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WELCOME, GUEST |
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(2 members)
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Akeelah's Mo…6 |
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girlyhurley6 |
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MAX'S JOURNAL
mcunnick |
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| Category: Home | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
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FOOD AVERSION
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Mar 05, 2010 08:36pm (EST)
"Food Aversion". It is a big word, isn't it?
We have had the difficulty transitioning Max from bottle feeding to solid food for sometime. His early intervention OT has been working with him for almost 8 months now and he had other OT and ST on and off on the very same issue.
If I reflect back, Max's reaction toward solid food has evolved somewhat although it just appears exactly the same on the surface, "I do not want to be spoon fed". Initially he would not open his mouth. For a while, he would open his mouth toward very selected variety of food. Then while he was in and out of the day care, his mouth was fuse shut. Then there was the period when I could distract him with toys and such and dump food in. He would make a big face but finish 1-2 ounce of pureed food any how. As he got older and smarter, that would not work either. Finally, beginning of this year, he found the joy of cheese puffs. He is happy to put that thing in his mouth any time and any amount. It appeared that his willingness to try different things slowly grew simultaneously. There were some glorious and memorable moment when Max would gulf up a rather spicy grilled pepper soup (see the picture in the previous posting) or when he bite into a fresh cut up apple. On my birthday, he spooned up custard cream out of my birthday cake and could not get enough of it.
However, he still refuges all the pureed food. There is no consistency in the type of food he likes. AND he clamps up toward spoon feeding 99% of time. So here we are again, seeking an expert advise. He had a evaluation from a feeding team at Geisinger, who suggested to let him explore more with highly flavorful table food. Then there was a evaluation from a ST at local rehabilition/Therapy center. Max was not feeling well and crying and crying from the start. He would not eat anything that I had to offer except cheese puffs. At the end of 30 min session, she put this big word on him, "Your son has this food aversion due to sensory issue". Our shoulders were a ton heavier after the session.
So what this food aversion anyway? Afraid of eating? Not enough of eating? Does not want to be spoon fed? Or is it simply that he is not ready and taking his time. The baby just labeled as "food aversion" tried and ate polenta with mushroom, spaghetti with tomato sauce, and tonight spaghetti with "Saldine, olive, and caper". He sucks on baby back ribs and beef jerky. He puts french fries and mac and cheese into his mouth no problem. That baby loves to eat butter and cream cheese off my hand. Yes He might spit out more than he swallows. Yes he does not eat consistently and not enough to make a complete transition to solid food. But does he really really abhor food?
I am confused. Can I just close my eyes and think that everything will be okay and he is taking his sweet time and he will eat up everything like a storm when he is ready? Do I really have to put Max through three feeding therapy sessions per week in a strange place with a stranger, hoping that it would somehow help him?
I really don't know.
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Posted by mcunnick | Comments: (2) | Permalink
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VENTING
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Mar 02, 2010 12:55pm (EST)
Finally, all those dr's appointments and therapy sessions got under my skin. Just juggling all of them together itself is tiring and I don't see the point for some of them. Both Max and I need a break from those appointments, I feel, but I don't see how we could.
Sorry for the grumpy posting. I just need to get it out of my system.
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Posted by mcunnick | Comments: (2) | Permalink
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FEBRUARY UPDATE: HAVING FUN
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Feb 20, 2010 10:18pm (EST)
Max is doing great. Since he is out of a daycare and taken care of by Auntie Leah, he is "sick-free, puke-free" happy baby. He lost close to 1.5 lb during the month of January while he was in the daycare and catching a cold back to back, and now he is gaining that weight back.
He is crawling, standing, cruising all over the place and we are hoping that he will be walking soon. He is exploring food and different taste lately. It is nowhere near to replace his bottle yet, but he chews and swallows cheese puffs (I know, it stains everything and makes our dining room a war zone) and puts spoonful of soups and pureed food into his mouth. He liked the corn potato soup and roasted red pepper soup. He also likes to lick at bread smeared with butter. The other day he tried custard cream filling for the first time and he was going town with it. We still have to try the custard again to see whether he just liked the newness of it or he really liked it, but we were all enjoying watching him so into food.
Last, but not least, he is off oxygen during the day. He wears his cannula only when he sleeps during the night. Auntie Leah has been so good to take picture of him everyday, documenting all the fun Max is having lately (Thanks Auntie Leah) and I am happy to share a couple of them with you all.
Cute with a gigantic spoon
100_6121
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Posted by mcunnick | Comments: (2) | Permalink
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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: FINAL TAKE
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Jan 30, 2010 02:40pm (EST)
Sorry for not updating for a while. It was a whirlpool of sickness in the house, mostly me, not so much Max, for a while.
We decided to pull Max out of the specialized daycare. His Early Intervention therapist agrees that Max takes a huge setback in his solid food eating whenever he catches a cold from the daycare. It is very hard on Max's body whenever he comes down with cold, because all those post nasal drainage cause him to choke on his own mucous and throws up. It just gets so hard on everybody. One of Max's aunts will take care of him until the first week of March and my mom would be back to take care of him until the end of April. We will be looking for a caregiver meanwhile. I am very happy and relieved with the final decision that we made. I sort of knew that the daycare was too much for him but we did not have any other choice at that time, and I felt like I was putting our family through such ordeal just to keep my career alive.
Max is happy ever. His Early Intervention declared that we do not have to worry about anything in his gross/fine motor skill. He crawls with hands and knees and make a transition of crawling to sitting, standing to sitting vise versa very well. The only thing left for him is to walk, and he is cruising along furniture and walking well while holing onto just a finger of Mommy or daddy. We are not concerned. It has to be his idea and his own schedule.
So as soon as he recovers with his last cold, all our main focus would be to overcome his hyper gag and solid food eating. He loves to put biscuits and crackers into his mouth but always gags on the tiniest crumbs. He does not gag on pureed food but does not like to open his mouth for it. We will be seeing a enterogastrologist sometime in February and hopefully get some answers as to how to tackle these issues. Other than not making much progress in solid food eating, Max learned to feed himself with a bottle and sippy cup. He still likes to lay on my lab to get his bottle though.
We are happy with all the progress he has been making. I often gets a bit sad/happy at the same time that he is growing so fast to be a boy than a baby. It seems that we missed out a lot of sweetness of Max being a baby.
Finally, I solidified my mind not to try to have another baby. There was a complication a week after last D&C and I had to have multiple transfusion and emergency D&C to stop massive bleeding. The Ambulance trip to ER and subsequent hospitalization was not very pleasant, even considering how much exposure I have gotten to the general unkindness in general medical practice. I know my body can not take another pregnancy or miscarriage anytime and I don't want to put myself and my DH through the ordeal anymore.
Thanks for listening to my rambling. I will try to post recent pictures of Max next time.
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Posted by mcunnick | Comments: (3) | Permalink
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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: TAKE 2
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Jan 17, 2010 10:09pm (EST)
I just had another miscarriage and subsequent D&C. I started bleeding right after the positive home pregnancy test and did not have high hope to begin with, so it did not hurt emotionally too much. It was a bit hard on my body due to so much bleeding, but I am recovering well.
Over three years, I had three miscarriage and one preemie. I had a daring dream to have another baby, maybe something close to normal and healthy pregnancy, but that is not going to be easy, if happening at all. Before this miscarriage, we were a bit reluctant to try again. So we had a consultation with a high risk OB/Gyn, he was certain that two miscarriages and one preemie just happened by chance. After all, I am a healthy individual and 40% of all pregnancy results into an early miscarriage one way or another, the doctor added with confidence. I am sure he won't be so confident now.
So, I think it is time to say enough is enough. Max is ever so beautiful and he is going to be our only child. I just need to accept it and move on. Also it is time to say 'Thank You' to my DH for marrying me and still loving me even with my big defect.
Good night, everyone.
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Posted by mcunnick | Comments: (2) | Permalink
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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
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Jan 16, 2010 07:31pm (EST)
Max became a non stop babbling moving getting into trouble toddler. We are trilled to see him catching up with all the proper developmental milestones.
BUT. He is still a former preemie, ever so fragile. He spent 4 happy days at his day care and came down with a bad cold. Fever, stuffy nose, and projectile vomits with thick mucus everywhere. Of course, when he gets sick, he looses all the appetite and reverts back to the old "I am not opening my mouth for solid" himself. We have been here before. 4 days at the day care and 7 to 10 days of getting sick and recover, then a month or more to rebuild the weight and solid food eating. We know he will eventually get better. We have been doing this over and over whenever we sent him to daycare. When we kept him home oh so magically he never ever got sick once.
So is this when we say enough is enough and accept the fact that we have to keep Max at home and that we will have to find someone, either nanny or myself to take care of him? Or do we fool ourselves one more time and reluctantly pack his day care back pack for tomorrow? We are facing some decisions to make.
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Posted by mcunnick | Comments: (3) | Permalink
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