Small Changes

One of the things I always expected when I started this journey was that I would see BIG changes happen with Colin, especially in his gross motor development. I just kept thinking early on that he would get to a point where all of a sudden he would roll over, or all of a sudden he would sit independently, or all of a sudden crawl. Over time I realized that while achieving milestones is a BIG thing, they don't necessarily happen right before your eyes in an instant.

I know that all children have adjustment periods when it comes to change, especially with solid foods, switching to a different type of cup, milk, etc. Early on I just figured that it would just happen when we wanted to switch Colin to solids and when we first tried cereal, it did happen quickly. When we started with the pureed fruits and vegetables, he did very well. However, as we started to get into foods with more textures, our obvious difficulties began.

I think that one of the most frustrating things we have dealt with is the feeding issues. When we started with textured foods with Colin, he would blow raspberries because he wanted nothing to do with it. He always found a way to spit chunks out. We are still struggling with self feeding.

But....lately, there seems to be light shining through on this! Instead of seeing a big change happen all of a sudden, I have been noticing lots of little changes that have been taking place when it comes to feeding.

...slowly over time, the raspberries stopped.

...slowly, he is starting to accept "table foods" like mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, small pieces of chicken or meat, crushed up veggies, cheese, fruit, etc. We still need to give baby food to make sure he is getting enough calories, but we are able to give less and less.

...slowly, with assistance he is putting things in his mouth like pretzel rods, and the spoon with some food on it (with LOTS of assistance), fudge pops (only a tiny bit...that he wants to be hand fed! ha!).

Instead of trying to see a big change, I look harder and I am seeing his small accomplishments. I remembered that I had to pull back a little bit and look a little deeper and voila! Things are changing in the right direction, just a little bit at a time!

In the 1st video you will see that Colin is keeping the food in his mouth (mostly) which is a big accomplishment AND that he is assisting me put the spoon into his mouth...

The 2nd video is just his giggles for fun!