Brenna Eats!

 If you've never had a tube fed child you probably can't relate to this post. I just can't get over how easily Brenna eats. I put food in front of her and she eats it. No screaming, no turning her head away, no refusing to open her mouth! She just eats. If I don't feed her constantly she will find food on her own. She steals food from other people and today I found her sitting on the table eating cookies.

 Owen is eating more and more, but it is still a struggle. He turns away and we have to force him to take a taste. He still has favorite foods he fixates on. He doesn't choke anymore, but we are still on constant alert for it.

 I have always insisted on not being a short order cook. I cook what I cook and you eat it or don't. I don't make my kids eat everything or finish their plates, but I don't make other food for someone who doesn't want to eat what is being served. Devon doesn't like rice, so when we have rice she takes a small amount of rice and a larger amount of salad. Morgan really likes broccoli and doesn't like meat much, so she gets less meat and more broccoli.

  All of that went completely out the window with Owen. We have made special trips to the store to get him food he wanted. He gets trips to fast food restaurants if that is the only thing he wants to eat. We let him eat in front of the T.V. if that is what it takes to get him to eat.

 As we get closer to starting the Ketogenic Diet, I'm getting more and more worried. I'm pretty sure we have enough things he will eat to do the diet. I'm just getting worried about how Rod and I will manage when we CAN'T give him what he wants to eat. If we go past a McDonald's and he wants french fries we won't be able to let him have them. If he eats all of his strawberries (strawberry?) and wants more we will have to say no. It's going to be rough on all of us. After all these years of trying so hard to get him to eat not being able to LET him again will take a lot of getting used to.