Tube wean, Day 7

What a difference a day can make!

One of the things worrying Jacob's parents (among many other things this week) is Jacob's recent refusal of food. While he never really ate a lot (only a few bites at a time) he also never refused it, never swiped away the spoon, and never threw the bowl, etc. on the floor. That started to happen a few days ago. Now we know he was mad, but that particular new behavior in the midst of a tube wean program in which the goal is to learn how to eat was really worrisome. Even here the first couple days he did ok(ish) with food but then it went off like a switch.

Ok.

Enter tube wean specialist and PhD child psychologist stage left. Also, as an aside, a very tall German who Jacob is so fascinated with. The first time he met Jacob he crawled into the living room so they would be at eye level. And that wasn't quite low enough so he got on his stomach. Really great!

Anyway, he says the child leads the way, Jacob is master so to speak. His assessment along with the others on the team was that Jacob was into this drinking thing and he was trying to master his sippy cup and we were over stressing and irritating him by adding the eating skill at the same time. So wait. Just wait. Another of the team members reassured us... He likes food, he's not bad at eating, he will come back to it. Give it time.

We were allowed to offer it but if Jacob refused be respectful and stop. Which we did, Day 4, Day 5, AND Day 6. Total refusal of any food in any form.

Patience. Patience. Patience.

Day 6 was the big breakthrough with the sippy cup.

Day 7 we had a busy day planned because we needed to drive back home for a pediatrician appointment and for whatever reason we woke up thinking... ok, it's going to be a crazy day on top of what is already crazy... let's try hard to replicate our normal home routine as much as possible all around the crazy. So we did. This normal routine also often includes Grandma offering practice bites mid-morning. Sweet potato most often. And without Mom and Dad around. So that's what we did. While Jacob's parents got everything ready for our trip to the pediatrician, Grandma braved being treated to the little defiant hand and tried to offer food.

Gasp. No refusal.

~

Grandma did a very good job not crying in front of him because she was so happy and Mom and Dad did a very good job ignoring what was happening and staying busy doing our thing (although peeking around the corner every chance we got).

Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't a day 6 sippy cup kind of eating breakthrough. No, they were still tentative bites and he's still not totally sold on eating. But the point is he didn't refuse which was its own kind of breakthrough. More than that, he took little bite after little bite and went through almost 3 ounces.

THEN on the way home from the pediatrician he thought he might accept some yogurt from the squeezy yogurt tube mommy had. Whhhaaaatttt?

And then more at dinner...

Quantities of food going in are still small. But between the milk and the few ounces of food, Mr. Jacob is starting to get his old spunk back.

And so is his entourage.

 

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