Week 4, Day 2

I can see the halfway point in the distance, and I am so glad we still have so much time!!  Gavin has come so far, and I know he will continue to improve with each day.  Feeding struggles are long journeys and I have begun to realize that sometimes you just have to wait until your child is ready to eat.  Gavin spent two years in therapy just playing with food and exploring different textures.  It was frustrating at the time to not see progress with eating, but I see now how important that time was.  He was able to overcome so many sensory issues that prepared him for eating…kind of like prerequisites.  I truly believe he would not have been as successful with chewing and swallowing had we not gone through this therapy.  Gavin is finally old enough and smart enough to understand the concept of eating!!  He asks for snacks all the time nowJ.  He wants to eat so badly, and it is so amazing to see him finally be able to eat some foods without choking and gagging!!  I also think this program is amazing for kids with NDI.  There is nothing physical that is preventing Gavin from eating, he just needs to be taught those important skills of chewing and moving his tongue that he never got the chance to develop.  The water does still make it a little tricky, and no matter how much progress I want to make with food, water has to be my first concern.

Gavin has been practicing chewing more.  I cut up an apple today for him to chew in the mesh, and that seemed to go a little better than the toddler apples we tried yesterday.  Gavin kept asking for an apple as I put him to bedJ.  If I weren’t exhausted, I would have taken him downstairs to get one!!  Gavin also chewed peaches in one of his meals and loved them.  He even asked for more!!  I made some chicken and rice with some vegetables from my low sodium cookbook last night that they pureed at the clinic today, and Gavin did great with it.  It is so nice to see him eating food that I know we would eat in our house…even if it is pureed.  We discussed eliminating PediaSure from Gavin’s diet, and everyone is on board!!  Since he is able to eat foods to satisfy all of his dietary needs, we will switch to whole milk and V8 Fusion, making sure we bump up the calories as needed.  I am so excited to not have to smell that nasty PediaSure anymore!!

 

Gavin has started self-feeding during the meals!!  He is using kind of a fancy spoon with two bends in the handle.  The spoon will be loaded up for him, and he is instructed, with some assistance at first, to raise up his elbow as he brings the spoon to his mouth.  Gavin LOVES his independence, so he has caught on real quick!  I now see hope that not only is there going to be a day that Gavin eats solid food, but that he will be able to feed himself as wellJ.

We got a card in the mail from Gavin’s “school” Primrose!  I read him what each of his teachers wrote and he smiled and giggled at each oneJ.  We miss you all at Primrose and cannot wait to come home!!  I know Gavin will miss his tubing time up front, especially with Ms. Nash, but I’m sure you can bond with him during gym time…he randomly mentioned again that he does not like gym!!  He gave me a very elaborate reenactment of someone rescuing him from gym class…you would have thought it happened just yesterday!!  Thank you Ms. Long for all of you support and encouragement as we’ve been here!  Our little eater will be back before you know it!!