I knew the day was coming. It seemed a bit frightening, but I knew I would have to encounter it. Today was the first day Ellie fought me for food.
She has refused food for months now and it has been a battle to get her try new foods. She has been conditioned to associate food with pain. When she picked up a nectarine on her first birthday it was a celebratory moment. A week later we were able to declare peaches her first safe food. I began putting her in her highchair more regularly and exposing her to our mealtimes, hoping she would catch on and begin trying foods. She has a major aversion to certain textures and I have not been able to get her to feed herself. She also refuses to be fed from a spoon. About a week ago I received the God inspired idea to put her food on a stick and give it to her as a popsicle, and she ate it! She holds the dry wooden craft stick and licks the top. Too funny!
Today was not as exciting when I had to tell her no. Every mother wants to FEED their child. Give them vitamins, nutrition, sustenance, help them to grow. Not give them bottle after bottle of corn syrup solids mixed with lab altered ingredients and MSG. Today she fought me for a waffle. She fought me for Moriah's hot chocolate. She fought me for my coffee. And it all made me so sad.
It's late. I'm tired. I spend most evenings researching and wondering where the specialists are. If this is disjointed there is reason. I never ever thought I would have to tell my 13 month old no, ...that she cant eat.
I live in the richest country in the world where food is plenty and we have 'universal health care', and my daughter has a disease that keeps her from eating food and the insurance company wont pay for her liquid diet, her sole source of nutrition.
Every time we give her something that she reacts to we are set back by days and ,sometimes weeks. If we have to go back on the over the counter formula because we cant afford to purchase or cant get our hands on the prescription formula she needs we will be at a standstill for trialling new foods. Please pray that this prescription is not only processed fast but that it is APPROVED. Please, Jesus. Please, Father. Please, Creator of all who fashioned Elianna in my womb. Please.
Oh :( my heart aches for you!! I am joining you in prayer. I Pray Lord Father that YOU who has a million cattle on a million hills provide for Elianna and her family!!
ReplyDeleteI remember a few nights when both my babies wanted to eat and I desperately wanted to sleep and whined about having to get up with them. I have felt convicted so many times that I am BLESSED to be able to feed my babies in the middle of the night when there are so many mommies in the world who simply do not have food to feed their babies and would give ANYTHING to have a healthy breast or bottle to offer their baby. I can only imagine the heartache of having to fight your baby because she can't eat the food you have!!! I'm praying for you, friend!
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