I'm going to tell you what.

That is what Jack says every day at naptime.  "Mom, I'm going to tell you what."  Then I say, "What?" and he says, "I want to play dump trucks and bulldozers at G.G. and Poppy's house tomorrow."  Then I say it sounds like fun and we blow lots of air kisses and he goes to bed.

This happens every day.  Not once has he shown any interest in actually carrying out this plan.  He couldn't care less about playing dump trucks or bulldozers with G.G. or Poppy, but he always says it.  

It's tradition.

It's what we say.

Sometimes he pretends that he isn't going to say it, but if I leave the room, I'll hear him start to whimper.  I will sometimes say, "I'm going to tell you what," to speed things along, and then he giggles and says, "No, I'm going to tell you what!"  And then he does.

It's what we do.

It's tradition.

Except that yesterday he didn't say it.  He said goodnight and we blew kisses but he didn't tell me what.  He didn't whimper when I left the room.

I kept thinking about it all evening.  Is he past it?  Are we done telling what?  I don't know that I'm ready to be done telling what, but I don't want to push to keep it, either.

So today when I put him to bed I just sort of let him take the lead.  I tucked him in and told him I loved him, and started to get up from the bed.  He pulled me down and said, "Mom, I want to tell you what.  I want to play dump trucks and bulldozers at G.G. and Poppy's house tomorrow AND {squeezing his chubby hands on my cheeks until he's given me an fabulous fishy face and then roaring} I want to take the dump truck and bulldozer TO THEIR HOUSE TOMORROW!"  Then he fell back against his pillow, laughing.

I guess he needed a break so that he could make some improvements.

I told him it sounded like a great idea, and then we blew kisses and I left the room.

 

He won't always want to tell me what.  Or maybe he will but it won't be the same sweet kind of what.  He won't always insist on wearing pink infant sunglasses for his school picture or be adamant that I call him Magnet Boy or Super Dog.  Someday, tomorrow will actually mean tomorrow and not any moment in the future.  Yesterday will be a specific day and not any moment previous to this one. 

 

I know that, but I'm glad it's not this moment.

 

 

Never tired of being told what,

 

Magnet Boy's Mama

 

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.