Swallow Therapy - Take 1

Today was our first appointment with the speech and swallow therapist. We learned a lot and it relieves me to know that I am not crazy and there really is an issue that needs professional help. She watched him eat from his bottle and then progressed to trying to get him to put a spoon in his mouth and then a spoon with something on it. Needless to say, he did what he always does and refused to even open his mouth once there was food on the spoon. She did get a spoon in his mouth with nothing on it and she said that he was trying to move his tongue to the sides of his mouth instead of stabilizing the spoon in the middle of his mouth like he was supposed to.

Since eating is just one of those things that we do and don't think about I'm having a really difficult time trying to figure out how to break it down into manageable parts for him. She gave us a lot of little things to do over the next couple weeks to try and get him moving forward so hopefully those are successful. We will be adding a spoon to his toy box and to his bath toys so that he gets more used to it during play time. We will also be trying to get him to let us put our fingers in his mouth and anything else he will let us put in there easily. I am also going to try and let him play with food while in his highchair to get used to the new textures and just hope that he puts some in his mouth by mistake. We tried it today, see for yourself how it went! He did put his hand in his mouth once and immediately started spitting it out. Poor kid, he really doesn't know what he's missing!

Oh my!

This is what happens when daddy dresses Taylor!

Need a laugh?

I love this kid!! It just doesn't get any better than this. He is 8 months old today and we are still not eating at all. However, I did FINALLY feel a tooth tonight so maybe we are getting closer. He is pulling up on anything he can find and trying really hard to stand alone and walk. He stood by himself without holding on to anything for about 2-3 seconds today before he reached for the couch. I am excited to see how things continue to change but I'm a little nervous about how quickly it is all happening.

Tough night

I'm having a rough time tonight. Bryan went on a camping trip with our church for the weekend and Taylor is with my parents. This is the first night that I have spent away from him and it hit me pretty hard as my parents and I were driving in opposite directions. I have a lot to do tonight and tomorrow before I go pick him up to get the house clean and ready for our bonfire next weekend. I am trying to stay busy and not think about it too much so that I don't go crazy and pick him up at 5am! Of course he did fine and went to bed like a champ. I'm sure that he is loving every minute of this adventure. I know that some of my favorite memories as a kid were Friday nights when my sister, brother and I spent the night at our grandparents house. I am looking forward to a full night of sleep and not being woken up at 5 or 6am!

My little inchworm

This is a video of Taylor crawling today, sorry it's sideways! He's been doing it for a while now but he's getting faster every day. He's also pulling up on everything, including his crib. He was standing in the corner playing with his mobile at 4:30 this morning when I went in to feed him. I just can't believe how fast he is growing and changing.

Favorite photos

These are a few of my favorites from Taylor's 6-month photo session. Thank you very much Teresa's Photoworks!