Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Evan loves all kinds of stars!
These are star puffs. If you aren't familiar with the star puff, they are made of corn and essentially dissolve the instant they touch saliva. Evan ate about 4 or 5 this morning for daddy (who was so excited, he called me at work with the news). And he ate another 4 or 5 for me--on camera of course. I love watching him chew, and the tiny "crunch-crunch-crunch" sound he makes when bites the stars. If you listen real carefully, you can hear it in the video.
Don't show your tummy...
I know there is some fancy developmental term for what I am about to describe...I just can't remember it.
You know how Evan pulls his shirts down to cover his tummy? Well, the other night I was laying on the floor and my shirt had crept up a little bit. He crawled over to me and pulled my shirt down too! It was so funny. I thought it was pretty smart that he could generalize a situation that happens to him, and apply it to me.
I tried to get him to do it again tonight, but he was too into "fast crawling" around the kitchen rug. When he gets to crawling like Speedy Gonzales, you can pretty much forget about getting his attention.
You know how Evan pulls his shirts down to cover his tummy? Well, the other night I was laying on the floor and my shirt had crept up a little bit. He crawled over to me and pulled my shirt down too! It was so funny. I thought it was pretty smart that he could generalize a situation that happens to him, and apply it to me.
I tried to get him to do it again tonight, but he was too into "fast crawling" around the kitchen rug. When he gets to crawling like Speedy Gonzales, you can pretty much forget about getting his attention.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
One Jar
I fed Evan an entire 2.5 oz jar of sweet potatoes today. I can't promise he actually swallowed the whole jar, because a lot came out of his nose and he smeared quite a bit on his face and clothes. But over the course of two meals, I spooned every last bite into his--for the most part--open mouth.
By the fuss I am making about this, you would think Evan ate something tantamount to the size of a mayonnaise jar. But when your child can't or doesn't eat orally though, that's how big one of those tiny infant jars feels.
If you haven't lived this, there is no way you can understand the frustration involved. I mean, how do you teach your child to swallow? Something so basic--either they do it, or they don't. And if they don't...they really don't. They gag, choke, sputter--or if your are particularly unlucky, maybe even vomit--over the tiniest spoonful, the "non-nutritive taste" given least they forget God's intended purpose for a mouth.
Even more maddening is being caught in the catch-22 that is being labeled "NPO," for fear of aspiration. You are told that you can't feed your child anything by mouth (that's what NPO means, it's Latin) because it may go down the "wrong way" and he or she could get pneumonia. But how are they supposed to learn how to swallow without actually eating something??? The short answer is they can't--at some point you have to just take that risk, figuring it's more harmful to let them develop an oral aversion and take your chances with aspiration pneumonia.
And so, after almost a year of VitalStim therapy, over a year and a half of "tastings," here we are. One Jar. Not just a few spoonfuls, with the remainder languishing in the back of the fridge until there is no doubt in the answer to the age old question of "Could that still be good?" Or the rest being portioned out into tiny freezer containers for later tastings. Or, shy those spoonfuls, dumped into the day's blended diet to be tube fed throughout the day.
No, he actually ate it. One whole Jar.
The first sweet potato meal.
Sweet potatoes, part 2.
By the fuss I am making about this, you would think Evan ate something tantamount to the size of a mayonnaise jar. But when your child can't or doesn't eat orally though, that's how big one of those tiny infant jars feels.
If you haven't lived this, there is no way you can understand the frustration involved. I mean, how do you teach your child to swallow? Something so basic--either they do it, or they don't. And if they don't...they really don't. They gag, choke, sputter--or if your are particularly unlucky, maybe even vomit--over the tiniest spoonful, the "non-nutritive taste" given least they forget God's intended purpose for a mouth.
Even more maddening is being caught in the catch-22 that is being labeled "NPO," for fear of aspiration. You are told that you can't feed your child anything by mouth (that's what NPO means, it's Latin) because it may go down the "wrong way" and he or she could get pneumonia. But how are they supposed to learn how to swallow without actually eating something??? The short answer is they can't--at some point you have to just take that risk, figuring it's more harmful to let them develop an oral aversion and take your chances with aspiration pneumonia.
And so, after almost a year of VitalStim therapy, over a year and a half of "tastings," here we are. One Jar. Not just a few spoonfuls, with the remainder languishing in the back of the fridge until there is no doubt in the answer to the age old question of "Could that still be good?" Or the rest being portioned out into tiny freezer containers for later tastings. Or, shy those spoonfuls, dumped into the day's blended diet to be tube fed throughout the day.
No, he actually ate it. One whole Jar.
The first sweet potato meal.
Sweet potatoes, part 2.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Cider House Rules
Rule #1: Dress warm in case it gets cold
Rule #2: Help mommy pick lots of apples
Rule #3: Give mommy a big hug after all that hard work
This afternoon Evan and I, along with Julie and Baby Kaia, went to a friend's house to pick some apples and watch fresh cider being pressed. The cider tasted fantastic, the company was great (thanks to the Kocher family for inviting us!), and the beautiful weather made for some fantastic photos. If you would like to see all the pictures, they are posted on Shutterfly http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QZMWjJmyaMXIQ
Rule #2: Help mommy pick lots of apples
Rule #3: Give mommy a big hug after all that hard work
This afternoon Evan and I, along with Julie and Baby Kaia, went to a friend's house to pick some apples and watch fresh cider being pressed. The cider tasted fantastic, the company was great (thanks to the Kocher family for inviting us!), and the beautiful weather made for some fantastic photos. If you would like to see all the pictures, they are posted on Shutterfly http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QZMWjJmyaMXIQ
Peek-A-Boo
The past couple of days, Evan has insisted that the TV had to be off--any time it was on, he would crawl over, push the "power" button, and then grumble to the TV screen. At least, that was how we had been interpreting his actions.
Yesterday, I paid a little closer attention to what he was doing. Quite suddenly, a familiar pattern emerged...Evan was playing peek-a-boo with his reflection in the TV screen!
Yesterday, I paid a little closer attention to what he was doing. Quite suddenly, a familiar pattern emerged...Evan was playing peek-a-boo with his reflection in the TV screen!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Modest Evan
Evidently, Evan has become more self-conscious of his belly. He immediately moves to cover himself up any time you lift his shirt.
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