Eating breakfast...

Does anyone else have trouble with this? I feel like it is a daily battle. Luckily this year she has preschool in the afternoon but she does have OT early in the mornings. I wake her up almost 1hr 45 mins before we have to leave the house and we barely make it out in time. She takes almost 1hr 30 mins to eat so I then have to throw her clothes on to get her out the door. I have no problems waking her - she gets up easily, but breakfast is the only meal we struggle with. She will sit fairly well for lunch or dinner but breakfast is another story. She is up like 50 times. I have to push her to eat anything. I have tried giving her things she likes, making her additional things, etc. What she loves one day she won't eat the next. She tells me one day that the meal hurts her stomach (but asks for it the next). I can't remove her from the table over and over AND get her to eat. I have tried to feed her in the car, giving her less time to eat, more time to eat, playing games to make it fun. I'm just at a loss. I do not have this issue with my other DD.

As far as NOT making her eat and letting her go hungry is a no go for her to learn that lesson- I was told she MUST eat - she will get upset and say she is hungry constantly so not eating something is not an option. It has always been more difficult but now seems to be much worse. Oh and when she doesn't eat the tantrums are horrible - which is part of why she must eat. She is tiny and doesn't eat much to begin with - she is more of a grazer - but for some reason breakfast is like ants in the pants - where she is up every minute and the more you push it the more she resists. Or she takes 2 bites and says done.

She has a lot of food allergies and is a bit of a picky eater so we are more limited in our choices. We have tried peanut butter on a 1/2 a bagel thin with fruit, cheerios with soy milk and fruit, 1/2 a bagel thin with fruit, sandwiches were a no go, eggs (she will eat once or twice a month and then won't eat it again). Waffles she will only eat once in a while, same with soy pancakes. Soy yogurt she says bothers her tummy, she didn't test positive to oats but for some reason oatmeal tends to give her rashes or hives (she is okay with cheerios so go figure) so that is out. She is allergic to milk, oranges, chocolate, strawberries and shellfish. I find if she doesn't get enough protein she is hungry like 20 mins later.

I don't make alternatives for any other meal but I have even given her something different when she said one bothered her.

Re: Eating breakfast...

Is she on any supplements to help her digestive system ? Enzymes ?

I am positive that the food is definitely irritating her so she either is rejecting it or scared to really indulge. Little kids are intuitive.

She also may have issues with her HCL ...and taking a supplement for that may help.

What about offering her lunch items for breakfast ? Chicken or veggie sausage or just chicken nuggets ? Will she eat cereal more readily without the milk ? (sometimes the milk changes the texture too much).

Can you make her some sort of smoothie drink to get her nutrients in and to fill her ?

Re: Eating breakfast...

Thank you - no they don't think she needs supplements - she does eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and grains and protein for lunches and dinners it is just breakfast. I have tried to give her lunch for breakfast etc and that didn't help. The problem that none of us can figure out is IF she really is being bothered by the food OR if she just doesn't want to eat it so she says it makes my tummy hurt. Like she will eat Cheerios and beg for them several times - you ask her the 5th or 6th time and she says NO it makes my tummy hurt - but then asks for it the next day. That sort of thing.

The thing is my parent trainer said eh just let her miss the meal she will be starving and will learn her lesson - but honestly I'm not on board with that - b.c she goes places and then says I'm starving and wants to eat constantly and then has many melt downs. Also we tried it and she doesn't learn the lesson.

She asks for smoothies and I have made them - but more recently she says they bother her so I stopped making them. She will still ask but then she only drinks say 3 mouthfuls then leaves the rest and wants something else.

I don't know I don't make 2nd meals for her at lunch or dinner and we don't have this issue - she doesn't eat a lot but she will eat broccoli and chicken drumsticks and melon for dinner, or peanut butter, or chicken etc and melon and veggies for lunch too. For some unknown reason she won't eat the lunch for breakfast. Also she does eat better on morning she doesn't have to be somewhere. She had a complete melt down on thursday before OT and it took 1hr 30 mins to get her to eat and we were almost late for OT - she told her social skills teacher she had a completely meltdown and wouldn't eat but told her that she had no idea WHY she had the melt down or why she wouldn't eat.

HCL? I have no idea when they checked her blood work I was told it was excellent.

No she isn't on vitamins now only b.c with her allergies they aren't sure which one to give her (many are berry flavored and there is concern when it says natural flavors it could contain strawberry).

I just want to help her have a smoother time but I'm not sure how to help her. I feel like I have tried so many different things and at a loss.

Re: Eating breakfast...

You said you aren't on board with it, but I think the only thing that would work is not forcing her. My DC is not a big breakfast eater at all and I don't force it.

Re: Eating breakfast...

My DS has feeding issues so I have gotten a lot of advice from the Feeding therapist and nutritionish. I think that I would try the parent trainer's advice for 2 weeks. Be very consistent and everyday sit her down for 20 minutes to eat breakfast. After 20 minutes take the food away and make a big show that breakfast time is over. Our nutritionist told me to limit eating to 30 minutes otherwise it becomes a negative experience. Also maybe give breakfast a little later-maybe she needs to run around and digest a little in the morning before she is hungry. I know I don't eat breakfast until almost 2 hours after I get up.

Re: Eating breakfast...

See this morning she got up and ate in 5 mins and was ready to go and was great! It isn't something that I can figure out (has nothing to do with what she ate the night before, if she went to bed early etc) she does it one day then not the next, then every day for a week or two then not for a few days or weeks.

The reason she needs to eat (also her social skills teacher agrees) is that her regular teachers were saying she cannot be going to school melting down saying she is starving over and over until snack time.

The problem that they have with limiting meals is she is tiny to begin with so they want to make sure she eats enough and not take away eating opportunities and she wasn't sitting long enough to eat during that time frame (has to go bathroom, or this or that, etc). She will sit for lunch and dinner so not sure why she won't most mornings.

Our schedule is just to get up - go downstairs, eat breakfast, get dressed and walk out the door. If I push it off then we are late for everything. I tried to wake her around 6 something but even with putting her down earlier she gets really cranky I find that waking her too much earlier than 7 is not good.

Keep in mind she is not my only child I also have a 2 year old I'm trying to feed at the same time and dress also so getting out the door takes a while.

It is like phases we go through - where she does this for a few weeks then eats and goes nicely then it starts again. But it has started to take her even longer than in the past. I'm trying to nip it in the bud now so it isn't a problem with Kindergarten next year. I understand that there is no snack or break for them until 1230 (lunch time) so she will have to get used to eating. I'm concerned if I don't make her eat breakfast - with her personality that it could become a habit.