Kids with Aversions - what's better?

[UnderTheStars]

What my 2.5yo DS will and won't eat changes on a daily basis, but it is always limited to purees (he cannot/will not eat solid foods). All of a sudden, though, he has almost completely limited himself to jarred baby foods or yogurt. I can still puree something on my own, but he will only eat it if it's in a baby food jar.

I remember his therapist saying a while back not to let him get in to the habit of demanding a certain type of food container, ESPECIALLY purees because we are trying (somewhat fruitlessly) to get him to broaden to more textures. We have always put his food in the same generic bowls to avoid the preference that a lot of kids with aversions develop. Problem is, he is perfectly content to not eat anything at all if I didn't push it. There is nothing about eating that he enjoys, because of his medical conditions eating has been traumatic for him ever since birth. So it's more of something he tolerates for MY sake. So if I didn't give him the food in the baby food jar, he won't eat, and he'll be happy as can be. Yes, for days on end - he has been put on a feeding tube for failure to eat before and it didn't bother him one bit.

So - do I let him "win" just so I can get him to eat? Or do I stick to my guns and make him eat out of the regular bowl and hope he gets it someday? The mom in me says "Let the kid eat, no matter the cost!" but I would really hate to be undermining his therapy and doing long-term damage by giving in and reverting back...and his therapist is out of town so I can't run it by her until late next week.

Thoughts?

[jen_batten]

Does he just have the one therapist? I would try to run it by someone before that because that's a sticky question. Maybe a ped, or another therapist? Most of our therapist were crossed trained so they could maybe field a question that wasn't their specialty, or if they can't they may be able to get a hold of someone who can.