Lunchtime

Anyone who knows Jayden, knows that he is not a fan of eating. But what most people don't know is just how afraid of food he really is. Sitting at a table with a plate of food in front of him is the worse form of punishment for Jayden. This fear comes from the constant stomach pains he had up until he was diagnosed with Celiac Disease at 2.5 yrs old. Can you imagine being in pain for that long? And everything you ate made it hurt worse? So his fear is definitely understandable. Everyday is a struggle to get Jayden to eat and there has NEVER been a day that he has eaten a full 3 meals. In fact, getting him to eat 2 meals in one day is rare. So when he does eat a meal, we are very thankful!

It always begins with him attempting to ignore the plate in front of him. Don't want to eat? Then just put on a show for mommy and daddy!!

Eventually, he realizes that he needs to at least try the food in order to get down from his seat. Although he loves his gluten free bread, anything that he eats always begins with this same look of fear on his face, and it breaks my heart :(

But usually he'll realize that he likes it and it didn't hurt his stomach the last time he ate it so he''ll take a few more bites. He never eats much at all though, but something is always better than nothing.

These pictures were taken last week. Today wasn't a good day for eating. He refused breakfast (gagged on it even) although it was his favorite, suasage with maple syrup. He also refused lunch and he hardly ever eats dinner. And this happens very often. It's funny the things we take for granted in life. A mother never realizes just how important something as simple as eating is until your child downright refuses to eat.