From Picky to Limited

Lucas has always been a pretty picky eater. He loves fruits and vegetables, but has always been picky on his meat and starches. He changes up what meat he likes a lot, but some constants that he always seems to eat are lunch meats, hot dogs, and any kind of sausages. He likes chicken sometimes, will usually eat pork chops, sometimes hamburgers. He's really picky on pasta though. About the only pasta he likes is spaghetti. I can't get him to eat macaroni and cheese or pasta side dishes. He likes rice but usually will only eat white rice, not any sort of flavored ones. He is even pretty picky on breads. He doesn't care for sandwiches but will eat some buttered bread with cinnamon and sugar, and occasionally will eat it toasted. Sometimes he will eat buns with burgers or hot dogs, other times he prefers no buns.

Lucas has always been on the small side, almost his whole life. He's never hit the point of being considered underweight, but that's mainly because his doctor says he appears healthy. He's always run around the 25th or less percentile for weight. From age 3 to age 4 (his yearly checkups), he gained less than 2 pounds in a year. He went from just above 30 pounds to about 32 pounds. We have worked with his doctor on just trying new food constantly and always offering healthy options. His protein intake is what worries me the most though because of his pickiness with meats. And his meat choices he usually has are a lot of sodium and fat and not a ton of the good stuff.

With Lucas being sick and throwing up Sunday night and again Tuesday night, I've been on high alert with his diet and what he's eating. The nurse at his doctor's office said it was possible he has/had a stomach virus, but I really feel in my gut that's not what it is. She also mentioned if it keeps up that he needs to be looked at, for possible reflux or even something else. After thinking about it and doing some research, I really do think reflux may be the issue. (Yes I posted some about this, but it ties into this post too so I'm repeating a lot of what I already put). Sunday night Lucas ate spaghetti for dinner with pesto sauce. Tuesday night Lucas had some corned beef hash with dinner. Both of those things are greasy and oily and can cause a flare up in reflux. 

So now on top of Lucas' already picky diet, I am trying to limit things that could make cause him some reflux. Greasy things, sugary things, some fruits, tomato based products, etc. A lot of what he eats falls into those categories. Wednesday night for dinner, we had some breaded fish fillets, which once baked become pretty oily. So that night I pan fried (with no oil) a chicken breast for Lucas. He said he didn't like it and only at a few small bites. He did eat some popcorn shrimp and a few fries though. Thursday for lunch, Lucas had a mandarin orange, a small cucumber, a little bit of shredded cheese, and a small tiny piece of the chicken breast I made the night before. Plus shortly before lunch he had eaten some pretzels and half an apple. That kid only slept like 10 minutes for nap and woke up starving. He ate 2 pancakes (no syrup), and some sunflower seeds right after waking up and was still saying he was hungry. 

He's not taking in enough protein to fill him up and it really got to me yesterday. For dinner last night we had hot dogs and he wanted one, but only ate a bite and said he didn't want the rest. He ate the bun, but not the hot dog. I heated him a tiny piece of the chicken I made and he ate just a couple little bites. He wouldn't eat the cheddar broccoli rice I fixed, so he ate some plain white rice, and a little corn. I knew he needed more protein or he'd wake up during the night hungry. I really am at a loss on what to give him anymore. I had some pediasures which were expired so I tossed those. He never cared for them anyways before when I tried them. So we made him some chocolate milk with UNFLAVORED protein powder in it and he sipped it but refused much at all.

When it comes to protein I'm struggling. He won't eat the chicken I made and there aren't a lot of good, healthy, less fatty and greasy options to replace lunch meat, hot dogs and sausages. I researched non meat options for protein but couldn't come up with a lot. I bought him some greek yogurts which are high in protein, we will try some of those today. I got him a bag of edamame to try. I got brown rice which at least has more nutrition than white rice. And I'm going to have to push the peanut butter more, but he won't eat it on a sandwich so we will just have to try spoonfuls of peanut butter. And I did buy another pack of pediasure to give it another shot since it's been a while since he tried them.

Tonight's dinner is our tater tot chicken casserole, which is greasy. He does enjoy this dinner, so I may let him eat some and hope for no throwing up tonight. If he does, I will just have more confirmation that reflux is likely the issue and greasy foods are a trigger. I am likely going to have to make him a doctors appointment so we can get in and talk more about reflux and his current diet because he cannot afford to not eat and lose any weight. He's already too small as it is. I am so worried about him. I feel like I'm trying my best, but I feel like my best is just not enough in this situation. I am feeling like a failure and at a loss on what to do.

Mini Addition: 

For lunch today Lucas tried one of the greek yogurts. It was even one that had the cookies you mix into it. He didn't like it. He only managed to force down about half. I'm so discouraged. Along with that he ate half a banana, a small cucumber, a package of sunflower seeds, and maybe less than a quarter cup of plain spaghetti. He got some protein in him from the half of the yogurt, and the sunflower seeds have some protein, but I have a feeling after nap he's going to wake up hungry again. I offered some peanut butter but he refused. I've just gotta take this meal by meal, get creative and keep trying my best. I hope it is a phase or something that will pass at some point, but I am worried this could be a long term struggle. We have already struggled with his weight and picky diet for years.

I'll gladly take any suggestions you may have, although I can't guarantee they will work because we've tried a lot of things already. Enjoy your weekend everyone!