Arfid and weaning

Not sure where else to ask about this but this seems like a place where people may be kind and understand as it is something I am very ashamed of. I'm in my thirties and I am pretty sure I have Arfid, I've always had an incredibly restricted diet because different textures make me gag However, I'm pretty sure there was very little understanding of this when I was younger and I was just always labelled the picky eater. Anyway, I now have an 8 month old son and we are really struggling with weaning. He has little interest but I'm not sure if I have been trying enough because I just have a horrible relationship with food. I really want him to have a healthy relationship with food and I would very much like us to see someone who might be able to help me and in helping me help him? I'm based in the UK, does anyone know of any therapists or dieticians?? I don't even know who I should be looking to for support??

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My son is 4 and he may have ARFID, he only eats 4/5 things.

Thank you so much

Also try looking up Mamma and Tommy on Instagram, her son also has ARFID and she has eating issues herself. She has a guide on how to do food therapy at home

Felix Economakis does treatments for adults, look him up on YouTube

We had a feeding therapist starting at age 14 months because my daughter would gag on everything and would refuse anything accept formula. As she got older, we just worked with an OT who also had feeding experience, but you should be able to find a baby/toddler feeding therapy specialist.

Also, Im of the opinion that one of healthiest thing you can pass on to your kids is the ability to seek out help when needed, and accept it. So…you’re doing great. We’ve had a lot of therapists help us with various things, and if you have a good one, the other wonderful thing they do (at least in my experience) is sort of demystify what you are experiencing and make you feel like progress is possible and probable.

I have Arfid! With my son when I was solo I’d use food pacifiers! (Pacifiers that open & you can fill them with foods, purées or solids!) Helped me out a lot!!! Only enough for baby to actually eat in the pacifier, and it goes directly into their mouth not on a spoon and on hands & if you move up towards solids they won’t choke!

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