Progress

Today marked our 3rd visit at feeding therapy and so far I have been really happy with how things are going.  I think Chris and I are in a good place to be doing this now for several reasons.  First, we have sort of settled in to just accepting (for now) that since Colin IS eating, it's ok that he is not eating a variety of foods (even though that's been our goal for a long time).  Colin seems a tad bit more interested in different foods and while is not willing to try most, we occassionally get a glimpse of a little boy who seems like he wants more, just doesn't quite know what to do with the food even if he is apt to try it.  I think this is also a good time because we are incredibly patient right now to be in this for the long haul (we know this isn't going to be a quick process).  

So far Colin has been really happy and willing to work with Miss Josie (love hearing him say her name) and she is just taking her time building trust and a comfort level with having certain kinds of foods in his vicinity.  She always has a lot of information to give and comment on and is extremely positive.  We liked her from the start for that reason.  She will never force him to eat something, but rather, will continue to push and work with him.  Colin has always loved the therapists who are not all in his face, but rather, have a demeanor that is calm and comforting.  If this takes a year, than so be it.  We are ready to see some changes, even if they take a really long time.  

It's funny though to me because while Colin's feeding struggles have certainly been annoying challenging, Kailey can also be a pain in the arse between what she wants at meal time and what she doesn't want.  The girl loves pasta, but when I tried to make pastina tonight (with hopes Colin would try it) she only wanted the big ziti noodles and not the pastina ones.  -Sigh-

In combination with the progress with feeding therapy, we are starting to see some very subtle improvements as well in the speech department.  While Colin certainly has a LONG ways to go, we are hearing new words and short phrases pop out all of the time.  For example, common phrases lately have been "my turn", "Mom/Dad/Kailey look", "mom, tree, cheese", and "mom/dad/kailey go".  It's always neat to hear them pop out when you aren't expecting them.  

I really like Colin's speech therapist and she has been working really hard with him on saying actions (ie: Colin is eating) and answering "wh" questions like what and why.  While I posted recently that she reported him being a bit "skoochy" lately, she still continues to push through.  Clearly, even though he often needs maximum cues, his brain is certainly absorbing the information as it pops out here and there.  She has always incorporated lots of things from home for Colin (late summer we made a bunch of action flash cards using pictures of family and she uses those a lot).  More recently, she got a new flashcard maker app fort he ipad so I just have to email her pictures of things we do on the weekend, or rooms around our house and she incorporates them into therapy.  She often reports how much he loves doing this.  

Tonight, I captured a few pictures of Colin making his bed that I emailed her so she will be able to use those actions for therapy.  

Despite the fact that I often go through phases when it comes to patience in this journey, I feel like I have calmed down a bit from my more recent posts and am back to my old self in terms of seeing progress.  I think sometimes I often forget about the little tiny pieces of the puzzle that often mean more than the "end result".  Grateful to see those little steps lately!