We left off with a cliff hanger the last time we checked in with everyone!
So.... you'll be happy to know that when I visited my pediatrician I had gained some weight!
I weighed in at 23lbs 10oz and I am 34.5 inches high.
Mommy was happy to report that I am now asking to eat (however I haven't added anything new to my preferred list of foods in over 8 months).
My list of foods I eat:
Formula
Water
goldfish crackers
veggie stick chips
popcorn
crispy minis (cheddar flavour)
apple cinnamon cheerios
Reeses peanut butter puffs (cereal)
Heinz kids breakfast bars
mini go yogurt (strawberry, strawberry banana, strawberry vanilla, banana, and apple raspberry flavours)
Fries
Danino strawberry yogurt (from McDonaalds)
Oatmeal raisin cookies
cheddar cheese (medium and old)
Premium plus crackers
Whole wheat bread crust
So needless to say that when Dr. Rosner suggested making an appointment to have my tube removed Mommy just about fell off the hospital bed. Mommy said that the only thing that that concerned her was that if I stopped taking my formula for any reason I wouldn't be eating anything with the necessary vitamins that little ones need. Dr. Rosner said that we need to treat Ethan as normal as possible and that normal kids do not have peg tubes. Mommy chose to punt and defer that discussion for another two months.
Since then, I've had an appointment with my feeding ladies. This time the report was good and I was eating. It's funny though that I seem to bounce back and forth from eating to not eating every time they come to visit, I'm not one for consistency when it comes to eating. Mommy asked them how they felt about the tube removal discussion and they said they're usually super excited when the suggestion comes up however in my case, I'm a very rigid little one when it comes to eating so they agreed I needed time. They added that usually even if the decision to remove the tube is a go, it often takes some time to actually book the surgery. The plan was to continue sensory play and pursue more exposures to foods. Same ol' stuffs.
Speaking of sensory play, I have just finished a four week block of sensory therapy at Kidsability. I was going once a week for 30 minute sessions with Lori. My goals were to stop making disgusted faces when exposed to wet sand, cotton balls, paint, and cooked macaroni. And how did we do you ask? Well, we're not the best, but obviously we're not the worst, this is why we're being discharged! Make room for the more disgusted face makers! The reality is that we've hit a wall in the therapies we can do there as I seem to know be ok with textures when we're dealing with toys but when it comes to food, I know its food and the shields come up and I run screaming to another room. Sadly, Kidsability doesn't provide any therapies that focus on food.
As you know, I have been on a waiting list at Kidsability for a speech assessment since I was 12 months old. My assessment came last October and the suggested path was to start a program called Target Words aimed at training my parents in how to teach me words. This was to start this past April. As you may recall, this program was cancelled the very day it was to begin. During my daycare meeting, Mommy brought up the cancellation to Lori and she forwarded the update to the speech assessment lady who made another appointment. This past Friday was the next assessment where after some quick checks on my progress we were given to possible paths and we could choose only one. The first was another group program in which I would participate with my parents and other children my age and older. The program would focus on play based activities to promote specific words. Regrettably, I'm not much for group activities and I seem to be intimidated by other kids' skills. This option would begin some time in the fall or winter. Option two would be to join another waiting list for an individual speech language pathologist at Kidsability. The time frame for this avenue is typically eight months. We've yet to make a decision; we have until Tuesday.
In other news, Mommy enrolled me in Adults and Tots swim class. We go Monday and Wednesday nights for 30 minutes. The first day went better than anticipated especially since I have not had any time in the pool since I was only 10 months old. The second day however was not so good. I didn't really feel like doing anything I was told. I was the only one who abstained from using my life jacket. I should note that I'm the oldest in my class and the other kids haven't developed that independent thought thing yet, nor have they mastered the use of the word "no". Also, the man who conducted the second class wasn't very organized and didn't come ready with a plan. He pretty much said welcome to class, please feel free to jump on the desks.
Finally, Mommy has been trying to get me to where a different hat. Not that my straw fedora isn't awesome, but I need to get used to different hats. She has now saddled by brow with a sweet new jeep hat that I where with pride. Check out the pic!
Happy Canada Day!
