THE PEDIATRICIAN
I know what you are all thinking. This is where the rubber meets the road.
That’s what I was thinking. I had already started planning how the girls and I could present self-demand feeding to the pediatrician at their well visits. The Universe was not interested in waiting for a well visit. It had other ideas.
Mumps. Can you believe it? Even fully vaccinated, my youngest presented herself to the school nurse with many of the symptoms. After a visit with the school doctor and a negative blood test, the swelling remained. Off to the pediatrician.
The pediatrician poked and palpated, and requested another round of blood tests to rule out all the scary things. Then, the question I had been waiting for.
Has anything else changed lately?
My youngest looked at me with big question marks in her eyes. I took a deep breath. We have changed the way that we eat, since the beginning of the year. I used to be very strict with what the girls could eat, and I found that it was not working, so I have loosened the rules to allow them to choose what they eat.
What did you have for breakfast? the pediatrician asked my daughter.
It’s OK, you can tell her. I reassured her.
Oatmeal. She gave me a quick glance. And 7Up.
The pediatrician looked at her both kindly, and respectfully. Thank you for being honest with me. That is very important and I know a lot of kids who would not do that.
As I expected, my youngest is overweight. The pediatrician did not shame either of us for this. Indeed, she completely understood my concern about what damage the school doctor may have done (see that post here). She suggested keeping a food journal for a week or two that included what my youngest was eating and how she felt when she ate it. I also used this tool when I first started eating on demand. I recorded what I ate, as well as how I felt physically and emotionally, both before and after eating.
I think that my youngest is still eating mostly from mouth hunger. According to Hirschmann, mouth hunger is psychological hunger, and means that you are eating for any other reason besides stomach hunger. Stomach hunger is physiological hunger, necessary to sustain life. You can recognize mouth hunger from statements like, I have had such a hard day I deserve a treat, or It tastes so good I just want one more bite.
An honestly written food journal demonstrates how food makes you feel on the inside. Even food that your mind and your mouth want desperately can make you feel like crap, or simply help you eat more than you need.
So we are on the same road with a new vehicle. I like it.