Ryan has shown some major improvements with his eating. He used to only eat pureed baby food and showed dislike and hesitation whenever we gave him "real" food. We had to slowly introduce real food to him. We had to cut it up very small and start with soft things like banana and sweet potato in solid form (not mashed up) and sometimes had to mix with with pureed food. If he didn't like it, he would keep his mouth open and refuse to close his mouth and swallow. On occasion he would gag and it would come back up. It's been a long road.
Slowly though he's been more willing to eat more food. We eventually began introducing meats and more variety of foods. He's been coming around. This month, though, has been new ground. We are no longer giving him any pureed foods. He's eating exactly what his brothers eat. And he's taking it. And liking it. In fact, his appetite has grown and he is eating quite a bit!
It still takes him a long time to finish meals, but the point is that he is finishing them and is showing his ability to clear his food (i.e. chewing and swallowing). He still has his moments when he'll gag on what is in his mouth, but I believe it's more of a sensory issue than an actual choking issue, and we're typically able to distract him from gagging by singing him a song or clapping his hands. Once we have a good distraction technique, it's like he forgets that he was about to gag and he'll just swallow and move on. He's actually already had a swallow study done at the hospital that proved that he's able to swallow just fine so we feel comfortable that he is not going to choke. He isn't using utensils or feeding himself yet, so we're still feeding him bite by bite and it's a very hands-on time. We will continue to work on teaching him how to feed himself and help him practice holding a spoon and bringing it to his mouth.
I can't tell you what a relief it is that he can eat what everyone else is eating. I was tired of buying these organic pureed baby food pouches (not to mention they are expensive!) and now I'm done! Not only that but anytime we are going somewhere - traveling or just going out to eat - I don't have to pack a separate meal (or lots of meals) specifically for him. For example, last Saturday after we went to the Farmer's Market and the Museum, we ran by and got lunch at PDQ. Ryan ate chicken fingers and fries. Woo hoo!
It's little things like this that you take for granted and that are actually not little things, but big things, in our life!
We still have some work to do with liquids. Ryan doesn't suck from a sippy cup yet. He gets his morning and evening milk in baby bottles and gets water throughout the day from what we call his "honey bear". It's a little water bottle with a straw; we can squeeze the bear and water will squirt into his mouth. He resisted drinking from the honey bear at first and would not let us put the straw in his mouth, but now takes it in stride. He's showing some interest in his brothers's sippy cups as well and sometimes will hold them and put the straw in his mouth. Now if we could only get him to understand how to suck up the liquid...... :)
I'm so happy for Ryan to be able to eat regular food and so proud of the progress he has shown. I'm happy for him (I know real food has to taste a heck of a lot better than that pureed food) and for me (let's make things easier!! YES!!). At times though I get impatient and want him to be able to do everything all at once. Just keepin' it real. I'm never impatient towards him, but in my head, I just want him to be "caught up" and want him to learn how to do everything fast, like yesterday. But I try to take a step back and I have to realize that we are asking A LOT of him. He continues to meet our requests and he tackles all of the challenges we throw at him head-on. Not only that, but he does it with a good attitude and a gorgeous smile EVERY SINGLE DAY. He's my hero.
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| Ready to eat! |
Slowly though he's been more willing to eat more food. We eventually began introducing meats and more variety of foods. He's been coming around. This month, though, has been new ground. We are no longer giving him any pureed foods. He's eating exactly what his brothers eat. And he's taking it. And liking it. In fact, his appetite has grown and he is eating quite a bit!
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| Example of Ryan's breakfast from 8/22/15 - half of a biscuit, scrambled eggs, some sausage and half a banana |
It still takes him a long time to finish meals, but the point is that he is finishing them and is showing his ability to clear his food (i.e. chewing and swallowing). He still has his moments when he'll gag on what is in his mouth, but I believe it's more of a sensory issue than an actual choking issue, and we're typically able to distract him from gagging by singing him a song or clapping his hands. Once we have a good distraction technique, it's like he forgets that he was about to gag and he'll just swallow and move on. He's actually already had a swallow study done at the hospital that proved that he's able to swallow just fine so we feel comfortable that he is not going to choke. He isn't using utensils or feeding himself yet, so we're still feeding him bite by bite and it's a very hands-on time. We will continue to work on teaching him how to feed himself and help him practice holding a spoon and bringing it to his mouth.
I can't tell you what a relief it is that he can eat what everyone else is eating. I was tired of buying these organic pureed baby food pouches (not to mention they are expensive!) and now I'm done! Not only that but anytime we are going somewhere - traveling or just going out to eat - I don't have to pack a separate meal (or lots of meals) specifically for him. For example, last Saturday after we went to the Farmer's Market and the Museum, we ran by and got lunch at PDQ. Ryan ate chicken fingers and fries. Woo hoo!
It's little things like this that you take for granted and that are actually not little things, but big things, in our life!
We still have some work to do with liquids. Ryan doesn't suck from a sippy cup yet. He gets his morning and evening milk in baby bottles and gets water throughout the day from what we call his "honey bear". It's a little water bottle with a straw; we can squeeze the bear and water will squirt into his mouth. He resisted drinking from the honey bear at first and would not let us put the straw in his mouth, but now takes it in stride. He's showing some interest in his brothers's sippy cups as well and sometimes will hold them and put the straw in his mouth. Now if we could only get him to understand how to suck up the liquid...... :)
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| The honey bear |
I'm so happy for Ryan to be able to eat regular food and so proud of the progress he has shown. I'm happy for him (I know real food has to taste a heck of a lot better than that pureed food) and for me (let's make things easier!! YES!!). At times though I get impatient and want him to be able to do everything all at once. Just keepin' it real. I'm never impatient towards him, but in my head, I just want him to be "caught up" and want him to learn how to do everything fast, like yesterday. But I try to take a step back and I have to realize that we are asking A LOT of him. He continues to meet our requests and he tackles all of the challenges we throw at him head-on. Not only that, but he does it with a good attitude and a gorgeous smile EVERY SINGLE DAY. He's my hero.
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| "Hey Mama, this breakfast is good!" |
So proud of Ryan...and relieved for you and Thomas!! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I missed this post...such great news! We are so proud of precious Ryan! xo
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