BWS - Increased Appetite

Admittedly I have never seen "increased appetite" listed as a symptom of BWS, but being that it is an overgrowth condition I can't help but wonder if it is the cause of Micaelyn's voracious and insatiable appetite (I think it's probably too early to say what kind of appetite Elianna has - she certainly eats quite a bit, but I'm not sure it's overly excessive just yet).

Micaelyn seems to have no end to either her desire to eat or the amount she will eat.  For example, if taken out to a restaurant to eat she can eat an adult entree and when she is finished she will ask to eat the leftovers from everybody else's plates.  Then by the time we get home she will be asking for yet more food.  She wants to eat continuously all day long, not just nibble but eat full meals.  If given a big bowl of noodles she will eat the whole thing then ask to eat the leftovers from her siblings bowls.  She will ask for meat and vegetables to go with it.  Then when she is done she will ask for a banana.  After she has finished the banana she will ask for an apple.  Then she will ask for a treat.  If she doesn't have food available she will drink excessively.  Whenever we have places to go I always make sure the kids have a large cup of water to take along.  I learned pretty early with Micaelyn that I could not allow her to keep her cup in her car seat like the other kids.  She would have the whole thing drunk before we even got out of the driveway.

Along with Micaelyn's insatiable desire for food, she seems to have no reservations regarding what she eats.  She will eat pretty much anything, not just a wide variety of foods but even foods that are old.  We have seen her lay away a bag of chips, continuously declaring how wonderful the chips were, only to find out once we ate one ourselves they were disgustingly stale.  I have learned to be super cautious about any foods the boys don't finish in the morning, particularly if I will be gone for a long time before returning home after dropping them off at school because Micaelyn will come in and immediately start eating it.  For example, we can drop the boys off at school and then spend all morning at the hospital, have lunch while we are out, then when we return home that afternoon if there is any leftover food on the table or counter from breakfast she will start eating it.  It could be old soggy cereal that has been sitting in milk half the day, and she will gladly eat it as if it was a great treat.

Micaelyn's appetite is so exceptional even the kids at Caleb and Malachi's school talk about it.  Of course, even with an overgrowth disorder there is a limit to how much food a child should consume.  Needless to say, keeping Micaelyn's food consumption under control requires quite a bit more attention than with the average child!