I mentioned yesterday that our pediatrician agreed to refer us for a feeding evaluation for Finn since I can't get a consult with an OT through Regional Center. So, funny enough, I got a call a little while ago whilst in the middle of attempting to feed Finn some yogurt, from a place called Pediatric Therapies. So I have to take Finn Monday morning down to Costa Mesa (which isn't terribly far, but probably 35 minutes or so on a Monday morning) to this place, along with some food, so they can observe him (and me) and I guess give me some direction on getting him to accept nourishment other than breast milk.
So, I dunno. I'm having conflicting feelings. I'm grateful that my pediatrician was on top of this and got us a referral so quickly - wow, a one-day turnaround, can you believe it?! On the other hand, I'm disappointed that I have to take Finn somewhere for this because I really think that taking him out of his element (i.e., home) is only going to make the feeding experience more trying than usual and not really give a true picture of what goes on. Maybe I'm completely wrong though. We'll see. And to be honest, I'm less than thrilled that I have to drive down there. I am soooooo weary of driving around to here and to there. Every single week I'm hauling one kid or another to some doctor appointment it seems like, and it's just wearing me down.
Anyway, I ordered the Z-vibe about a week ago and when it came in the mail yesterday I realized that I had only ordered the spoon tips, not the actual z-vibe device. So now I've ordered that. Maybe that will make a difference. This morning is actually the first time in several days that I've even attempted to feed him anything. I gave up when he got sick last week because it seemed wrong to force-feed him when he didn't feel good. This morning went slightly better than it's gone in the past. He actually opened his mouth and allowed me to insert spoon with yogurt a handful of times. He's still generally pretty resistent to the whole notion though.
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6 comments:
I know what you mean about not wanting to have to drive one more place!Maybe they can show you some things to work on with Finn at home and you wont be having to drive over there alot.
I should have warned you that the spoon tips were an attachment and that you have to order the actual z-vibe sepperate:( I hope it works for Finn.
Ruby's ST wants to do electric stimulation to Ruby to see if that helps her to form the food into a ball on her tongue to be swallowed.Ruby is doing much better with the z-vibe but she still seems to spit alot of the food back out.Honestly it just seems to me that she doesn't want the food,like she doesn't like the taste, not that she can't swallow it.Anyway we shall see.
Being a parent sure is difficult sometimes.
I hear you about the driving and the out of the element thing. Like Ruby's Mom said, go the one time, get some tips and bring it back home. Feeding can be so difficult and it can really make a Mama feel self-conscious--especially when being "watched"--but I can say that WAY BACK WHEN Georgia couldn't even eat from a bottle OR breastfeed (heart stuff) ONE visit from a professional OT helped us TREMENDOUSLY and I think meant the difference in or relying on the NG tube alone. Hopefully this person will have lots of helpful advice/ideas. AND they may be able to provide you with some sort of convincing argument so that maybe you can qualify for the state program.
Good luck and breathe. It's tough stuff, but you can get through it.
Yay for an OT consult! Hopefully they will give you some ideas to use at home. Will he "play" in the yogurt and lick it off his hands? My mom used to do this with my kids, it drove me nuts!
Is Finn having a hard time processing the food (is he spitting it back out or having a hard time swallowing), or is he just resisting eating (because he isn't interested, or because it is somehow offending his senses)? In other words, do you feel like he is having difficulty feeding, or do you feel like he is just not into eating solids (for whatever reason)?
I hope the OT can help you. Please post what he/she says and how the consult goes. I'm sure other parents would be interested, and maybe someone will have more suggestions...
I spoke to my friend who had feeding issues. All Benson would do is stick his tongue straight out. She got the Zvibe thing and now he eats just fine. Hopefully it will work for you and Finn as well. You never know how he will react out of his element. If anything they can give you tips and advice.
Oh Alex loved the Z-vibe thing. We used the tips with the bumps on it with the OT and he really enjoyed it. Alex was always gagging on food and turns out he has low muscle tone in his face and jaw and that was making chewing difficult. He also had some sensory issues with texture so we worked on that with a bunch of different stim tools - Red cross makes a kit of different toothbrushes - full brush and one with just ridges for gums/tongue that we used for different sensory sessions. It helped a lot!
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