Eating is for suckers
The Demon Child has decided this. She has become a typical two-year-old in this regard, although, as with everything else in her life, this touches on her disability. First, the drama.
A few weeks ago she began being more picky. This was when both of us were still working, and she was being a pain for her nanny. We didn't notice it, because she was fine for us. Now that I'm home, she has decided to torment me. It started with just being a little fussy. She would whine a bit about having to eat healthy stuff. She would wave her arms, which means "all done," before she even began. For a while I could get her to eat if I could get her to take one bite, and then she realized I wasn't trying to poison her and would eat the whole thing. A few times I couldn't coax her to eat anything, and I gave her finger foods - crackers of every sort (wheat, Graham, cheddar, veggie, goldfish) and peanuts - which she will eat quite willingly. It's not the greatest thing, but what the hell. Now, the past couple of days, it's gotten worse. She refuses to eat her oatmeal/oat bran, which we give her to keep her bowels regular (that's a problem connected to her disability, if you can believe it) and she was not liking her lunchtime vegetables. She has always liked vegetables, so that's annoying. Yesterday at lunch I got a little stern with her, and the tears flowed freely. I think it was partly fatigue and partly she is a bit under the weather, but I also think she hates me and everything I stand for (namely, eating). So I gave her some finger food and put her to bed. Last night at dinner, Krys had to come in from the bullpen, because she wanted nothing to do with me. I didn't know if it was residual memories from me yelling at her at lunchtime, or if she was just being, well, a Demon Child. So Krys managed to get her to eat by playing games with her. I'm apparently bad at that.
This morning was horrible. She refused to eat any oatmeal. I gave her banana/strawberry to eat by herself, and that made her happy. I gave her some more crackers, but she decided to throw them on the floor. This I do not tolerate. I usually give her one chance to stop, and sometimes she does, and sometimes she doesn't. She gives me her sneaky little smile, since she knows exactly what she's doing, and then makes up her own damned mind. Today it was "Screw you, daddy," and she very purposefully chucked another cracker on the floor. I didn't yell - yesterday was actually an aberration - because that's kind of pointless, I just took her food away. Breakfast was over! Now she's lying on the floor, and I like to give her some time to crawl around and play (I'm right next to her, before you think I'm some kind of deadbeat dad and call CPS), but she's on her back and doesn't seem inclined to do much of anything. Of course, I found some dried food in her hair and pried it out, which led to another round of screaming. She doesn't eat the food, but using it as conditioner - that's on!
Now, you may be wondering why getting her to eat is important (beyond the obvious, that is). If she were "normal," I would simply tell her, "This is what you're getting to eat, and if you don't want that, tough." I'm all for tough love, and if she wants to starve, that's her political statement, not mine. I will not cave to my daughter and give her cookies just to get her to eat something. However, as with most things in her life, this ties into her injury. We have to give her anti-seizure medication three times a day (which, you know, doesn't actually prevent her seizures at all - it seems they're getting worse by the day), and we have to give them to her with food. I assume they make her violently ill if her belly isn't full. So she has to eat something. It's very frustrating, because how can I be a hard-ass when she has to have something in her stomach?
Food is a weird subject with small kids. This article talks about helping parents get their kids on a new diet. I don't understand kids not eating well, as the last time I checked, parents controlled the food supply. Mia has never had soda or fast food and very little chocolate (she really digs it), and we're not in any hurry to give it to her. We're trying to teach her good eating habits, but the medication requirements and her Demonic Nature are currently getting in the way. It's annoying.
While I was typing this she also got a bloody nose - her first. It wasn't that bad, but that's disturbing. I think all the crying from therapy and being under the weather made her nostrils sensitive. I gave her some Tylenol, so let's hope that helps. Bloody noses suck.
A few weeks ago she began being more picky. This was when both of us were still working, and she was being a pain for her nanny. We didn't notice it, because she was fine for us. Now that I'm home, she has decided to torment me. It started with just being a little fussy. She would whine a bit about having to eat healthy stuff. She would wave her arms, which means "all done," before she even began. For a while I could get her to eat if I could get her to take one bite, and then she realized I wasn't trying to poison her and would eat the whole thing. A few times I couldn't coax her to eat anything, and I gave her finger foods - crackers of every sort (wheat, Graham, cheddar, veggie, goldfish) and peanuts - which she will eat quite willingly. It's not the greatest thing, but what the hell. Now, the past couple of days, it's gotten worse. She refuses to eat her oatmeal/oat bran, which we give her to keep her bowels regular (that's a problem connected to her disability, if you can believe it) and she was not liking her lunchtime vegetables. She has always liked vegetables, so that's annoying. Yesterday at lunch I got a little stern with her, and the tears flowed freely. I think it was partly fatigue and partly she is a bit under the weather, but I also think she hates me and everything I stand for (namely, eating). So I gave her some finger food and put her to bed. Last night at dinner, Krys had to come in from the bullpen, because she wanted nothing to do with me. I didn't know if it was residual memories from me yelling at her at lunchtime, or if she was just being, well, a Demon Child. So Krys managed to get her to eat by playing games with her. I'm apparently bad at that.
This morning was horrible. She refused to eat any oatmeal. I gave her banana/strawberry to eat by herself, and that made her happy. I gave her some more crackers, but she decided to throw them on the floor. This I do not tolerate. I usually give her one chance to stop, and sometimes she does, and sometimes she doesn't. She gives me her sneaky little smile, since she knows exactly what she's doing, and then makes up her own damned mind. Today it was "Screw you, daddy," and she very purposefully chucked another cracker on the floor. I didn't yell - yesterday was actually an aberration - because that's kind of pointless, I just took her food away. Breakfast was over! Now she's lying on the floor, and I like to give her some time to crawl around and play (I'm right next to her, before you think I'm some kind of deadbeat dad and call CPS), but she's on her back and doesn't seem inclined to do much of anything. Of course, I found some dried food in her hair and pried it out, which led to another round of screaming. She doesn't eat the food, but using it as conditioner - that's on!
Now, you may be wondering why getting her to eat is important (beyond the obvious, that is). If she were "normal," I would simply tell her, "This is what you're getting to eat, and if you don't want that, tough." I'm all for tough love, and if she wants to starve, that's her political statement, not mine. I will not cave to my daughter and give her cookies just to get her to eat something. However, as with most things in her life, this ties into her injury. We have to give her anti-seizure medication three times a day (which, you know, doesn't actually prevent her seizures at all - it seems they're getting worse by the day), and we have to give them to her with food. I assume they make her violently ill if her belly isn't full. So she has to eat something. It's very frustrating, because how can I be a hard-ass when she has to have something in her stomach?
Food is a weird subject with small kids. This article talks about helping parents get their kids on a new diet. I don't understand kids not eating well, as the last time I checked, parents controlled the food supply. Mia has never had soda or fast food and very little chocolate (she really digs it), and we're not in any hurry to give it to her. We're trying to teach her good eating habits, but the medication requirements and her Demonic Nature are currently getting in the way. It's annoying.
While I was typing this she also got a bloody nose - her first. It wasn't that bad, but that's disturbing. I think all the crying from therapy and being under the weather made her nostrils sensitive. I gave her some Tylenol, so let's hope that helps. Bloody noses suck.
posted by Greg at
8:22 AM
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