• Home
  • Start Here!
    • Subscribe
    • Topics
    • Top Tips!
  • About
    • Services
    • Contact Us!
    • Media
    • Disclaimer
  • Blog
    • Popular Posts
    • Recipe Index
  • Books
    • RD Book Coaching Services
  • Podcast
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feed

Maryann Jacobsen

Independent Author & Family Nutrition Expert

  • Home
  • Start Here!
    • Subscribe
    • Topics
    • Top Tips!
  • About
    • Services
    • Contact Us!
    • Media
    • Disclaimer
  • Blog
    • Popular Posts
    • Recipe Index
  • Books
    • RD Book Coaching Services
  • Podcast
  • Privacy Policy

Book Review: Love Me, Feed Me

November 16, 2012

Love Me Feed Me review
Tweet
Pin
Share12
Yum
Email
Share
12 Shares

When I started blogging in 2009, I found other like-minded bloggers including Katja Rowell, MD — family doctor turn feeding doctor. Struggling with feeding her own child led her to Ellyn Satter’s resources — she eventually trained with her and began a new career dedicated to helping families raise competent eaters.

I knew Rowell was writing Love Me, Feed Me: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Ending the Worry About Weight, Picky Eating, Power Struggles and More, so when the book came in the mail I was excited to start reading. Now that I’ve read it, I’m even more excited to get the word out.

Rowell has done a very important thing with this book — provide adoptive parents with the support they need to deal with the intense worry many of them feel about feeding their children. I know because I get questions from adoptive parents — and can tell these are different than my typical questions. That’s because when adopting a child, attachment is the first and foremost goal and when feeding isn’t going well, attachment usually isn’t either. Rowell touches on this in her introduction:

If you have feeding or growth concerns, it may feel like feeding, and thinking about feeding, is all you do. It affects how you feel about yourself as a parent, how you feel about your child, and your ability to attach and enjoy your time together.”

What adds to the complexity of feeding adopted children is that they are at increased risk for medical and developmental issues and often have a less than ideal feeding history, which may include malnutrition or forced feeding. According to data presented in the book, one out of three internationally adopting parents identifies feeding and weight worries.

The book is divided into two sections, Part 1: What Are Your Worried About? Learning How to Feed Your Family (the foundation of knowledge parents need) and Part 2: Making It work: There’s More You Need to Know (the application of that information). In Part 1 Rowell discusses the importance of the trust model of feeding, focusing on the Division of Responsibility. She covers all the potential feeding issues such as oral-motor, sensory and special needs and weight and appetite extremes, including selective eating and preoccupation with food.

I particularly enjoyed her presentation of oral/motor/sensory issues because I think this is a confusing area for parents and health professionals. Rowell helps parents realize their options, including how to find the right help and what can be done at home. Her insights into weight concerns will give parents peace of mind that they are doing the right thing by focusing on their job of feeding well, instead of the uphill battle of trying to manipulate weight.

Part 2 deals with all the day-to-day issues that make following the trust model of feeding challenging. I love all the stories, especially the ones that show how things are going years later. This book vividly demonstrates that successful feeding isn’t about getting a child to eat a certain way or weigh a certain amount, it’s about taking the worry out of the equation, connecting with your child through feeding and realizing that this is the basis for raising healthy and happy eaters. A lot of aha moments!

While reading the book, I sometimes forgot that it is for adoptive parents, making it clear that this book can benefit all families, especially those who feel feeding issues are getting in the way of parent-child bonding.

The book will also help parents who have personally struggled with food, whether it be through an eating disorder or weight and food issues because parents who struggle often find the trust model of feeding difficult to follow. Rowell provides sound advice on how parents can move past their issues.

Love Me, Feed Me, is a must-have feeding book for parents at any stage of adoption. It will help parents understand their children better even before they arrive, and quiet the worry and struggle around food, weight, and eating that extends way beyond the kitchen table.

Related Posts

  • book cover of Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense
    Book Review: Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense

    I spoke with a woman recently who told me that she was a skinny, picky-eating…

  • Intuitive Eating review
    Book Review: Intuitive Eating

    I finally adopted a healthy relationship with food in my twenties. It happened during a…

  • Feeding Baby review
    Feeding Baby: Book Review and Giveaway

    It seems a lifetime ago that I was standing in the grocery store, panicked, talking…

  • Suffering Succotash review
    Book Review: Suffering Succotash

    If you haven't noticed, I'm a little obsessed with picky eating. So when I heard…

Tweet
Pin
Share12
Yum
Email
Share
12 Shares

Categories: Book & Product Reviews, Feeding Toddlers & Preschoolers 4 Comments

« Baked Salmon Sticks [Recipe]
Thanksgiving Meal Plan »

Comments

  1. Buy Valium says

    November 19, 2012 at 2:53 am

    I have been amazed at how well thing have gone. By the way I love your blog.

    Reply
  2. Kumar Gauraw says

    November 19, 2012 at 9:41 pm

    Thank you for writing such insightful review. I am intrigued about the book after reading your article.

    I really liked the way you have presented the information. I will keep visiting you often.

    Thanks,
    Kumar

    Reply
    • Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD says

      November 19, 2012 at 10:11 pm

      Thanks! It’s a good one!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi, I’m Maryann…

Hi, I’m a registered dietitian who focuses on developmental stages. Here, you won’t get one-size-fits-all advice. Instead, you’ll get information based on your (and your family’s) age and stage. Make your choice between family and midlife-focused newsletters below and subscribe. Find out more!

Recent Posts

  • Yes, Every Midlife Women Should Take a Multivitamin (And Here’s Why)
  • 10 Signs Intermittent Fasting Doesn’t Live Up to the Hype
  • What do the Latest Vitamin D Studies Really Tell Us?
  • 3 Breathing Exercises That Will Change Your Life with Nick Heath [Podcast]
  • 6 Dietary Supplements Most Teenagers Need

Random Posts

  • Weekly Meal Plan: Monday August 30thWeekly Meal Plan: Monday August 30th
  • Make Your Own Snack Mix [Recipe]Make Your Own Snack Mix [Recipe]

Categories

Get the books!

The Alliance of Independent Authors - Author Member

Join the Newsletter

Sign up for Maryann’s E-mail Newsletter and get her ebook The Landmines of a Healthy Relationship with Food for FREE. Subscribe now!

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list. You're not done. Check your email to confirm your address. After you do that, you'll receive a link for the free e-book.

.

Copyright © 2023 — Maryann Jacobsen • All rights reserved • Powered by Femme Flora. Designed & Developed by BinaryTurf Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.OK Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT