Xavier has always fit into the above category.  He has been a difficult feeder since he stopped nursing.  We initially worked our way from purred baby food to toddler food right around age 3, but something happened and Xavier regressed. 

This was the first regression we experienced with our special boy and it was sure perplexing.  I write about this issue now because Xavier has come full circle once again and he is back to eating toddler foods.  The challenge came when we could not put our fingers on why he regressed.  Was it the medications he was taking or could it be his seizures that were preventing him from eating the foods that he used to eat? 

We pursued swallow studies, feeding clinic's with professionals trained in feeding problems, basically we pulled out all the stops.  No one could really tell us why Xavier was not eating toddler foods again.  On a nutritional side note, during these really tough times, like when he'd spit everything out you'd feed him, I would supplement his feedings with Ensure so that he was still getting proper nutrition.  During this period in life it was revealed to us the quintessential life lesson of being Xavier's caregiver:  No one really knows what's wrong or why he does what he does, but such is Xavier.

We learned to roll with it, essentially we would read his body language and take the non-verbal cues he'd give us about different foods.  He is still partial to "crunchies" (i.e., hard exterior such as fish sticks or chicken nuggets) but he's now expanding his palette into things such as apples, grapes, quesadillas, meatloaf, roasted potatos, and of course french fries!

Food is fun again for Xavier.  I'm not sure if it's one of the benefits of the surgery, but hey I'll take what I can get!  He is eating everything these days and is loving life.  So I'd say be patient with the problem feeders and picky eaters.  Don't allow the child's behavior to consume you...just roll with it and things will get better.  Time has a way of working things out, mind you this is year seven for us! 

Take care all you mom's and dad's out there.  Gotta love the crazy stages of childhood!