Feeding Update Friday: Week Nine

This Monday we went to The Children's Institute in Pittsburgh for a follow-up appointment.  They were very pleased with his progress, but also think that he is ready to move on from all purees to more table foods.  This is a huge step, and one that is going to shake things up a bit.

Measuring and recording how much table food G eats is not an easy task.  It's hard to keep track of calories he is taking in because measuring table food is difficult.  Because of this transition to more table foods, we are working on a better system to track what he's eating and you will also see a huge decrease in the volume of food that he is taking in.  It does not mean that he is doing poorly or regressing, it is a step in the right direction to eating typical toddler foods.

Because of this change, Feeding Update Fridays are going to look a bit different.  Instead of listing volumes, I'll just be listing the different foods that G is trying out.  This week, we were trying to get ourselves into the new system, and did a terrible job trying to write things down, so instead, enjoy a picture of G enjoying some Halloween treats!

Feeding Update Friday: Week Three

This week has had it's ups and downs, but we've changed some things that have yielded mostly ups!  

I am giving Greyson more time in the morning to wake up and get activity before he has to sit in the chair and eat.  He wakes up, he gets some physical activity by bouncing on an exercise ball, going up and down the slide, pushing his mower around the yard, etc.  About an hour after he gets up, I'll sit him in his chair for some kind of sensory activity, usually play doh.  After 15 minutes, I introduce his food to him, and this routine has seemed to help some of the morning issues we were having.  He is still showing some avoidance to behaviors, but this has made a big difference in the tone of our mealtimes.  

One thing that we are seeing since coming home is a big change in Greyson's emotional state.  He's always been a very easy going kid who was able to rationally handle his emotions without getting over the top.  Since coming home, he has been super emotional, getting upset at the drop of the hat.  We a pretty sure this is due to all of the changes and new expectations of him, and are working him through this tough transition with lots of love and understanding.  He's getting upset at things that never upset him before, like getting tangled in his oxygen, getting stuck somewhere because he's out of cord, or sometimes for no reason at all.  We are working with him to take deep breaths when he is so upset that he can't tell us what is wrong, as well as staying very calm and just giving him hugs and love when he is that upset.  

It's a work in progress, as always!

Foods that Greyson has eaten this week:

Chocolate pudding

Vanilla yogurt

Strawberry Banana yogurt

Honey water

Juice

Puréed potato soup

Spaghetti purée

Ritz crackers

Penguin crackers (off brand whales)

Goldfish crackers

Pizza

Vanilla wafers

Butter bread

Total intakes:

Friday:  3.5 ounces, 10 nibbles of pizza. And 1 ritz cracker

Saturday:  2.5 ounces

Sunday:  6 ounces and 10 mL

Monday:  5 ounces, 5 mL, and 1/2 vanilla wafer, 1/16 piece of butter bread

Tuesday:  5.5 ounces and 7 mL

Wednesday:  6.5 ounces and 10 mL (golden day!)

Thursday:  5 ounces