Yesterday I took AJ back to the hospital for a swallow study - a barium contrast xray of food actually being eaten - so we could find out if there is anything structurally wrong with his mouth, throat, or esophagus. The speech pathologist administering the test mixed barium with a tiny taste of baby food and I had to try to feed it to AJ.
HA! Try getting a baby to eat a smidgen of puree drowned in barium. Go ahead, try it!
Thankfully he was able to get enough down that it was a good study. We could clearly see the little blob of food go from his lips back to the throat and whoomp! down the hatch. Quite fascinating, really. We could see that there is no structural problem (thank God) but there IS a significant delay in transit time for the food going from his lips to his throat. In other words, he holds it in his mouth too long, and has trouble working it backward efficiently.
I choose to take this as excellent news. This means his problem appears to be oral-motor related and NOT structural, which means (I think) that it is possible he will outgrow it as he gets bigger and stronger. I am making that all up - no doctor has analyzed the test - but it makes sense to me.
We are currently at about 2 tablespoons of food per lunch and dinner feeding, which is a vast improvement from zero food, obviously. Do I wish he was inhaling jar after jar, or eating grilled cheese sandwiches like his sister was at this age? Of course. Definitely. But I'll take these little victories.
Today is a completely free day. No appointments, no therapies, no obligations. My parents are picking Daughter up in a couple hours to take her on an adventure for the day. It will be just me and my little boy, and he takes two nice naps, so for awhile, it will be just me! I'm going to enjoy a nice quiet house, hit the craft store for a couple supplies I need, and spend some time cleaning up and doing some projects.
I took some photos of my central park hoodie being blocked, but they came out all glare-y and yellow, so I need to edit them before posting. That's coming soon, as well as an adorable cabled sweater I'm just finishing up for AJ. I really should put down the needles and endeavor to get more rest, but it's all the therapy I've got...
Oh, and did I mention he's walking around the playpen?
3 comments:
Happy Friday Kate! Sounds like you are in for a great day:)
You sound like a new woman! Enjoy your day!!
That IS a great appointment! And a day off, to boot.
I hope he slept and that you were able to take full advantage ...
Post a Comment