Dealing with a Feeding Disorder in Your Infant

A feeding disorder is completely different from an "eating" disorder, which can include anorexia nervosa or bulimia. A feeding disorder is generally found in infants, and is usually caused by a medical condition, and it is where a child is unable or refuses to eat, no matter whether they are hungry or not. Untreated, it can lead to severe malnourishment or even death.

My Son's Problem

My son, from the day we brought him home from the hospital, did nothing but cry. For months, the doctors kept telling us that it was colic and he would outgrow it around three months old. He did not, and continued screaming his head off. At around 2 months old, the doctor put him on reflux medication, but it did nothing for him. The doctors kept increasing his medication, but nothing helped. At 6 months old, we discovered that my son was very anemic, but had no idea why. He underwent several tests and procedures to try and determine the cause, but had no luck. The doctors did finally determine that he had one of the worst cases of GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) that they had ever seen. It was so bad that the reflux had, in fact, burned ulcers in his small intestine, and he was actually losing blood and becoming anemic.

After trying many different drugs, and about 6 months of tests and even 2 different surgeries, we finally had his reflux under control using a combination of reflux medications. But after so long of hurting from the reflux, my son had already associated eating with pain, and for the most part, he refused to eat. He would SCREAM whenever anyone tried to feed him, and he would cry because he was hungry. It was an endless cycle, and often very frustrating for all of us. We had to seek out the help of a speech therapist who specialized in infants with feeding disorders just like my son's, and here are some things that she taught us, and what actually did help teach my son that eating is actually pretty fun.

Idea #1: Distractions

The biggest distraction I started using was the television. I would set up my son's high chair right in front of the TV and I would play his Baby Einstein videos. He would get to watching TV, and I could put the food to his mouth, and he would eat. I figured that if the worst thing I was doing was creating a TV junkie, well that was something I could live with, as long as I could feed my son food.

Although the television was the perfect distraction at home, it could not be our only means of a distraction because there is not always a TV readily available at mealtimes, especially if you are at a restaurant or in someone else's home. The second form of distraction we used was letting him play with his favorite toys while he ate. This did not work as well as the TV, but it was certainly better than nothing. He had a few special toys that were ONLY used during mealtimes, and because they were not things he played with all the time, they were special to him to get them out at the dinner table. I would shake his rattle, or get him holding onto it, and would then just start putting food in his mouth and hoped he would go ahead and swallow it.

People were also a good distraction. If my husband or I one was doing the actual feeding, the other one of us could sometimes play peek-a-boo or make silly faces or tell silly stories to try and distract our son enough to eat.

Idea #2: Rewards (although use in moderation)

Rewarding your child for eating can be pretty tricky, if not done correctly. If your child figures it out, you could have a kid on your hands that will ONLY eat treats. But, we tried this too. My son's favorite food in the world (even still) is goldfish. I used to lay one or two on his tray, and while he was busy picking them up, I would put baby food in his mouth, and hope to get in a few bites of the healthier baby food before he could scarf down a whole meal of just goldfish. Sometimes this worked, and sometimes he was too fast at putting those fish in his mouth.

Idea #3: Change of Scenery

Sometimes when dealing with an eating disorder, a simple change of scenery can work wonders. Go somewhere different to eat. Set up the highchair outside, maybe on a deck or in the yard if you have one. Go to a restaurant that has a lot of distractions like TV's, or go somewhere that is kid-friendly like McDonald's. You can even sometimes just go to a different room in your house to eat for a change. Sometimes just a simple change of the routine like this worked for my son, and he was so busy taking in his new surroundings that I could then feed him.

Idea #4: Let Someone Else Feed

Feeding a baby with a feeding disorder can be VERY stressful, and if you are stressed, the baby can sense that. Let someone else feed the baby every once in awhile. If your spouse is around, let them do feedings sometimes. Take the baby to Granny's house and let her feed him. I know that my mom has really special "grandma abilities" and sometimes my son will do things for her that he will not do with anyone else.

Idea #5: Change Various Textures of Food

When I was dealing with my son's feeding disorder, I discovered that he did not really like certain textures of food. He was not a fan of baby food purees, so I started introducing more and more table foods as I saw fit and he could handle, and he seemed to do better with that. He did very well at first eating carrots, and eventually got better at eating peas and green beans. Baked potato wedges eventually became manageable, and sweet potato "sticks" were always a big hit. Meat took the longest to master because of its texture. He always wanted to eat the meat, but had a hard time with it because he could not chew it very well. So try introducing table foods as soon as you can, and your child may discover that eating grown-up food is lots more fun than eating baby food.

I also discovered that there were certain foods that he did not like because of their temperature or how it made his hands feel if he touched it, and would therefore not put it into his mouth. My son has NEVER liked fruit because of how it makes his hands sticky if he touches it. He would eat freeze-dried fruit sometimes, so I tried to give that to him. He was also very particular about the temperature of his food. If it was too hot or too cold, then you had to fix that, or he threw a fit. Try various temperatures of food. Maybe your child wants his applesauce or his carrots straight from the refrigerator or maybe he wants it in the microwave for 20 seconds. Think outside the box, and try to come up with new ways of serving food to your child.

Idea #6: For Drinking, Change Liquid Source

Sometimes with a feeding disorder, the infant has developed a dislike for the actual bottle or sipper cup that you are using, and maybe changing to something different would help. Let him drink from a straw or even an open cup or try various sipper cups, and see if any of that helps. There are cups on the market made by Rubbermaid that are not technically made for babies, so they will not be found in the baby aisle of the store. They are called "juice boxes", and hold about 8 ounces of fluid. They have a straw in the middle and a hard plastic straw on top (so they will not get chewed up too easily). This cup is easier to teach your infant how to drink from a straw because you can put that straw into their mouth and gently squeeze the container to make fluid go up into the straw, and then into the baby's mouth.

I also found that changing my son's actual liquid helped him want to drink more as well. I am convinced that he actually did not like the taste of his formula, and he had to be on a really hypoallergenic really gross formula because of his ulcers, and I just think he did not like drinking it because of its taste. They make flavors that you can put into formula, but I was never able to find these flavors in stores. They had to be ordered online, and could be kind of expensive. So I would sometimes add a half of a jar (about 2 ounces) of fruit to my son's bottles, and it gave it a more natural yummy flavor. You really should not add too much fruit to the bottle because it can change the texture of the liquid and even make it harder for the baby to get the liquid through the bottle or sipper cup or straw. But if you add just a little bit, it might help with the flavor of the formula.

Where My Son is Today

All of this ultimately worked, these tools for teaching my son that eating can be fun, and it should not be associated with something unpleasant or painful. The idea behind all of this is basically teaching the child that mealtimes are enjoyable and not something to be upset about. After months of therapy, my son LOVES to eat now and loves trying new foods and is interested in eating pretty much all the time.

If you are in a similar situation with your child, hang in there. Things do get easier, and all of this will soon be a distant memory to you and your family.