.
 
As long as our children are happy and we support and accept them for who they are they will be just fine. I have learned a lot here. All advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Have you tried to eliminate differant food? Just to see if it's a food allergy. Some babies are ellergic to cows milk for example.
 
We have tried lots of things. I try not to introduce too many new things so we can watch for signs of a reaction. One or two a week. When I find something she likes I use it as a back up when trying something new. To my knowledge she is not allergic. She is very strong willed and if it is not something she likes or wants to do she fights tooth and nail. She is a very feisty little girl. I will look into that possibility though. Thank you.
 
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