I realized I haven't posted in a while, and I figured I would update. I'm not sure who still reads this blog, but here is an update for anybody who does.
Sarah is doing very well. She is really enjoying school. I have a phone meeting today to get the paperwork rolling to get her into "extended school year" which basically means summer school. She will still have her current teacher and probably the same group of kids. It will be at a different location because they are renovating the sprinkler system at her school. She'll still get a bus as well, which is great.
She got her first stomach bug the third day of school. I couldn't believe it! I'll spare you the gory details, but it was a strange bug that seemed to go away and then come back. Even after I sent her back to school, it took a few days for her to get her appetite back. I had the same stomach bug myself, and it knocked me out for almost two days straight. Her dad caught the bug a few days after we got over it, but he is fine now as well. I'm about to invest in plastic bubbles for all three of us until the baby gets here!
She started up outpatient therapy at the hospital this week. She has feeding therapy followed immediately by speech therapy. I pulled her out of speech therapy at the college, only because it is too difficult to take her to speech two afternoons a week at the college and to feeding therapy another afternoon a week at the hospital. That's three afternoons a week she won't be napping. Not a pretty sight.
Anyway, she did a decent job at feeding therapy this week. We're working on getting the chewy tube into her mouth and getting crumbs into her mouth. She's pretty reluctant to let us do that, but we're getting there. One thing they want to try is having us put crumbs on a spoon with a food she likes and getting her used to the texture. She is doing okay with it at home.
The speech therapist said she did great. She is helping her with eye contact, and she is responding nicely.
She's getting used to the bus ride to and from school. She excitedly gets on and off the bus for school now. I spoke briefly with her teacher yesterday morning and she's doing a good job in the classroom. She's trying to ask for things verbally, which is great. We are noticing this at home as well.
She has begun to say "milk" now. It comes out as "mook" (rhymes with duke), but it's a clear request for milk. She has said this unprompted several times. She is also saying "apple" for applesauce, although it's pretty hard to understand.
She had her three-year-old checkup yesterday. She's very healthy! She's pretty big as well. She's 38 1/2 inches tall (75th percentile), and weighs 36 3/4 pounds (90th percentile). I couldn't believe how big she is. Anyway, we discussed a few things about the new baby and all, just about how she may have a mild temporary regression and how to introduce her to the baby. We're hoping she won't really mind too much because she will still be in school five days a week, napping most afternoons, etc.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Second day of school
Well, waiting for the bus this morning didn't go so well. It doesn't help that the bus for the regular elementary school also comes to our house because we live on a corner. They're scheduled at the same time! Anyway, Sarah was very distressed waiting outside as she's used to us going outside and straight to the car. I wound up bringing her inside and waiting in the foyer for a bit. Once the bus for the other kids came and went, I brought her outside to wait for her bus. This time I brought a toy with us to keep her happy. The distraction worked! She was very confused getting on the bus and pretty upset, but I think in a few days she'll be used to it.
I ran a quick errand while she was at school, and got home ten minutes before the bus was due to arrive to find it already there. Thankfully they were waiting for me. I don't know how long they were there. The bus driver said the times vary if not all of the kids are at school that day. I'll keep that in mind. I felt bad for not being there when she got home, but they were ten minutes early! I asked the driver and aide how she was, and they said she got on the bus, walked to her seat, and climbed right up. I was surprised she adjusted so quickly! Hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow morning.
The note from her teacher said she was in a good mood today. That's always nice to read. I hope she's enjoying school.
I ran a quick errand while she was at school, and got home ten minutes before the bus was due to arrive to find it already there. Thankfully they were waiting for me. I don't know how long they were there. The bus driver said the times vary if not all of the kids are at school that day. I'll keep that in mind. I felt bad for not being there when she got home, but they were ten minutes early! I asked the driver and aide how she was, and they said she got on the bus, walked to her seat, and climbed right up. I was surprised she adjusted so quickly! Hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow morning.
The note from her teacher said she was in a good mood today. That's always nice to read. I hope she's enjoying school.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The feeding clinic ends and school begins!
Well, we are done with the feeding clinic now. We are now in outpatient services, and Sarah goes once a week for feeding therapy, followed by a speech therapy session as well at the same hospital. I pulled her out of the speech clinic at the college due to our schedule being very full as it is. If I'd kept her in speech at the college, that would be three afternoons a week we're out of the house for therapy and she won't be taking a nap. That's too much on her, and way too much on me. Besides, she absolutely loves the speech therapist she had while at the clinic, and I am really happy we can continue with her.
In typical Sarah fashion, she went out of the feeding clinic with a bang. Shortly before it was time to feed her lunch, the head doctor at the clinic told me she was limping. Nobody was sure why or what happened. She had come back from the sensory motor group (where they take the kids to the physical therapy gym and let them play on the equipment), and as far as anybody could tell, nothing happened there. She even walked all the way down the hall back to the playroom at the clinic. She just started limping out of the blue. Anyway, he was telling me that the nurse practitioner was calling our pediatrician's office to get us an appointment.
They brought me back to see her and the nurse practitioner got her an appointment for a time when she'd normally have her afternoon snack. If she's going to miss something, I'd rather it be that than lunch. I fed her lunch and she did a great job, and then her main therapist and one of the playroom ladies carried her and her stuff out to the car for me.
I let her lay on our bed and watch a DVD while I ate my lunch, and then we headed to the doctor's office. The doctor watched her try to walk and checked her out. She said that she looked okay and it was likely just a mild sprain, but sent her for x-rays just to be safe.
The x-ray lab was in the next building over, and unfortunately I had to call Rob out of a meeting to go into the room with Sarah. I can't go in while pregnant without being covered in lead and signing a waiver. It wasn't a risk we were willing to take, so he went back with her. She didn't want to hold still, and was very frightened. Which is to be expected. But the good news is, nothing was broken, and we were sent home and told to give her Motrin.
Friday night she crawled a lot and hardly walked, but Saturday morning she was jumping on the bed! She still had a slight limp on Saturday and Sunday, but the limp is completely gone as of yesterday morning. What a relief!
Today was Sarah's first day of school. I took her to school myself because she had a ton of supplies and I wanted to get her settled. The bus came this morning anyway (on time), and they told me they want her on the curb five minutes before their arrival time. Good to know for tomorrow! She smiled all the way into the building and classroom. She seemed a bit uneasy going into the classroom, but was just barely fussing when I left. I didn't drag it out, which I think helped.
I ran much-needed errands and stocked up as best as I could since I will likely stop driving after this week as I am getting too big to fit behind the steering wheel!
I managed to finish my errands and eat a quick lunch before her bus arrived (a couple minutes early). Sarah was so excited to see me! She got off the bus as happy as can be. The bus driver said she was a little upset at first, but calmed down once they got moving. We both figure in a couple days she'll be used to this and will do just fine. She was happily running around the house when she got in, and I got a note from her teacher saying she had a good day. She got upset a few times, but played nicely with the boys in her class (she's the only girl).
I'm really excited about tomorrow since all I'll have to do is get her on and off the bus!
In typical Sarah fashion, she went out of the feeding clinic with a bang. Shortly before it was time to feed her lunch, the head doctor at the clinic told me she was limping. Nobody was sure why or what happened. She had come back from the sensory motor group (where they take the kids to the physical therapy gym and let them play on the equipment), and as far as anybody could tell, nothing happened there. She even walked all the way down the hall back to the playroom at the clinic. She just started limping out of the blue. Anyway, he was telling me that the nurse practitioner was calling our pediatrician's office to get us an appointment.
They brought me back to see her and the nurse practitioner got her an appointment for a time when she'd normally have her afternoon snack. If she's going to miss something, I'd rather it be that than lunch. I fed her lunch and she did a great job, and then her main therapist and one of the playroom ladies carried her and her stuff out to the car for me.
I let her lay on our bed and watch a DVD while I ate my lunch, and then we headed to the doctor's office. The doctor watched her try to walk and checked her out. She said that she looked okay and it was likely just a mild sprain, but sent her for x-rays just to be safe.
The x-ray lab was in the next building over, and unfortunately I had to call Rob out of a meeting to go into the room with Sarah. I can't go in while pregnant without being covered in lead and signing a waiver. It wasn't a risk we were willing to take, so he went back with her. She didn't want to hold still, and was very frightened. Which is to be expected. But the good news is, nothing was broken, and we were sent home and told to give her Motrin.
Friday night she crawled a lot and hardly walked, but Saturday morning she was jumping on the bed! She still had a slight limp on Saturday and Sunday, but the limp is completely gone as of yesterday morning. What a relief!
Today was Sarah's first day of school. I took her to school myself because she had a ton of supplies and I wanted to get her settled. The bus came this morning anyway (on time), and they told me they want her on the curb five minutes before their arrival time. Good to know for tomorrow! She smiled all the way into the building and classroom. She seemed a bit uneasy going into the classroom, but was just barely fussing when I left. I didn't drag it out, which I think helped.
I ran much-needed errands and stocked up as best as I could since I will likely stop driving after this week as I am getting too big to fit behind the steering wheel!
I managed to finish my errands and eat a quick lunch before her bus arrived (a couple minutes early). Sarah was so excited to see me! She got off the bus as happy as can be. The bus driver said she was a little upset at first, but calmed down once they got moving. We both figure in a couple days she'll be used to this and will do just fine. She was happily running around the house when she got in, and I got a note from her teacher saying she had a good day. She got upset a few times, but played nicely with the boys in her class (she's the only girl).
I'm really excited about tomorrow since all I'll have to do is get her on and off the bus!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Week 5
Sorry I haven't been updating. I've been exhausted lately!
Blogspot finally works from the computer here at the clinic, so I actually have time to update.
They have started the protocol at the clinic where she has to earn back the TV (or toy, she responds equally well to the TV and a toy) by doing something with a non-preferred food. It's definitely getting better. I also have been doing a lot of the feedings lately. She actually eats better for me than the therapists. That's fine with me considering the therapists aren't going to move in with us when she gets discharged!!!
Our family meeting was last Thursday. Nothing earth-shattering was discussed. She is still making progress overall. It's slow, but steady. So far they are still planning to discharge her next Friday, February 15.
This past weekend I gave Sarah her Gerber Graduates peaches in her oatmeal without cutting them, and she ate an entire ounce both days! So that's great. We're practicing a few things from the protocol at home as well. I try to get her to at least practice "kissing" graham crackers or Cheerios. And she seems to respond well.
Sunday was Sarah's third birthday party. It went really well. She even seemed to realize she was the lady of the hour. She had the cutest grin on her face when they were singing to her. We had four kids blow out her candles since Sarah doesn't know how to do that yet. She even tasted a little bit of cake icing. The last time she tried that (this past December) she threw up. This time, she didn't even make a face! I'll try to add some pictures to the blog from home if I get the energy.
I've been spending more time at the clinic lately because I'm doing a lot of her feedings. I've missed at least one meal a day all week because of appointments. But I'm done those for the week, so that's good.
We got the official word on Tuesday that Sarah is in the morning class at school. They originally stuck her in the afternoon, which I thought was really dumb. Most 3-year-olds I know take an afternoon nap! I already have to sacrifice Sarah's nap two days a week to keep her in speech at the college. I was also worried about having to call the college and try to reschedule her sessions because I'd already talked to her student clinician (who seems very nice). But I got bus information and everything, so all is well. I filled out the huge pile of paperwork for her school, so I'll probably try to drop those by the school sometime next week.
That's us in a nutshell for now!
Blogspot finally works from the computer here at the clinic, so I actually have time to update.
They have started the protocol at the clinic where she has to earn back the TV (or toy, she responds equally well to the TV and a toy) by doing something with a non-preferred food. It's definitely getting better. I also have been doing a lot of the feedings lately. She actually eats better for me than the therapists. That's fine with me considering the therapists aren't going to move in with us when she gets discharged!!!
Our family meeting was last Thursday. Nothing earth-shattering was discussed. She is still making progress overall. It's slow, but steady. So far they are still planning to discharge her next Friday, February 15.
This past weekend I gave Sarah her Gerber Graduates peaches in her oatmeal without cutting them, and she ate an entire ounce both days! So that's great. We're practicing a few things from the protocol at home as well. I try to get her to at least practice "kissing" graham crackers or Cheerios. And she seems to respond well.
Sunday was Sarah's third birthday party. It went really well. She even seemed to realize she was the lady of the hour. She had the cutest grin on her face when they were singing to her. We had four kids blow out her candles since Sarah doesn't know how to do that yet. She even tasted a little bit of cake icing. The last time she tried that (this past December) she threw up. This time, she didn't even make a face! I'll try to add some pictures to the blog from home if I get the energy.
I've been spending more time at the clinic lately because I'm doing a lot of her feedings. I've missed at least one meal a day all week because of appointments. But I'm done those for the week, so that's good.
We got the official word on Tuesday that Sarah is in the morning class at school. They originally stuck her in the afternoon, which I thought was really dumb. Most 3-year-olds I know take an afternoon nap! I already have to sacrifice Sarah's nap two days a week to keep her in speech at the college. I was also worried about having to call the college and try to reschedule her sessions because I'd already talked to her student clinician (who seems very nice). But I got bus information and everything, so all is well. I filled out the huge pile of paperwork for her school, so I'll probably try to drop those by the school sometime next week.
That's us in a nutshell for now!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Week 4 Update
It's been a few days, so I suppose I should update.
Friday Sarah was absolutely horrible at the clinic. She didn't want to do anything they asked. If I had to guess, I'd say it was because the first "non-preferred" food they gave her was baby oatmeal mixed with regular oatmeal. Even the therapist feeding her said it looked and smelled awful and she wasn't going to push something that disgusting. I'm guessing it set her mood for the day, but who knows?
I met with the psychologist shortly after the feeding, and we went over some things to do at home. For one, we need to establish clear consequences for misbehaving. We have to work on "time out" so she knows when she misbehaves, that's what she's doing. That way, when we have the baby, she'll learn quickly that you can't hit the baby, kick the baby, etc. They use time out in the playroom (she got one today for hitting one of the playroom ladies), so that should make it easier for her to understand. The psychologist said as far as the fear of animals goes, it's a phase. If we ignore her complaints and show her we're not bothered by the animals, she should get over it pretty soon.
We had a busy weekend. Saturday morning we went out to breakfast where I'm pleased to report that Sarah even ate her diced pears in oatmeal at the restaurant. I'm glad that's not something she is restricting to the clinic and home only. That afternoon, we went to a birthday party. The moms there brought vanilla pudding, just for her. I thought that was sweet. The party was at a movie theater and we saw "Bee Movie." It was cute, and Sarah was pretty well-behaved.
Saturday night we went out to dinner with Rob's dad and my parents because it was Grandpa's (Rob's dad's) birthday! Sarah was pretty good at that restaurant as well. We hung out at our house for a bit afterwards, and Sarah had a good time seeing her grandparents.
Sunday was low-key. She ate almost an entire ounce of diced pears in her oatmeal that morning! We were very proud.
Monday started her fourth week at the clinic. I only watched breakfast because I had errands to run, mostly for her birthday party. She did great at breakfast. She ate a fair amount of diced pears in her oatmeal, a few bites of "chunky" pears (meaning not quite pureed to baby food consistency), her usual yogurt, and she even licked syrup off a french toast stick.
Today I only saw breakfast, taking the day to relax at home. She didn't behave as well as yesterday, but she did okay. She seemed to really enjoy putting Cheerios back in a bowl, but didn't really want to "kiss" them or lick the crumbs.
She's gotten too smart lately for what they're doing with the behavior modification. She's figured out that the video is coming back, and she's not terribly bothered when the video is taken away. So, the psychologist and OT and I talked and the psychologist came up with three ways to get her motivated again.
First - easiest - Take the video away longer. Right now it's off for 15 seconds or so. They're going to increase it to 30 seconds. We'll see what happens with that. I doubt that will have much effect, but we'll see.
Second - middle ground - Take the video away when she doesn't listen. She has to "earn" back the video by doing something with a non-preferred food. They can cut back on what they're asking, but she has to do something. For example, if she won't lick the crumbs of a graham cracker, the video goes off and she has to "kiss" the graham cracker. If she won't "kiss" the graham cracker, the video goes off and she has to touch the graham cracker. If I had to guess, I'd say that will be what works.
Third - possibly too harsh - Limit preferred foods. She can have five bites of a preferred food, and then no more until she does something with the non-preferred food. Both the OT and I think Sarah will likely decide she'd rather go hungry.
Anyway, so that's where we are.
Friday Sarah was absolutely horrible at the clinic. She didn't want to do anything they asked. If I had to guess, I'd say it was because the first "non-preferred" food they gave her was baby oatmeal mixed with regular oatmeal. Even the therapist feeding her said it looked and smelled awful and she wasn't going to push something that disgusting. I'm guessing it set her mood for the day, but who knows?
I met with the psychologist shortly after the feeding, and we went over some things to do at home. For one, we need to establish clear consequences for misbehaving. We have to work on "time out" so she knows when she misbehaves, that's what she's doing. That way, when we have the baby, she'll learn quickly that you can't hit the baby, kick the baby, etc. They use time out in the playroom (she got one today for hitting one of the playroom ladies), so that should make it easier for her to understand. The psychologist said as far as the fear of animals goes, it's a phase. If we ignore her complaints and show her we're not bothered by the animals, she should get over it pretty soon.
We had a busy weekend. Saturday morning we went out to breakfast where I'm pleased to report that Sarah even ate her diced pears in oatmeal at the restaurant. I'm glad that's not something she is restricting to the clinic and home only. That afternoon, we went to a birthday party. The moms there brought vanilla pudding, just for her. I thought that was sweet. The party was at a movie theater and we saw "Bee Movie." It was cute, and Sarah was pretty well-behaved.
Saturday night we went out to dinner with Rob's dad and my parents because it was Grandpa's (Rob's dad's) birthday! Sarah was pretty good at that restaurant as well. We hung out at our house for a bit afterwards, and Sarah had a good time seeing her grandparents.
Sunday was low-key. She ate almost an entire ounce of diced pears in her oatmeal that morning! We were very proud.
Monday started her fourth week at the clinic. I only watched breakfast because I had errands to run, mostly for her birthday party. She did great at breakfast. She ate a fair amount of diced pears in her oatmeal, a few bites of "chunky" pears (meaning not quite pureed to baby food consistency), her usual yogurt, and she even licked syrup off a french toast stick.
Today I only saw breakfast, taking the day to relax at home. She didn't behave as well as yesterday, but she did okay. She seemed to really enjoy putting Cheerios back in a bowl, but didn't really want to "kiss" them or lick the crumbs.
She's gotten too smart lately for what they're doing with the behavior modification. She's figured out that the video is coming back, and she's not terribly bothered when the video is taken away. So, the psychologist and OT and I talked and the psychologist came up with three ways to get her motivated again.
First - easiest - Take the video away longer. Right now it's off for 15 seconds or so. They're going to increase it to 30 seconds. We'll see what happens with that. I doubt that will have much effect, but we'll see.
Second - middle ground - Take the video away when she doesn't listen. She has to "earn" back the video by doing something with a non-preferred food. They can cut back on what they're asking, but she has to do something. For example, if she won't lick the crumbs of a graham cracker, the video goes off and she has to "kiss" the graham cracker. If she won't "kiss" the graham cracker, the video goes off and she has to touch the graham cracker. If I had to guess, I'd say that will be what works.
Third - possibly too harsh - Limit preferred foods. She can have five bites of a preferred food, and then no more until she does something with the non-preferred food. Both the OT and I think Sarah will likely decide she'd rather go hungry.
Anyway, so that's where we are.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Feeding Clinic - Middle of Week 3
Interesting week so far.
Tuesday Sarah did okay. Breakfast didn't go well, unfortunately. She gagged on her first bite of food, and that set her off for the rest of the meal. They got her to behave, but it was tough. I honestly can't blame her. I certainly don't want to eat something if it made me gag.
Lunch went pretty well. Nothing earth-shattering, but she more or less did what they asked. She still argues, but she's fighting less and less.
Her afternoon snack was fed to her by a therapist who has never fed her before. It went okay, but Sarah spent a good bit of the feeding trying to see how far she could push the therapist. I can't remember anything special either way about the feeding.
Wednesday was her birthday and was a short therapy day for us. We left after lunch to make her ENT appointment. More on the appointment in a sec.
They said she was acting like a spoiled princess in the playroom, so I guess she knew it was her special day. I have no idea. Anyway, breakfast went okay. She refused to even touch the oatmeal, which doesn't terribly surprise me. So the primary therapist said she thinks we need to just take a step back and go back to baby oatmeal and gradually switch again. I agree. The other problem with breakfast is the therapist who fed her was only pausing the video when she wasn't listening. It had much less of an effect because Elmo frozen on the screen isn't really a big problem for her. Oh well, something to bring up either tomorrow or at the next family meeting.
Lunch I only saw half of. She did okay, from what I saw. She licked little bits of chicken nuggets off her lips, and I think they got her to lick a little bit of spaghetti sauce off a nugget. I can't remember for sure at this point.
After lunch, we headed to Party City for party supplies. Sarah picked out Sesame Street for the theme (surprise, surprise). She was really funny in the store. She kept putting my hand towards the display as if to ask me to buy the entire section! We still need a few more things, but we have most of the party goods now.
Then we headed to the ENT. The appointment went okay. The doctor and I were disappointed that the left tube has come out. It's still in her ear, but it's just sitting there and no longer attached to the ear drum. We were both hoping the tubes would both stay in all winter. Anyway, the ENT said he doesn't want to just replace the tube right now. He wants to see what happens. I'm to call them if I suspect she has an ear infection (not the pediatrician if possible). Otherwise, he wants to see her in two months for a look. Cross your fingers that she doesn't need the tube replaced! I'm very pleased the doctor isn't just jumping straight into surgery. The surgery wasn't a big deal, but it doesn't mean I want to put her through it again.
After the ENT appointment, we went to Toys R Us to use her birthday club coupon. She got a balloon (which she loves) and they announced her birthday over the loudspeaker. I let her pick out a toy, and she chose an Elmo bath toy. No surprise there.
Today I didn't see any of her feeds because I had a midwife appointment and then spent some time with my mom. But the primary therapist made two adjustments to her protocol, and at the end of the day she said Sarah finally ate enough of the new foods for them to measure.
The two adjustments - they are now giving her whole milk at the clinic. She's a little low in calories on the days she spends at the clinic, so they are giving her whole milk to make up for them. We're to continue with 2% at home. The other one - which I was about to suggest - is that they are no longer pushing her to drink from a regular cup. I'm relieved about that. She doesn't like it, and doesn't want it, and I don't care if all she uses right now is a sippy cup. A straw would be nice, but it's a very low priority.
Anyway, she ate 0.1 ounce each of eggs with ketchup (breakfast), graham cracker crumbs (lunch), and Fig Newton crumbs (snack). It doesn't sound like much, but today was the first day she ate enough of anything new to even measure. And that's 0.1 ounce each more of those foods than I've ever gotten her to eat!
In Mommy news, the midwife appointment went fine. I passed the glucose screen (yay!), but I have low iron (boo!). Thankfully the low iron isn't too bad. I just need to get back to taking my iron supplements. Easy enough. The baby has a strong heartbeat, and I'm measuring just fine. The midwife stressed that I need to take more time for myself, especially during this difficult time, and I plan to try and do that.
Tuesday Sarah did okay. Breakfast didn't go well, unfortunately. She gagged on her first bite of food, and that set her off for the rest of the meal. They got her to behave, but it was tough. I honestly can't blame her. I certainly don't want to eat something if it made me gag.
Lunch went pretty well. Nothing earth-shattering, but she more or less did what they asked. She still argues, but she's fighting less and less.
Her afternoon snack was fed to her by a therapist who has never fed her before. It went okay, but Sarah spent a good bit of the feeding trying to see how far she could push the therapist. I can't remember anything special either way about the feeding.
Wednesday was her birthday and was a short therapy day for us. We left after lunch to make her ENT appointment. More on the appointment in a sec.
They said she was acting like a spoiled princess in the playroom, so I guess she knew it was her special day. I have no idea. Anyway, breakfast went okay. She refused to even touch the oatmeal, which doesn't terribly surprise me. So the primary therapist said she thinks we need to just take a step back and go back to baby oatmeal and gradually switch again. I agree. The other problem with breakfast is the therapist who fed her was only pausing the video when she wasn't listening. It had much less of an effect because Elmo frozen on the screen isn't really a big problem for her. Oh well, something to bring up either tomorrow or at the next family meeting.
Lunch I only saw half of. She did okay, from what I saw. She licked little bits of chicken nuggets off her lips, and I think they got her to lick a little bit of spaghetti sauce off a nugget. I can't remember for sure at this point.
After lunch, we headed to Party City for party supplies. Sarah picked out Sesame Street for the theme (surprise, surprise). She was really funny in the store. She kept putting my hand towards the display as if to ask me to buy the entire section! We still need a few more things, but we have most of the party goods now.
Then we headed to the ENT. The appointment went okay. The doctor and I were disappointed that the left tube has come out. It's still in her ear, but it's just sitting there and no longer attached to the ear drum. We were both hoping the tubes would both stay in all winter. Anyway, the ENT said he doesn't want to just replace the tube right now. He wants to see what happens. I'm to call them if I suspect she has an ear infection (not the pediatrician if possible). Otherwise, he wants to see her in two months for a look. Cross your fingers that she doesn't need the tube replaced! I'm very pleased the doctor isn't just jumping straight into surgery. The surgery wasn't a big deal, but it doesn't mean I want to put her through it again.
After the ENT appointment, we went to Toys R Us to use her birthday club coupon. She got a balloon (which she loves) and they announced her birthday over the loudspeaker. I let her pick out a toy, and she chose an Elmo bath toy. No surprise there.
Today I didn't see any of her feeds because I had a midwife appointment and then spent some time with my mom. But the primary therapist made two adjustments to her protocol, and at the end of the day she said Sarah finally ate enough of the new foods for them to measure.
The two adjustments - they are now giving her whole milk at the clinic. She's a little low in calories on the days she spends at the clinic, so they are giving her whole milk to make up for them. We're to continue with 2% at home. The other one - which I was about to suggest - is that they are no longer pushing her to drink from a regular cup. I'm relieved about that. She doesn't like it, and doesn't want it, and I don't care if all she uses right now is a sippy cup. A straw would be nice, but it's a very low priority.
Anyway, she ate 0.1 ounce each of eggs with ketchup (breakfast), graham cracker crumbs (lunch), and Fig Newton crumbs (snack). It doesn't sound like much, but today was the first day she ate enough of anything new to even measure. And that's 0.1 ounce each more of those foods than I've ever gotten her to eat!
In Mommy news, the midwife appointment went fine. I passed the glucose screen (yay!), but I have low iron (boo!). Thankfully the low iron isn't too bad. I just need to get back to taking my iron supplements. Easy enough. The baby has a strong heartbeat, and I'm measuring just fine. The midwife stressed that I need to take more time for myself, especially during this difficult time, and I plan to try and do that.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Feeding Clinic - First day of Week 3
We've been working a little at home to very gently push some textures, and it's going well there too. All I changed this weekend was adding just a few diced pears to her baby oatmeal at breakfast. I figured I'd see if she'd just eat a little bit of them, and she did with little to no argument.
Apparently, my decision to gently push textures was a good one. She had a very good day today overall.
At breakfast, she had her usual baby oatmeal, but the therapist added just a tablespoon of regular oatmeal. Sarah noticed the change and made a few weird faces, but willingly ate the entire bowl without incident. She also ate a fork-mashed banana mixed with applesauce and then fork-mashed banana mixed with yogurt. At one point, she had a big chunk of banana she started to spit out, but then she pulled it back into her mouth and she chewed and swallowed it, shocking both the therapist and me! She refused to let them put the banana to her lips, but she willingly had a graham cracker put to her lips. The therapist was able to put graham cracker crumbs onto her lips, and she licked the crumbs off. I was very pleased!
Lunch went almost as well. She ate baby spaghetti, one bite was mixed with Chef Boyardee ravioli. She didn't like that bite and didn't want it mixed with the ravioli, but she handled the one bite okay. She only made a face. She refused to even touch the ravioli when it was mashed up very tiny. It was frustrating for me to watch because it was cut way smaller than I used to cut it when she would eat it. I know she'll get back to it, though. She licked saltine crumbs off her lips as well. I forget what else she ate, but overall she did a good job.
Snack went well too. She ate fork-mashed pears mixed with applesauce. The therapist gradually increased the amount of pears in the applesauce, and at the end of the snack, it was probably 75% pears and 25% applesauce. I was really proud of her! The therapist worked hard to get her to lick crumbs from a Nutri-Grain bar off of her lips, and she managed to get Sarah to do it. Not without a lot of protest, but oh well. She tried to get her to put cheese curls up to her mouth, but Sarah was done by then. The meal was a lot of work and very hard for Sarah, so that is okay with me.
Overall, a very encouraging day. I am staying tomorrow as well. Not sure what I am doing the rest of the week.
Apparently, my decision to gently push textures was a good one. She had a very good day today overall.
At breakfast, she had her usual baby oatmeal, but the therapist added just a tablespoon of regular oatmeal. Sarah noticed the change and made a few weird faces, but willingly ate the entire bowl without incident. She also ate a fork-mashed banana mixed with applesauce and then fork-mashed banana mixed with yogurt. At one point, she had a big chunk of banana she started to spit out, but then she pulled it back into her mouth and she chewed and swallowed it, shocking both the therapist and me! She refused to let them put the banana to her lips, but she willingly had a graham cracker put to her lips. The therapist was able to put graham cracker crumbs onto her lips, and she licked the crumbs off. I was very pleased!
Lunch went almost as well. She ate baby spaghetti, one bite was mixed with Chef Boyardee ravioli. She didn't like that bite and didn't want it mixed with the ravioli, but she handled the one bite okay. She only made a face. She refused to even touch the ravioli when it was mashed up very tiny. It was frustrating for me to watch because it was cut way smaller than I used to cut it when she would eat it. I know she'll get back to it, though. She licked saltine crumbs off her lips as well. I forget what else she ate, but overall she did a good job.
Snack went well too. She ate fork-mashed pears mixed with applesauce. The therapist gradually increased the amount of pears in the applesauce, and at the end of the snack, it was probably 75% pears and 25% applesauce. I was really proud of her! The therapist worked hard to get her to lick crumbs from a Nutri-Grain bar off of her lips, and she managed to get Sarah to do it. Not without a lot of protest, but oh well. She tried to get her to put cheese curls up to her mouth, but Sarah was done by then. The meal was a lot of work and very hard for Sarah, so that is okay with me.
Overall, a very encouraging day. I am staying tomorrow as well. Not sure what I am doing the rest of the week.
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