Family Visit! Week 5/6

It’s official… I am the world’s worst blogger. I know, I’m sorry. I am three weeks behind!!! Ayden has been keeping me VERY busy. Since I have sooooo much to catch up on, get ready for a lengthy post (no, it won’t, I’m still doing week to week). Go get your snacks, drinks, blanket, and get comfortable. Let me start where I left off. The week of August 23rd- the 27th. That was going into Ayden’s 6th week of treatment.

Okay, so this was a good week. My husband and youngest son Micah came to Atlanta to visit us! Antonio’s parents also came, which REALLY made Ayden’s day. I literally damn near cried, witnessing how excited Ayden was to see his family. He was in his wagon when we first met up with them. Ayden jumped out of that wagon so fast when he saw his Paw-Paw! He ran straight to him. There was no holding him back. He was so happy and surprised to see all of them. They made it to town during our lunch break, and it was actually time for us to return to the clinic. Ayden did NOT want to leave them to go back and continue to work on feeding. But we made it through (I'm including pics of Ayden and his Paw-Paw riding around in the wagon at the clinic and Micah trying to tell Antonio to come on, lol.).

Ayden is starting to show steady improvement. He is still accepting just peaches and strawberries but having a difficult time with swallowing anything. Ayden would just hold the food in his mouth and would take forever to swallow it IF he did at all. So, in a nutshell, we’d reach another plateau of accepting food but not really consuming the food.

So, Ayden’s treatment team decided on a plan to try different feeding utensils that could be used instead of a spoon to promote a good swallow. And the winning utensil was… a large Nook Brush! When our family was here, they were able to see how a regular meal with Ayden looked. They also got a chance to see the process of figuring out what works for him to swallow (I missed it all!). This week was an exciting week for us. Not only did we spend time with our family, but Ayden is finally accepting and swallowing the food presented to him.

Now, Ayden accepting this took me by complete surprise. I’ve seen the small blue and white nook brush that anyone can buy from Walmart or something, but I did not know that people could eat meals with them. Ayden went from taking a bite once every five minutes with “possibly” swallowing after each one to taking a bite every 30 seconds with an immediate swallow (within 3 seconds of accepting the bite).

Ayden’s progress started off very slow but is starting to take off. I have been so happy with how he is doing. Having family here has really motivated him. He is so happy. I dread seeing his disappointment once everyone leaves. I’m dreading my own feelings of missing my family myself. We are definitely busy here, but we still have time for our feelings. This treatment is stressful for Ayden and having his father, brother, and grandparents here was a wonderful distraction.

By the time Thursday came, I was a mess. I did not want to see them leave, and I knew Ayden would be sad waking up to see them gone. I was afraid that he would not have a good day with a treatment and not want to work, or even worse… regress with his progress. However, just the opposite happens. Well, kind of. Ayden was sad when he woke up and saw that everyone was gone. He walked all over the apartment and opened all the doors. Once he figured they were gone, he just sat on the sofa and rocked really hard and really fast for a long time. I felt horrible. He started the day off in his own world but soon started to come out of his shell. We started taking more bites and swallowing much faster with each meal. By Friday, it was decided that we would try adding food to his menu. Typically, the program wants to see each client leave with at least 16 different foods, 4 from each food group. Ayden is just at 2, and both were fruit. We have a long way to go, lol.

Overall, this was a good week. We got to see our family, and I feel that really gave Ayden a motivation boost. I missed Micah so much, and I was glad to see him. He is talking so much and getting so big! I can’t wait to get back home to Antonio and Micah. We’re almost halfway through this program!

Just as a disclaimer, my pics this week were not the best. I was too busy living the moment to take pictures. I'm sorry. I hate it now that I think about it, but ole well. My memories in my head will have to do it for me. Just take my word on it, it was a wonderful visit! Next post coming sooner rather than later!