Still Slacking...

So I know I haven't updated in a while. Life has gotten away from me and I find myself grasping at threads as they unravel. Good threads mostly - like my boys growing up but also threads of frustration - like my husband's promotion that requires him to be away from his family for three weeks per month. I suppose that is what life is all about though. Trying to hold on to the good stuff and try to let the bad slip through your fingers (though too often that is what we become tangled up in).

Anyway, I digress. Ayden is doing well! He is now three so he has therefore developed bargaining skills. Which is awesome in more ways than one. Mostly it is awesome when it comes to his food. I can now bribe him! WooHOO!!! I was never one to believe that food was a reward/punishment. I never believed that dessert was only allowed for children who could first clean their plates. But the fact that I can bribe Ayden into eating LASAGNA with promises of an M&M?!?!! You'd better believe I'm willing to use that to my advantage. The BEST part? Last Friday I was able to bribe Ayden into eating a FULL SERVING of green beans with.... PORK CHOPS! Yes, he loved the pork chops so much that he ate all that I gave him and asked for more. I gave him a bite sized morsel for every green bean he ate and before long, his entire plate was cleared (save for his rice, but hey, I'd take meat and vegies over a starch anytime - since the former are what he lacks and the latter is what he eats in excess).

He is slowly coming around. Sure there are still foods that he doesn't like and there is no amount of bribing that will work. Sure there are times when he gags on certain textures/flavors, but he doesn't use it as an excuse to stop eating.

He is doing awesomely and I couldn't be happier! <3

New Strides and Slackerdom

I still haven't taken him in for therapy sessions. I know. I'm horrible. Of course his health and his eating is EXTREMELY important to me. But life is busy. Life is exhausting. And I keep convincing myself that maybe he doesn't need it after all.

The good news is, Ayden is making progress. He is now 32 months old so he has some basic reasoning skills. This does not mean (in ANY way) that he is a reasonable person. He is still very much a toddler. Toddlers are not reasonable. Teenagers are not reasonable... somewhere in between they're briefly reasonable and if my children are anything like me, they will never be reasonable again.

Anyway...

Ayden has been (grudgingly) allowing me to talk him into fruits and vegetables at almost every meal. No, he's not eating a whole banana or a large helping of broccoli yet, but the fact that he will not only touch it but TAKE A BITE and CHEW and SWALLOW it... that's enough for me right now. Today I got him to eat two dried pineapple bits. True, they're kinda sugary, but they are better than NO pineapple bits. He also (on his own) put a dried cherry in his mouth. Yep, we were revisiting dried fruit today.

So this is good news. It is progress. And I am grateful! <3

Oh and another notable change... I think Ayden is done nursing. He nursed once on Thursday, not at all yesterday and not at all today. The one time he asked today, he was easily redirected. I have mixed feelings. Of course I'm glad that he's independent and confident enough now that he doesn't feel he needs it. And of course, I'm glad to once again be the only one who can claim ownership to my body... but part of me worries that he won't get all those nutrients that he was getting from me. It is the main reason I didn't try to wean him sooner. I'll also miss those times when we would just stop whatever we're doing, sit, relax and snuggle. Of course we can still do these things, but I have a feeling he will be too busy for that all too soon.

YAY!!!

I just talked to the insurance company (yes I'm a bad, bad mommy for procrastinating, but I just hadn't had the time during business hours to call) and after the deductible is met, they will cover 100% of his weekly visits (provided there is medical necessity, which there is)! WooHOO!!!

Slow Progress

So we've been taking the suggestions from the Feeding Clinic and applying them the best we can to daily life.

About two weeks ago at daycare Ayden ate TWO hamburger patties and tried everything on his plate! We were very excited! However, on Sunday he didn't want to have anything to do with his burger... not sure what the difference was, but I wasn't going to press it.

Other than that, there has been little progress... but I will take any progress we can get!

I Could Cry Tears of Joy!!!

So today was the first appointment with the feeding clinic. Ayden woke up on the wrong side of the crib and asked to be nursed so we had a nursing session this morning. The feeding clinic wanted him hungry, so he didn't have anything to eat before we left.

When we got there, Ayden seemed nervous. It wasn't his normal doctor's office and it wasn't his normal routine. We were seen first by a nurse practitioner. She was really nice and she took Ayden's weight and height (he's still on the charts and his weight is proportional to his height! :) ).

The NP asked us some questions about routine, techniques, history, etc. Ayden continued to be nervous and was really shy.

Then the dietitian came in. She asked us some more questions and stressed the importance of routine and not eating/snacking outside of scheduled meal or snack times. She also suggested that I cut back on nursing... she suggested I not nurse Ayden in the morning or after daycare. She also suggested that we move the bedtime nursing to a different room and eliminate nursing in the middle of the night (that one is not going to happen... we've tried). The after day care one won't be too hard; he doesn't always nurse then anyway. The morning one... he only does half the time anyway...

After the dietitian, the Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist came in. They did some sensory tests with him: rubbed his legs, arms and back with a soft brush, rubbed lotion on him and tried to brush his teeth. He continued to be really shy but tolerated most of it well. We sat down at the table and the eating experiment began!

Zelda, the speech therapist said that his chewing and swallowing was great so that wasn't of concern.

Katie, the OT made him some sliver dollar pancakes and put one on a plate with yogurt on the side. Ayden was REALLY happy to see the pancake and proceeded to gobble it up. When he was down to the last bite, she dipped a little into the yogurt. Ayden cried and tried to hand me the pancake. Katie tore the bit of pancake with yogurt on it off and gave the rest to him. He ate it. Of course he asked for more. The next one she dipped in yogurt right away. He started whining right away but she told him it was okay and after a little hesitation, he started eating it from the other side of the pancake. Katie moved the plate out of the way and put some yogurt on the table in front of him and spread it around. She was showing him how she was playing with it and drawing in it. He ignored it and ate his pancake. She said it was good that he was able to tolerate it being in front of him while he was eating. Then she put his hand in it and he cried. She wiped it off. He ate more pancake (I think he ended up eating four all together). after she wiped it off... she put his hand in the yogurt again. He started whining again, but she busied herself with preparing the next thing... he continued to eat pancake with it on his hand. They also gave him some sweet potato chips, which he brought to his mouth, but didn't like. They also gave him these veggie chips that looked like french fries. He liked those. Katie made him some ravioli and made sure there was sauce all over the plate. She put some of the veggie chips on top of the sauce and he tried one or two but wasn't happy about the sauce. She then gave him some Goldfish and put THOSE on top of the sauce. He was a little hesitant again, but he ate them... then she made a pile of sauce and started dipping the fishies into the sauce. He was NOT happy about that. He would eat them if they had a very little bit of sauce on it, but wouldn't if they were coated or dipped.

Then they let him eat some more fishies and gave him some water and that was it.

Over all I was encouraged and just about cried when he ate the pancake with yogurt on it... and again when he ate the veggie chips... and again when he ate the fishies with sauce on them. Everyone was REALLY nice and were great with Ayden. They recommended ongoing therapy. We're going to make sure insurance covers it and try to find a place close to home for the weekly therapy.

Anyway, I shared this info with the daycare too, and they're also encouraged. They also said that yesterday he ate all his cereal (usually he just eats the dry parts on the top - I assumed the gave it to him separately). :D

I feel so relieved and excited! I hope things continue to improve!!! <3

Tomorrow is the Day!

Our first appointment at the feeding clinic is tomorrow! I am excited and a little nervous.... I'll post tomorrow with news of how it went!

Quesadillas!!!

He ate QUESADILLAS!!! For lunch today at daycare they served quesadillas. Usually, he asks for just plain tortillas but he asked for MORE CHEESE!!!! Then, as his teachers watched in stunned silence, he tried a few bites of shredded LETTUCE!!! I think this is the first veggie he has eaten in nearly a year! I am so happy and excited and he hasn't even had his first feeding clinic appointment!!!