As I've said before, Caden is now on Vyvanse for his ADHD. One of the side effects is decreased appetite. I noticed a little more left on his plate at dinner, he seemed to be bringing more home in his lunch box and breakfast was a little harder to get him to eat some days, but overall, I thought we were doing OK. Last Friday I took the kids to the doctor. Ellie had her 6 year check-up, Olivia had her 6 month check-up, Caden had his 1 month on meds check and Vince got to be stuck in a small room for with 4 other people (which, if I remember my high school French correctly, was Sartre's description of Hell in Huis Clos). At weigh-in Caden was down 4 lbs. He had lost 4 lbs in a month. At the office I didn't think much of it. 4 lbs isn't much. I've gained and lost that in a week before. But I'm not 7 1/2. I didn't start at 62 lbs. The doctor told me to just keep an eye on him to make sure he's not losing any more. The more I think about it, the more worried I become.
Now that I'm really tuned in to what he's eating, I see that most dinners he eats what Ellie usually does--almost nothing. Breakfast is getting harder and harder for him to eat, even though I'm getting him up earlier so he has more time to eat. I really have to plead ignorance for lunch. There's no telling what he's really eating there and what ends up in the trash. I have control over two of his meals. I need to make them count.
I was thinking that I could just jam as much food in him as possible at each sitting, but then I realized I want to get as much bang per bite as I can. Breakfast consisting of a breakfast bar is fast and easy, and I think he'll eat it, but it's not really as nutritious as it should be, especially if he's not going to be having much for lunch. I need to do some work and plan each breakfast the night before, since, like Garfield, I don't do mornings. If this means that I need to make pancakes the night before and reheat them, I'll do it. (I'll do pink pancakes or pumpkin pancakes so he's getting a veggie too.) I've tried smoothies, which I know he likes, but it's been too much for him lately. Maybe I should start freezing them in Popsicle molds again and giving him a Popsicle for breakfast. I think the fact that it melts may encourage him to eat it quickly, plus he as to hold it so he can't get up and walk away from breakfast. As for dinner, I can't make a third dinner option for just Caden each night. It's not that he doesn't like what we're having, he eats some of everything on his plate, it's just that he doesn't eat much. I think what I need to do is have a snack laid out for him right when he walks in the door from school. He used to consume mass quantities of apples, but lately, he's down to just a few a week. If I have something out for him, maybe the fact that it's in his line of sight will encourage him to eat something.
This is hard for me. I know how to deal with a picky eater (Ellie) but this just not hungry thing is a new one for me. I can't seem to explain to him that it's important that he eats, even if he's not really hungry. "What's the big deal about losing 4 lbs?" he asked me. I had a hard time explaining it before he lost interest in our conversation in 5 seconds.
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