Sunday, May 17, 2009

GOTCHA Anniversary


Friday, May 15th, 2008 was our official papers signed- Gotcha Day. Today is our Home One Year Day!!!!! How amazing to have our sweet son for a whole year now! He is just doing so wonderful.

His 2 big areas of challenge are language and eating. He has about 8 words and 8 signs but we haven't gotten much further with that in a while. I think he has been so focused on moving that he has put speech aside for a while. He walks everywhere now and loves to put his cool new orthotics on. Which of course I thought he would hate. What do I know?! He will pretty much only cooperate with his physical therapist if they are outside. He LOVES to be outside. Right now it is over 100 degrees here so we are in the pool almost every day and he is in heaven. Yes, my baby who hated the bath, now loves it and loves to swim! (Well, float.)

Max also loves to eat but only pureed food. We have been going to feeding therapy but he is still not into eating solids yet. Hopefully soon. Any ideas are welcome, by the way. He puts solid food in his mouth like he wants to like it but then immediately makes a face and spits it out. His therapist said he will just do it one day and never look back.

So who is Max at age 2 years, 5 months? Max is a handful who loves life. He is a climber and right now has a big forehead bruise to prove it. He is ALL boy! He loves balls and cars, trucks, buses and rocks. He has a laugh that is SO contagious it makes strangers in the store laugh. He is smart and loves to figure things out. He loves to take off all his clothes which is pretty funny but we hope the phase ends soon. He also likes to put stuff in drawers and other containers so you never what you are going to find where. Today I found the remote control in the clothes hamper!! I would have been looking for that for days! Lucky I came across it before it got washed! Tears come to my eyes as I think of all the blessings Max has brought to our life. What a fun little "wild angel" he is.

6 comments:

Zactly said...

Great news about Max, Shawnie. That is wonderful!! So happy for all of you. With Dan(our little Serbian American) we have seen much improvement in his wanting solids by doing a couple of exercises. You all may already be doing these, but I thougt it was worth mentioning. Dan's was a combo of weak jaw and sensory issue not wanting solids. 1. Take a toothette/mouth swab (sponge on a stick) and swab all the surfaces inside his mouth ( on gums, on top and under tongue, etc.)Do this 8 times a day for 1 minutes each time. 2. get an Ark grabber for jaw strength/or tri-chew tube -to get used to the textures(www.talktools.net) . You bite on one side of the mouth, roll it across the tongue, and bite on the other side of the mouth. Keep going back and forth, rolling across the tongue, biting on each side; for the duration of time. Do this 4 times a day for 2 minutes each time.
This has made a big difference in Dan's eating in just 3 months time.
So good to read your update. Glad you all are doing well.
blessings,
Vickie

Shawnie said...

Thank you so much Vickie! I will definitely do it and let you know how it goes.

Julie said...

I'm so thankful that the Lord brought you and Max together as a family. I love to see the excitement on his face in your pictures! He makes me smile :>

I do agree that eating for David in many ways happened over night (allowing food to stay in his mouth and knowing what to do with it). In other ways, it has been a slow progression (effectively chewing and allowing new things to "enter"). We have used a finger toothbrush to "wake up" his mouth, and also used a regular toothbrush dipped in yogurt (but anything he really likes that is a thick liquid) and then moved it around in his mouth for as much as he'd tolerate (brushing his tongue, inner cheeks, etc). I'm no expert, but these things are things we were doing (along with using a z-vibe) before he started accepting solids.

Enjoy your summer! I bet you are very glad to have a pool in your 100 degree weather!

Blessings,
Julie

Natalie said...

Happy Anniversary! Wow that boy has come a long way, go Max!

Natalie (RR)

Staffords said...

We are so happy for your family. I love a happy ending. Max is lucky to have you. Time flies as we are approaching 1 year also. Enjoy every moment. Congratulations on this wonderful milestone. We miss you guys.

Beth said...

Happy Gotcha Day Max (a bit late, but nonetheless enthusiastic)!

I highly recommend getting an evaluation from Talktools. I see that Vickie has also suggested you look there. It sounds like Max needs some sensory work and oral motor strengthening exercises. Normalizing the muscle patterns in his mouth with not only help with eating, but with speaking as well.

If you can't afford a full evaluation (they'd give you a whole program plan that would last at least 6 months), then consider renting the 12 hour training video so you can understand the underlying problems that Max has. Perhaps your local Ds group could rent it and watch together, or they might consider purchasing the videos for their library. I guarantee that you will see major improvement. We started Talktools with Hannah when she was 3, primarily for articulation improvement, and it was wonderful. She's 11 now and has nice clear speech and will eat anything in the world (except for pork chops!).

Best wishes