We started doing daily tastes of vanilla pudding in the evenings and Ben is responding better than EVER! He is interested, he is enjoying it and even requesting it. It is like something just clicked and he is ready to give it a shot and wants to learn! He amazes me. For someone who had so much horrible oral stimulation in his life (a vent and feeding tube in his mouth for almost four months), it is so heartwarming to see him enjoying food.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
We have an EATER!
After Ben's recent ENT appointment and some encouragement from his doc, we started working on tastes again. Ben's ENT doctor really wants Ben to learn how to eat before trach reconstruction. The goal is for him to be better at swallowing and protecting his airway from aspirating his own secretions. The doc said a lot of people work on teaching these things AFTER the hours are put into recreating the airway and all the work ends up getting damaged - not to mention the child spends a lot of time being sick/hospitalized because they don't have the safety net of a trach. The trach allows you to suction food and secretions out of the airway before entering the lungs and causing pneumonia.
We started doing daily tastes of vanilla pudding in the evenings and Ben is responding better than EVER! He is interested, he is enjoying it and even requesting it. It is like something just clicked and he is ready to give it a shot and wants to learn! He amazes me. For someone who had so much horrible oral stimulation in his life (a vent and feeding tube in his mouth for almost four months), it is so heartwarming to see him enjoying food.
We started doing daily tastes of vanilla pudding in the evenings and Ben is responding better than EVER! He is interested, he is enjoying it and even requesting it. It is like something just clicked and he is ready to give it a shot and wants to learn! He amazes me. For someone who had so much horrible oral stimulation in his life (a vent and feeding tube in his mouth for almost four months), it is so heartwarming to see him enjoying food.
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7 comments:
YEAH BEN!!! Pork Chops and potatoes here you come! Great job :)
Tht is so awesome! I loved working with Josh on eating. Blue food coloring was in everything so we could see if it was coming out when we suctioned. He too had a major oral aversion. I am so happy to see Ben so excited and into eating! Way to go Ben! Yum yum!
Aunt Jen said...
Very cool! He's thinking, "yum...this stuff is good." Glad to see him excited about eating. That makes your job easier too. Love the signing.....way to go Ben!!!! :)
Hooray, Ben!! I'm so excited for you!! Great job eating and great job signing, too! You go, buddy--you are doing so well!!
Great job Ben!!! Eva LOVES her pudding, keep it up handsome.
Wow, Ben! Good job! You're doing great with the eating and your signing!!! AMAZING progress!
Amy, thanks for the advice on culturelle. :-)
We do put Gracie on one, though we haven't yet tried that particular one. She (and her backside) just didn't stand a chance after having been on so many different antibiotics successively... ugh.
Thankfully, she is back to herself and her bottom almost is! :-)
Aaalll Riiiiight, Ben! Way to go, guy (and way to go mom & dad!!).
I don't get to your website often, but whenever I do, I find that you're making such progress - and climbng every mountain with determination and HEART! You inspire me, Ben!!
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