National Adoption Awareness Month Part 5 (food issues)

Josie has always had an interesting relationship with food. When she first came home from China, she used to store food in her cheeks and it wasn’t uncommon to see her chewing this same food hours later. We’d constantly remind her during meal time to swallow her food (her cheeks would get so full she’d look like a chipmunk) and that she would get more food. While in China, her diet mostly consisted of a bottle and congee but she was quick to start eating our food selections. We were told that she was a slow eater at the orphanage. I'm not exactly sure what they meant by that statement. My mind tends to wander and I have visions of her food being taken away from her because she didn't finish it fast enough.


(Josie is in the blue coat)

When she started speaking English, she would thank us every time she was given any kind of food or drink. Nearly nine months later, she still thanks anyone who gives her food or liquids. It's bittersweet to hear her thank us at every meal for her basic nourishment.

Lately, her appetite is through the roof. It’s almost to the point of binge eating. She’s always asking for “nummies”. If someone else has food, she’s starving, if there is a bowl of something, she'll see the need to eat it all...etc. She definitely out eats her big sister and on some occasions, her mother and father. While I’m cooking dinner, if she’s not distracted, she’s throwing an all out tantrum on the floor demanding food. Her food temper tantrums have gotten worse over the last few weeks and Chris and I are fairly certain we know why.

A few weeks ago, we completely stopped the bedtime bottle routine. While she's at daycare she drinks from a regular cup. When she's eating with us, we use a sippy cup. At bed, we did allow her bottle. It was the last of her familiar routines from China. Recently, she had gotten stomach flu and as you can imagine, a bottle and the stomach flu doesn't mix. It was an easy excuse to stop the bottle all together. She remembers throwing up and equates it with her bottle. She doesn't scream for her bottle anymore, but she does talk about it at bedtime and we'll occasionally see her sucking her baby doll's bottles when she's playing.



We’ve had to start being more aggressive in approach to dealing with her food obsession. We'll never deny her food, but we’re making sure we have plenty of healthy snacks available. With older children, it is easy to find out if they are truly hungry or are feeling some other emotion and calling it hunger. It feels a little more complex with a 2 year old. For those parents who are just getting started in their adoption journey, be prepared and realistic about your institutionalized child’s relationship with food. It's aggravating and it can be heart-breaking. In all my wonderful adoption books, most children outgrow their food issues, we just need to be patient and understanding. I'd love to know from my blogging friends, what are your experiences with your adopted child's relationship with food?