Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Michael has had a feeding tube since he was 7 months old. He resisted eating as a baby, and a lot of what he did eat would be spit up because of reflux. The doctors said he had "oral aversion", so he had NG tubes off and on throughout those first 7 months, but still spit up because of reflux. Needless to say, he just wasn't gaining the weight that he needed, so at 7 months he got a nissan (secures the opening to the stomach so that reflux isn't an issue anymore) and a G-tube.

Over the years, he has gone from resisting food in his mouth altogether, to licking the seasoning off chips and throwing the whole chip away, to chewing up the chip and throwing it away, to chewing and swallowing a few bites of foods, to wanting (and insisting) his own plate of food to eat bites of while the rest of us are eating dinner, to this:



Here is Michael, watching a Barney movie (that he picked out at the video store) and eating cheesy Pringles (that he asked for at the store!) (Notice our lab waiting for what Michael doesn't want anymore. She has become his best friend when he eats, because he has often given her the pre-licked or masticated popcorn, chips, etc.)

This is such a jump for him! He asked for the Pringles, then when we got to the car I opened the can and gave it to him to snack on on the way home. He ate several chips in the car and then in front of the tv. My hope is that he will keep making leaps and strides and be free of his G-tube in a few years.

Here is to my little tortoise whose motto is "slow and steady wins the race"!