I guess I must have caught him in a good mood last night, because I actually got him to taste some cake. Well, actually, the frosting. It was whipped cream, and there was a little bit of strawberry in it too. It's so funny because I just got an email yesterday afternoon, from the occupational therapist. She was making suggestions on things to do to get LJ to start exploring foods. Here is what she had to say:
"Joshua is a beautiful and very bright little boy – he has tremendous potential and I genuinely believe that will go on to do great things in this world. His loving nature, playful personality, determination to master the things that are important and meaningful to him, and the loving support that he receives at home will take him very far!
I did want to share some of those feeding suggestions, as we had talked about….the main thing is to get him comfortable with handling foods and sticky non-food items (e.g. shaving crème) …. this will really help with the ongoing desensitization.
OK, here goes….
1. Encourage Joshua to play with tactile media such as shaving cream, play doh, and silly putty. He may need to touch these things with gloves on, or using wooden or plastic spoons
2. Involve Joshua in play with food to help desensitize him to the feel of different foods. Paint with, or drive trucks through, pudding or jelly, cool-whip or whipped cream on a tray – have wipes available or wet facecloths so that he knows he can clean his hands.
3. Starting with thicker foods such as jelly, mashed potato, peanut butter, or thick Greek yogurt, place small dots of food on Joshua’s lips and encourage him to “find” them with his tongue.
4. Progress from licking potato chips to dry foods that melt such as cheese puffs or bits of arrowroot cracker – he can gently nibble or suck on these (the crumbs will disperse in his mouth.)
5. Offer thicker foods (mashed potato, scrambled eggs) and encourage him to try very small amounts. You can vary the taste by adding salt/pepper or small amounts of hot or barbecue sauce, or ketchup.
6. Have wipes and a bowl available for him to spit food into if he needs to when trying new food.
7. Keep a list of new foods (with pictures if you can.) Encourage him to separate the foods he likes from the ones he doesn’t (e.g. on the refrigerator.) Use this to talk about food and also as a menu to help him choose items to try again. Introduce vocabulary words to help him talk about the tastes and textures that he doesn’t like.
8. Reward food bravery in ways that will be meaningful to him. Examples include offering a sticker whenever he tries something new, or accruing tokens towards a small toy or other incentive."
Then, last night, we were having birthday cake, and LJ asked for his slice, like he always asks for food, but he started playing with it this time, instead of pushing it away. Then.... he put the spoon to his lips, and licked it!!! SUCCESS!!!! I was in shock, it's been so long since he tasted things. This is such a big deal for my baby. I am so happy for him.
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| My baby was taring up that whip cream |
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