The war at our house

ok, so how many of you are super lucky to have 2 spectrum kids, really??? just me??? Well, just like *regular* siblings they can have similarities and big differences. The biggest division of our house is meal time!

Yes, I said it! MEAL TIME!!!! My girl is a eat everything in sight and then figure out if I like it, healthy eater. My son.....he is the OH, F*&$ something is on my plate ......let's just say it is a struggle, I mean he is a selective eater. He eats 10 foods-well, ok now I think we are up to a food group and every once in a while he will take a bite of something willingly. I have tried bribes, feeding therapy, ABA techniques, you name it we have done it. This child, for being not exactly skinny, will not eat. His staple is a PB&J and if it wasnt for every school being nut free that would be cool but......yeah, the whole nut free thing kinda ruins it for him.

Meal time is EPIC....not to be confused with that youtube thing, Epic Meal Time-my hubby loves those guys. So in one corner we have the kid who will eat her entire dinner, and seconds, and then circle around you like a vulture for scraps. Then at the other end of the table we have the young one refusing to eat. I mean, telling someone, 'when they get hungry, they will eat', has never met a child on the spectrum. My son is especially stubborn *God help me!*. We have to get him to take one bite of the non-preferred food, watch him look at you like he will kill me in my sleep, then he will choke it down, to celebrate. Talk about exhausting!

Feeding therapy is almost a slap in the face. Dont get me wrong, I love the awesome Speech therapist, and the equally awesome O.T. but when he eats 30 teeny, tiny, bites of spaghetti for them and looks at me like 'die, B*%*%' ...I think I want to cry....and then give him spaghetti for the rest of the year until he eats. *see my previous statement about if they are hungry*

ABA techniques are great......until you are out in public and he is melting down over the fact that his hotdog is on a bun......yeah, dude, just take it out of the bun-problem solved!

I have relaxed some about this war....I have to remember to pick my battles. If he eats 3 bites of dinner and then wants an apple-go for it! When he hasnt eaten anything most of the day...which really means, he protested lunch at school.....and then he wants a bigger snack-ok, but you will have to take those 3 bites at dinner *I know he really hates me deep down*. After he chokes down those 3 bites, we will celebrate every victory.

I am hoping that at some point this war will be over.......one day. #warishell