Week 1, Day 2

Overall, we had a great day today!  Believe it or not, I did not tube Gavin once today!!!!  Here we are at day two, and all he needs is 3oz of PediaSure in his pump tonight (in addition to the water that he gets in the pump for hydration purposes…don’t worry Dr. Swartz!  We are staying on top of his water needs!!).  Gavin’s success for the day just really sank in while I was adding up all of the totals from each meal and realized that he consumed a total of 29.7oz of food and PediaSure all by mouth today! J  The engineer in me had to make an Excel spreadsheet to really analyze it and believe these results!  Even more exciting, Gavin was successful with a variety of foods: Yogurt (of course!), Banana/Applesauce, Pear/Applesauce, Carrots, Yam/Applesauce, and Peach/Applesauce.  Now, keep in mind that we are in feeding Utopia!!  Not only that, I am told this is our “honeymoon stage” of feeding Utopia.  During my nightmare Monster Gavin feeding session yesterday, it was the peaches that set him off.  Now today, the therapists are doing all of the feeding at the clinic, and Gavin thankfully wouldn’t yell or talk back to them…he saves that for his loving motherJ.   The therapists are all so amazing.  They make feeding Gavin look effortless!  I was successful at feeding Gavin 2.5oz of yogurt and 1.5oz of PediaSure for dinner, so I should get a little credit for today’s consumption record!

Gavin also got to show off some of his chewing skills today!  He has really been showing an interest in table foods and has been taking little bites and successfully swallowing them pretty consistently this past month.  I think the therapists realized how proud we are of his ability to actually eat a tiny bite of cookie somewhat correctly, they were nice enough to pat Gavin and I (and Tiffany!) on the back a little for doing so well.  They did say that his chew was a little “quirky,” but he’s getting the job done!!  Sounds like they can do a little fine tuning on these new skills.

We did have a few issues with a few gags in one meal, and then just after the timer went off in our last session, Gavin opened his mouth and gave that oh too familiar cough and up came some of that hard earned food.  Poor kid was a little upset, but he was hopping up and down the halls again in a few minutes.  This brought his overall consumption down to about 27.5oz that he retained. (They weigh the food both before and after he eats to determine how much he eats.  Then if he vomits, the weigh the towels to figure out how much approximately came up…sorry too much information, but that’s how it works!) 

It seems like they are still evaluating Gavin to try to come up with our plan.  I will be happy to know what they are thinking and their realistic expectations on how far along they think we can get Gavin in his feeding journey.  Of course I still have that end goal of Gavin eating like a normal toddler in mind, but will be happy just to go home weaned off the button!

Gavin saw a pediatrician here who will be following him during our stay.  She was very thorough and seemed to know just about every detail of Gavin’s long medical journal when we walked in.  Unfortunately, the ear infection has not cleared up and we are now going on our third antibiotic...

It is amazing how tiring it can be to watch someone eat all day!  I feel like I was hit by a train…even with Gavin’s great day.  Gavin is doing so well through all of this.  He still loves all the toys and attention he is getting both at the clinic and in the House.  He woke up this morning asking for his new therapist Miss AnnaJ.  Then, after a long day at the clinic and a brutal vomit, he didn’t want to leave!!  He asked if we could sleep on the couch in the playroom.  I reassured him we’d have plenty more time there!

Still no phone and no picturesL.  I’m going to try to get out tomorrow to get my phone checked out…assuming things go relatively smoothly!  Thanks again for all the emails and comments!  You guys are keeping us going strong!! J