Dylan and FOOD

Dylan is finally starting to make some progress with oral feeding. He definitely doesn't always love the whole process, but hopefully with time it will get better. We started with small tastes off my finger and in the last week he has finally decided to accept the spoon. This is a huge hurdle for Dylan. Before this, if he even saw the spoon he would start gagging at the sight. Now he actually opens his mouth for it! It is fascinating to watch because you can tell that he is trying really hard not to gag. He starts to, but he is learning to control it. He likes really strong tastes. Nothing boring or bland for this little man. This feeding business is a lot of work, but it makes us soooo happy to see him eat even just a few bites!

Dylan's favorites:

Yo-Baby yogurt
Sweet potatoes
Pears
Gerber yogurt melts (broken into tiny pieces)
Cheese puffs and gerber spicy tomato puffs(sucks the flavor off)
milk flavored with strawberry ice cream syrup (from a syringe)

Today has been his best day so far! In one sitting he ate...

-3/4 tsp yogurt
-3/4 tsp sweet potatoes
and 3 tastes strawberry flavored rice cereal

It looks like textures are going to be a challenge. He won't swallow anything that isn't smooth yet. Although, he is learning to move it from the back of his tongue to the front of his mouth to spit it out without gagging continually until he throws up!!!!

We're so proud of our little guy. This is such hard work for him and he is doing so well. I thought that I was pretty patient before, but through Dylan I'm pretty sure that I am mastering it! He is such a blessing to us. I can't wait until he is a teenager and "eating us out of house and home" and I can look back and see how far we've come.