Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!

On Sunday, Nate took out his feeding tube.  It wasn't a big deal.  It happens all the time.  It's completely the worst thing in. the. world. to have to put it back in, but we're as used to it as you can be by now, I suppose.

During lunch, I offered him a piece of cheese.  Havarti, to be exact.  He touched it.  He picked it up.  He put it to his mouth.  He tasted it.  He ate it.  He wanted more.

These pictures are a sequence I'm calling "Chewing Ravioli."  Inspired, no?

 

This was huge.  Awesome!  Incredible!  Havarti is a very soft cheese.  Up until this point, Nate's sensory issues have dictated that he will only eat crunchy foods.  Only.  Nothing else.  Nada.  He ate probably 1/4 of a deli slice of cheese, bite after miraculous bite, and we stood there, watching in fascination.  I was sure he would reject it any minute, but he kept eating.

So Monday, in addition to the cheese, I offered him some sliced grapes.  He ate them.  I offered him black beans.  He ate them.  I offered him mango.  He ate it.

Tuesday, in addition to Monday's new foods, I offered him nectarine.  He ate it.  I offered him scrambled egg.  He ate it.

Then he drank water from a sippie cup.  Guzzled, actually!  He has never done that.  We had to cut him off for fear he would get a tummy ache.  Talk about zero to sixty.

Wednesday, in addition to everything else, I offered him toast.  He ate it.  I offered him chick peas.  He ate them.  I offered him a sippie cup with cream in it, and over the course of the day he probably drank eight ounces.  Of CREAM.  Fattening, calorie-laden CREAM.

On Thursday, he started taking food by spoon.  By SPOON.  WILLINGLY.  I don't think it is possibly to fully describe how incredibly elated we are over this progress!  I keep looking through the refrigerator with new eyes, thinking of new foods Nate will want to try.  You would not believe my grocery list.

I weighed him this morning and he has gained four ounces since yesterday.  He hasn't gained weight without help from a feeding tube since he was around four months old! 

His Ravioli chewing inspiration

So where are we?  Well, we've had five days of continued progress, so I'm calling that a trend.  Hopefully we will continue to see Nate expand his range of foods to try.  We will continue therapy for the time being in order to make sure that any remaining sensory issues are taken care of while he is so very young. 

He is still quite behind physically for his age group.  At nearly fourteen months, he is not crawling or even rolling around a lot.  He is very happy and is improving and we are not worried, but will continue to work with him to bring him up to speed. 

As for your prayers, clearly they are effective!  At this time last week our little guy was on a feeding tube and content eating cheerios.  It's a bit surreal.

We ask for continued prayer as we navigate this new road.  I'm learning to feed him backwards, having started with toddler food and working my way back to purees like applesauce and yogurt.  It's a bit of a learning curve for me {it's hard enough to remember how to do this stuff from one child to the next without complications thrown in!}, and I definitely feel the stress of making sure he gets what he needs so that he doesn't need the tube again.  I'm a bit {read: a lot} on edge and would appreciate your prayers. 

So would my children. 

So would my husband. 

Mostly, though, we want you to praise the Lord with us!  The God who created our son, who loves him more than we ever could, who knows his every need and desire, who knew this path we would be walking with him from the beginning, has seen fit to bring about healing in a way that can only be attributed to Him. 

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts!
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Amen.