Thanks for your encouragement!
One thing I forgot to ask earlier: I Googled this morning to find out how much baby food we should be giving Quinn at one sitting, and basically the consensus is to let the baby have as much as he wants because kids know when they've had enough.
So my question: Is that true with institutionalized kids? Considering that Quinn was fed on the orphanage's schedule rather than when he was hungry, I wonder if he even knows what hunger is. He is only just starting to tell us when he's hungry, three hours after his last bottle, and the signs are so subtle that if you don't know him you'd never notice.
Any guidance here would be appreciated: How much should we let him eat at one sitting?
7 comments:
Hi Jill,
I posted a response to you in our Yahoo! group, but when I just watched the video you have (pounding) another thought occurred to me-what hand are you putting the spoon in? Our son does many things with his left hand, though I believe him to be right handed. Maybe he will accept it with his left hand (the same hand he preferred pounding with). And maybe he would just hold a spoon while you fed him, without trying to use it, as a means of getting him used to it.
Happy holidays,
Ruby
Ruby,
That's a really good thought. We try to give him everything with his right hand because we're trying to strengthen that arm (he was born with a shoulder injury) but in this case it probably would be smart to give him a break and offer him the spoon in his left hand. I'll let you know how it works out!
Thanks,
Jill
We let our daughter eat everything she wanted when she first came home (22 months, developmental age about 12). She would even carry a bag of cheerios or whatever with her at all times. She had a lot of hoarding behavior and with time it has gradually improved. We still have some occasional issues, especially if she is at mom's day out. So, I would let him self-regulate.
We came home from China with our now 16 month old son 6 weeks ago. He's spent the last weeks making up for lost time and food and now takes about 4 8oz bottles of formula and about 3 cups of jarred baby food each day. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. He wasn't too keen on trying the jarred food until we started singing Old MacDonald had a Farm. He was so amazed and distracted at this sudden turn of events that the jaw dropped, mouth opened, and the spoon was granted entry. Perhaps a diversion would help. By the way, thanks for the blog. It's nice to know there are others out there facing the same issues with attachment, delays, etc.
Ina
Sherry, I have to say at this point I almost wish Quinn would hoard. He won't touch or pick up food of any sort, other than to push it off his high chair tray or cover it with one of his beloved stacking cups!
Ina,
Hello and welcome home! We've tried the airplane game with some interest but still a clamped jaw. I'll definitely try Old McDonald - thanks for the idea!
Jill
Are there any other children around at meal times, so that he can watch how it's done? Just an idea. My dd2 wasn't really interested either when she first came home, but she watched my oldest dd and by jingle, I think she got the idea from her. (oh, she gets soooooooo many ideas from her now!! LOL...and not all of them good either!!)
Sounds like things are progressing!
Snick :)
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