More Food?

I'm pretty sure this is what  Kaylee Grace is thinking every time I make another meal for her and call her in to eat.

We've been REALLY working on our eating over the last few months ~ well, we've been working on eating since she came home ;). 

But we've been really pushing her over the last few months. Some days we make great progress ~ like last week.....

I made a half of a PB & J and sliced a large strawberry. It was the first time she tired PB & J ...... And she liked it! Like, she actually asked for MORE on her own rather than me bribing her in one way it another ;)

She even put a bite or two in on her own :). This is huge because she is still really funny about touching most foods other than Cheerios or goldfish ;)

She worked and worked on getting it down ~ she doesn't quite have the oral ability to move the food to her side teeth to chew and therefore get it down. I put it in at her side teeth and it ends up right behind her front teeth- and stays there (even when she chews and chews- it just stays stuck there). 

So I put Cheerios in at her side teeth and have her drink LOTS of water....and eventually that bite gets down and we start again :). 

It takes about an hour for us to get a half of PB & J and 1 full strawberry down...

But here is what her plate looked like after an hour!!

If I do a slice of turkey and cheese, that takes more like 1 1/2-2 hours ~ same with the egg and strawberry we've been working on lately

She's not as into the egg~ but will let me put it in her mouth nonetheless ;)

Here's what her plate looked like last week after 2 hours....almost all gone! I was really proud of her!!

So, today when I busted out the egg and strawberry, she just didn't have it in her....we worked and worked (I offered reward after reward) ;). But we really didn't end up getting anywhere....

So, I finally gave in ~ which was hard for me ;). When it's something as essential as eating, I can get pretty determined ;). 

She kept asking to swim (even though it's early and only 64 degrees out) and I could tell she just wasn't going to help me out with the whole "feeding therapy" thing today......it had been over an hour and we hadn't really made any progress at all. 

So, I told her, "two more bites and finish your strawberry and we will go swimming"....she was ALL in! She got her two bites down cheerfully; without crying and refusing to open her mouth ;) and ate her strawberry and we were off~

And her happy smile appeared again :)

She really is working so hard....overall she has made such great progress! So I 

am praying that today was just one of our "off" days and we'll be back at it tomorrow ~ or maybe even this afternoon ;)))

We still supplement her with a packed full bottle about 4 times a day (depending on how much food she takes in with eating). We put yogurt, baby oatmeal, fruit squeeze pouches, coconut milk (she seems to be bothered by cow's milk) and even olive oil for some extra calories! 

I keep reminding myself of how far she has come~ she takes her bottles consistently so we no longer have to worry about dehydration or calorie intake, she lets us put different foods in her mouth and she tries to get them down, she drinks water throughout the day when I ask her to.....all steps in the right direction!

We praise Jesus for how He leads and guides us step by step everyday!