Doodie Update

We've had Alasdair off of his senna laxative now for about 4 weeks. I've been really focused on keeping his diet super high in fiber and keeping his calorie/fat content up for some weight gain. So far, he's been having "regular" bms most of the time. Almost every day anyway, and sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. But their consistency is NOT normal. I guess as long as he's going that's a good thing.

I also had one of those "aha!" moments today. Doodie is a grazer. He's never been a champion eater at meal or snack time, which makes it tricky to keep his weight up (hence the high calorie/high fat diet to make every bite he DOES take count). There are times when he only takes 3 or 4 bites of his dinner and then leaves the table. Other times he won't even come to the table at all. And inevitably he complains about being hungry 15 minutes after the rest of us have finished and cleaned up. He does go and grab himself oranges or apples or pears out of the fruit drawer in the fridge and eats a lot of that throughout the day. So, I've started leaving his meals on the table.

This morning I offered him oatmeal made with half and half and flax, sliced plums, grapes and his meal replacement shake that he didn't drink last night. At first he ate the fruit and half his shake. Both he and Maeve asked for more fruit so I gave them more and he ate that, too. Then 30 minutes later he said he was hungry so i told him to go eat his oatmeal. And he did! and the rest of his shake, and the fruit that Maeve left on her plate!

He did this the other night at dinner and over the weekend at lunch. So I think for him I'm going to leave his meals sitting out so he can graze on them, assuming it's not something that's going to get completely gross in a couple of hours. And perhaps set out a snack bowl with some things that are easily accessible for him. Maybe just letting him graze all day long will ensure that he actually eats enough food and can gain some weight!