Face of hope

Face of hope
Courtesy: TIffany Kay Photography

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Yum Yum - Update #1

We have had quite a breakthrough these last few weeks.  I didn't want to write anything about it because last time I did, Meagan stalled. And reverted.  I feel *fairly* confident, though, that this skill is here to stay.   We have had almost 2 weeks now where Meagan is starting to EAT.




One day a few weeks ago, Brian made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  Meagan seemed interested in what we were eating. To this point, she hadn't shown much interest in baby food so I thought "why not?" I took a little piece of the meatball and put my hands to her lips.  Normally, we have to fight to get any food into her at all. But, to my surprise, she opened her mouth and took it from my hand.  When she was finished with that piece after a few minutes, she looked at me as if to say "Hey mom, where's my next piece?"  I put my hand near her mouth again with another piece of food, and she opened again. It is like something has suddenly 'clicked' or 'woken up' with Meagan's eating.  I have been working with her since April with no progress.  We started feeding therapy last month with no progress. I am so happy that at 13 months old, Meagan has finally decided to try.



Since that night, it's been nothing short of a complete 180 degree turn with her eating. More importantly, in my opinion, is her interest in food.  She seems to want to try anything we eat.  Since that spaghetti and meatball dinner, she has had little bits of everything we eat for our meals.  I figured, why wait now? She is interested in food, so why not just dive in? We are even venturing into puffs and yogurt bites that melt very easily.  She seems to be doing well with them so far.  It takes her (literally) about 2-3 minutes to finish one, but one is better than none!


Some of the foods Meagan is trying one at a time. These are two of her favorites.




We got silly one morning and made Meagan her own pancake to celebrate.  She didn't eat much of this (the texture was a bit thick for her)....but it sure was cute!



I'm excited where this new interest may lead Meagan this year.  Strictly speaking about volume of food, we have a very long road to go. She still can manage only about 4-7 "bites" of food per meal,which of course, is nowhere near what she needs to sustain herself.  I'm on pins and needles to hear her weight tomorrow at her next check up. But I'm hopeful that we will see her stamina and ability to eat more and more bites increase over the next 6 months, and start to put on weight.  It is exciting to watch her try new things; to open up a whole new world for herself through another set of senses with tastes and textures.....  But best of all, it is exciting to know that doing all that,  she is HAPPY.



5 comments:

  1. YAY!
    Olivia doesn't do well with certain things and doesn't like some textures, and then other things, like rice, breads and things like that she loves and eats really well!
    ...this whole eating thing has really been a difficult thing for me and I have found myself a little scared to give Livi things... I feel myself holding back with her, and I know I shouldn't... it is just so hard to know what she can handle though. This has been a bit tricky for me.

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    1. I hesitated as well to give Meagan solid foods, or the larger pieces. But she seemed to be "gumming" or making "chewing" motions with her mouth due to all her new teeth. She wasn't eating the baby food or purees well, so I figured I may as well try. She passed her swallow study with no aspiration so I had a little less fear. Also her being the 5th, I am a bit more at ease just trying new things with the kids. If she were my first, I would have been too nervous to just try and give her solid pieces of food. :) She still has to have tiny bites, and it still takes her a good amount of minutes to get it 'chewed' and swallowed. She can handle the puffs and yogurt drops being a bit bigger since they melt so easily. Otherwise, I keep things pretty small. She doesn't do well with sticky (potatoes, rice, pasta etc) but she does seem to love little bits of chicken, turkey, cheese as long as it's cut small from a cheese stick, and she also likes all the baby food meltable things like puffs and yogurt drops. She even loves peanut butter sandwiches pulled apart in tiny pieces. So we'll see where this leads.

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  2. I know you probably don't read my blog but we have had a lot of trouble with our Ellie and eating. We are finally at a point where we can put a plate of food in front of her and she can pick it up and eat it and even take bites out of things (and she is 3). A year ago, I was still putting every piece of food directly in her mouth. She is also finally asking for food/snacks and telling me she is hungry. All this to say, I understand how completely exciting it is when it "clicks" and they finally like to eat some real food. Ellie may still end up on a feeding tube due to poor weight gain, but I am VERY happy with how far she has come. Way to go Meagan on eating! I hope it continues on and gets better and better!

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    1. Thanks Kim! Do you have a blog address? Yes, I'm so excited. Her pediatrician was very happy, but also very cautious as she is so far behind in weight. She has a good approach with Meagan - doesn't freak out, but, keeps all options on the table as far as her nutrition. I'm very thankful for a level headed doctor to be on our side! :) We are doing a lot of signing with Meagan because she seems to "get" some of that.

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    2. That is good. My ped is a bit of an alarmist and has made me feel awful (not intentionally but it happens anyway) at every appointment about her weight. She has always struggled with it and is at the less than 1% (she weighs just over 20lbs and is 33" at 3). It makes me feel like a horrible mom and on days when she doesn't eat, I cry. I swear, its more stressful than the hydrocephalus because its a battle every day 3 times a day. I've been very happy with her GI though. He says that a feeding tube is his very last resort and works hard to avoid it which I totally appreciate. Ellie also did a lot of signing in the beginning too. It was so helpful,even if it was just the basic "more", "please", "all done", "book", and "eat". I do have a blog address: www.stilhoping12.blogspot.com. Have a great weekend!

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