I've been reading George Estreich's book "The Shape of The Eye", which is about his daughter Laura, who has Down Syndrome, and what the first years with her were like. As he discusses her feeding issues, I was reminded of all the issues we had with Nathan (not to be a book-spoiler, but Laura's feeding issues were even worse!). Nathan's a pretty good eater now, though. He knows what he likes and there are whole categories of things he doesn't like, but he eats 2 vegetables plus V8 and multiple fruits, so I figure we're doing pretty well.
For the past couple nights I've decided to put vegetables on his plate that I know he doesn't eat and see if I can cajole him into trying them, with barbecue sauce, or by singing about them. Last night he got his leftover green beans from lunch (veggie he does eat but didn't), a couple pieces of sweet potato, a couple bites of squash, and then a little carrot-raisin salad. There was both barbecue sauce and singing involved, but Nathan ate it all. "Please, carrots." You want more? Sure! And then again: "Please, carrots." Yep, okay, more carrots.
It's amazing to think about how far he's come with food and texture. Sometimes I forget how hard it was there for a while. But when I remember, I come away with a whole new appreciation for what he's doing now. Go, Nathan! Even if it does necessitate several verses of Laurie Berkner's "Valley of Vegetables" being sung at the dinner table...
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