Weigh-In

I weighed N this morning AFTER he had eaten breakfast. So this is not a completely accurate weight, but it does illustrate his progress. He is now 100.5 lbs.

We've given him some choices in his eating, but it's not necessarily going well. He still tends to eat very little when given the choice. This morning he said that breakfast was a yogurt. I finally got off his case when he had eaten a buckwheat pancakes and some strawberries.

September Log

During June of 2008, I found an old eating/behavior log that I made while I was cleaning out the car for a trip to a family reunion. I originally wrote the log last September before N had been diagnosed or even seen a therapist. He had only been sick with anorexia for about 2 months. I originally posted the log here.

Due to resulting sequential confusion, I've moved last September's log here:
http://nourishingmyson.blogspot.com/2007/10/log.html

Genetic Connections

Well, we're back. It's been a fun, but tense week. N did really well overall. He said that he felt very self-conscious the whole time. He really looks up to his Aunts & Uncles and I think it was important to him that he look good to them. I had several ask (or just listen) about N's story, what we've learned and what is currently happening with him. I'm always happy to make another person aware of the realities of anorexia.

It's interesting to me that this part of our extended family has some eating/feeding issues. I sent an email ahead of our arrival, educating all the adults about things they needed to be aware of. Most of the time everyone was very sensitive. Yet, there were still some low moments. There is usually a large volume of weight/food discussion with this crowd and even with restraint some of that concern still slipped through. Even though the comments weren't specifically about dieting, they were often about eating too little or too much. They were never directed at N, but rather at his brothers or cousins. N also has a four year-old cousin with a feeding disorder. She is currently seeing an OT. Her mom is a registered dietitian. Food issues with this side of the family run pretty deep - even more than I am mentioning.

All of these familial food issues make me wonder again about the genetic connections to eating disorders.

Family Reunion

We're having a family reunion this week. We've changed all of our summer routines and eating patterns again. N is struggling and regressing a bit. It's tough to be surrounded with unfamiliarity and deal with this disease. We try our best to maintain his dignity. But I also take any opportunity possible to educate our extended family about anorexia. Maybe their awareness of the realities of anorexia will help someone else down the line.

Weigh-In

I weighed N on Sunday. He is up to 96.5 lbs.

I'm still struggling with getting into a summer routine. I'm also struggling with N's meals. He seems to be riding the crest of a wave right now and is doing well.

Weigh-In

I weighed N this morning. He gained 1 1/2 lbs over the past (not quite) 2 weeks. I haven't measured his height since mid-April so we remeasured him. He is now 5' 3/8" tall. He basically grew 1/2" in 2 months. No wonder his pants look short all of a sudden.

I've notice lately that weight is coming on more easily. It seemed like, at one point, it would take a month for him to put on a single pound. Now he can put on a pound in a week. Perhaps his hypermetabolism is slowing down a bit.

School and Lunch

I'm tired. My two year-old is very "off" since school got out. I think he is having a hard time adjusting to the boys being around all day. I'm also feeling a bit "off" as is, I think, N. I've incorporated a bit more structure back into our meals today, which seems to be helping N. In the past, we've all just grabbed breakfast as we woke up and got on with our day. Often we ate breakfast and lunch together, but sometimes we didn't. That worked great when N didn't have anorexia.

I hadn't realized how important that N going to school each day was to help me regroup. Some days, he wasn't at school very long. But it was enough for me to get a shower. I was always more ready for the long evening stretches because I had time to catch my breath. When the kids are home all day, I don't ever get that break. It makes for long days when the anorexia is particularly strong.

N ate school lunch during almost all of last year. He would report what he had eaten and was always very honest. We would adjust his afternoon snack if he had not had enough to eat. His eating school lunch made one less meal that I had to plan or worry about. Because he got sick right as school started, I really haven't had to worry too much about his lunches. It's a big change, now, to have to think about all three meals. N is doing a lot better. I'm not having to manage his snacks, really. In fact, I mostly just check to make sure that he has had them. But, I do feel like I'm always thinking about and planning food. I think that his eating school lunch (and staying in school) was a tender mercy for me.

Summer

It's our first official day of summer, today. I like the idea of the lazy days of summer, but I'm not a fan of kids sitting around all day watching tv. So, I've set up loose schedules for my kids. Really, they have a lot of say in what happens and when. I don't think that there are too many expectations:

*Make bed and straighten room.
*15 minutes of guitar practice.
*15 minutes of writing or math.
*20 minutes of reading.
*10 minutes reading to 2 year-old brother.
*One work assignment each day (dusting, weeding, etc.).
*Help clean up dinner dishes (sweep, clear or load).

We limit "media" time to 1 1/2 hours. So really that should leave hours and hours of free time each day. But N has already taken until 2:15 today to complete his list. Both meals have been rough. He is resisting and restricting. I think it will just take some time to set up new routines and expectations. I can already feel the tension in my shoulders.