Continued from Part Two...


Then we adopted three kids from Ethiopia—a nine year old, a four year old, and a seven month old. In the beginning we didn’t think our 9 and 4 year olds had any serious food issues. They did not hoard food like some children do. They ate the things they liked, and refused the things they didn’t like. All seemingly normal. As time passed, we began to notice that we were wrong. Our 9 year old daughter was extremely picky. She hated nearly everything we gave her, unless it was loaded with sugar. She would throw food away and lie about it. She would fain illness in restaurants, until we stupidly allowed her to get dessert (because we felt so badly for her—food is a big deal in our family). It didn’t take long before we realized she was manipulating us with food, and that she wasn’t eating anything healthy. We put our feet down and stopped giving in to her. She slowly started eating better, trying more foods; and used food as a power over us a lot less. Every once in awhile she will pout about what is served at a meal, to see how much sympathy she will get, but she has improved.

Our 4 year old son certainly isn’t picky. He will eat just about anything. He is still suffering from his food issues, though has a lot more control over himself as time passes. He stuffs himself until he vomits. He wants to eat often. If we try to postpone a meal, or I won’t allow him to snack, or I limit what he eats at a meal, he becomes emotional. He is always asking me what I’m making for lunch or dinner. He eats more than my husband or I at times. He also drinks so much, that we had him tested for diabetes. He likes his stomach to be or feel full at all times. He will cry if he thinks food is too far away. Almost every night while I am cooking dinner, he will ask me several times if he can please have a snack. I’ll tell him no; that dinner is almost ready and he can certainly wait for a few more minutes. He will whine or flat out cry, and hold his stomach. Every once in awhile, I will offer him fruit while I am cooking, and he will ask for more. He will ask for a sandwich while he waits, or peanut butter crackers, or anything he thinks I will allow. At dinner, regardless of whether he had a snack or not, he eats and eats. Besides his obsession with getting enough food, he also uses food as a power over us on occasion.

And then we have our son that we adopted at 7 months. When he was found at a few weeks of age, he was near death. He was very malnourished. The first photos we have of him show a skeleton of a baby. He barely looks alive. When we first adopted him, he was beyond obsessed with food. He would clutch his bottle with all of his strength. He would suck long after it was empty. He ate everything we fed him and cried for more. As he aged, his culinary demands widened. He always wanted to eat. He would sneak into the diaper bag where he knew there would be snacks. At a tender age, he could easily eat two peanut butter sandwiches and a banana; or two cheeseburgers and a bag of fries. He would always want more. He gained weight and height at an amazing rate. He was so anxious to eat, that he wouldn’t chew his food. He would get a bite in his mouth, and swallow. We had to teach him how to chew his food before swallowing. It was a new experience for us. He would cry when his food was gone. He cried if everyone ese was still eating, or if anyone was eating and he wasn’t. There were days that he seemed to be eating the entire day. His food consumption became a family joke. About six months ago, he started slowing down. He began refusing food and eating less. It took us all by surprise. He seems to finally have a more normal relationship with food. He does still eat more than most kids his age, and is a large, solid little boy. Thankfully, he seems to be recovering from being malnourished.

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