STATE OF THE HENRY ADDRESS.

so, henry.

 

writing out the whole story so far for the sake of my memory...

 

because i already have a hard time remembering when it really started....

 

as a baby:

• he would nurse and then barf everything all over me. that was really fun. 
• he refused to take a bottle. we tried every kind possible. it was nuts. he would go all day at Irma's without eating anything and then nurse all night when he got home. it took him a few days, but he finally accepted the bottle. we called it "bottle bootcamp."
• he gagged and choked on babyfood. i remember trying to make him homemade babyfood - peas, avocado, etc. he choked and puked it up. he did okay on some, but generally hated eating.
• at one year, they told us to stop giving him a bottle with formula, that he needed to be on all milk. I'm still mad about this. he would not drink milk, and would not drink out of a sippy cup.
• finally found a sippy cup that he would drink from, but he refused to drink milk. only water, and that continues to this day. no milk, no juice, nothing.
• he was an early babbler - said mama, dada, papa, etc. so proud.

as a toddler:

• not a big eater
• very focused on tractors, making tractor noises ALL.THE.TIME.
• not a big talker. said a few words, but no two-word sentences.
• at three years, we started "feeding therapy" with cheri fraker in springfield. trips to springfield, mostly parent coaching, and a focus on food chaining. his bite was under developed, muscles around his lips under developed, but his swallowed looked good. given "chewies" to help his bite (he wouldn't touch) and told to use sippy cups with straws to develop the muscles around his mouth (which we did and it helped). the food chaining increased the offerings...chicken nuggets grew to popcorn shrimp, fries grew to tater tots, etc, but no real food breakthroughs. we are still struggling with eating.
• very much a no pressure eating environment. we present the food, and he either eats it or doesn't. can choose to eat all of one thing and none of the other, or all of it. whatever he wants, as long as he is eating. he is a selective eater, NOT a picky eater. he is literally afraid to eat things that he doesn't believe are safe. he will not even try anything new, period. and if the choice is to eat what's on the plate or not eat at all, he won't eat at all. will literally starve himself. so we give him safe foods that we know he will eat, and try to build up new foods one at a time. super fun.
• the appointments in springfield were proving to be a little bit too much time/money for the payoff. we asked for a speech/ot evaluation here in Jacksonville. hen now sees jill trone for speech therapy and anita fox for ot.
• the ot is to build up his gross and fine motor skills. also to deal with some mild sensory issues, transitions, etc. his core is pretty weak, but we're seeing lots of progress there.
• speech therapy is great. his speech has really improved.
• hopefully he will put on weight. he only weights 26 pounds, so pretty tiny.
• started him on omega-3/dha supplement (barleans omega swirl), probiotic (culturelle kid's chewable) and he is on a gummy d3 vitamin, but we will move to a d3, b-12, etc multi-vitamin when those run out.
• started using cedarwood essential oil on the back of his neck to help with focus, will start with vetiver pretty soon. also use valor (on hallie too!) to help with confidence, focus, etc. i love my oils :)

so that leads us to now. we are seeing HUGE progress in this tiny boy. the food is still an issue, but he has started eating larger quantities (of crap toddler food, but whatever!), which is great. he initiates the food, asks for more, etc. it's awesome. speech has improved a ton. his core is still pretty weak, but we're working on that. his sensory issues have faded a ton. he still hates transitions, but he accepts them and moves on with minimal grouching.

 

he is super smart. can spell his name, mommy, daddy, papa and nana. can sing his ABCs and count to 30 (skipping 13 & 14, every time). his fine motor skills need work, but he can now write an H, and works the ipad like it's his j-o-b. he is obsessed with the ipad. obsessed. we have to limit his screen time, or he would be on there all the freaking time.

 

potty training is still a thing. he will be dry all day long, go potty anytime you take him, and is starting to tell us when he needs to go. pooping is another issue. he struggles with constipation, especially after starting to eat more food. poor buddy. just can't win!

 

so there it is! henry!