Baby Steps

Over the past few years, we have dealt with some big issues with Lexie.

Shortly after Lexie turned 1, she stopped eating almost everything. Up until that point, she was an amazing eater, much like her brother. She was breastfed, and ate everything we offered to her. At 14 months old, her eating habits drastically changed, and she was eventually diagnosed with a pediatric feeding disorder.

At 22 months old, in the midst of the eating drama, she began to have diarrhea several times a day, every day. She was so healthy, so this was a mystery to us and the doctors. We spent the next 9 months seeing multiple doctors, eliminating foods from her diet, and having blood work done. Other than her picky eating, she was extremely healthy, and had only been sick once or twice with a minor cold. This was a very scary time period for us. She was tested for cystic fibrosis, and we were sent to an oncologist because her Neutrophils were so low. After months of worrying about a child that seemed so healthy despite the diarrhea, a repeat allergy test showed that she was allergic to eggs. Once we completely eliminated eggs from her diet, the diarrhea stopped.

Over the past year and a half we have struggled with her eating. We have tried all the tips the nutritionists have given us, with no luck. At her 3 year checkup, the pediatrician gave her a year to improve before she would need to start feeding therapy. We were really starting to worry as she approached her 4th birthday, because she showed no improvement.

Until recently! First, we were able to reintroduce eggs into her diet. After several weeks of trying, it appears that she has no reaction to the eggs. Only an allergy test will confirm it, but her doctor was fairly certain that she would outgrow the allergy, and it seems that she has! This is great news, because eggs were one of the few foods that she would eat!

On top of that, she has tried two new foods in the past 3 weeks. This is a huge deal for her! Three weeks ago she tried some rigatoni. Since then, she has asked several times for pasta with a bit of tomato sauce on it! Tonight, we nonchalantly asked her if she would like a fish stick, just as we always do. She accepted and took a bite...which led to her eating 3 fish sticks!

I was thinking that the rigatoni incident was an isolated one, but it seems like she's finally more willing to try other foods. Her diet is still pathetic. She doesn't eat meat, and she has not had a single fruit or vegetable since she was 14 months old. However, any improvement at this point is a big deal!

Lexie has been getting routine blood work done since she was 22 months. Her neutrophils and iron continue to stay low, and she has several deficiencies, probably due to her poor eating. She's due for another round of blood work in a few months, and I'm really hoping that these levels have gone up!

Lexie looks like a perfectly healthy little girl, and has an incredibly strong immune system, but to us, the past few years have been a struggle. We are so proud of how far Lexie has come in just the past month!!!