Tales From The Toybox

Kim, I hear you loud and clear on this one. Dublin had oral aversion from 6 months on. The Dr. thought it was due to his acid reflux (which is the reason his front 2 teeth are bad). But we later figured out it was because he had SPD (sensory perceptive disorder). I also hear you about the guilt link…I often kick myself over the one time I let him eat red food coloring in a popsicle etc. Expose Carson to a lot of messy foods, it helped Dublin with the frequent chocking and gagging to practice those motor-skills with a tablespoon of sticky molasses or jam etc.

About your comment on my blog, yes, those are my little babies! I have fallen madly in love with the craft of doll-making/reborning. You know you are first on my list of getting a free baby, so don’t worry about July coming around, my niece will have the prettiest one I can fashion. If you have locks of her hair I can even use those to root the dolls hair. I did that with Dublin, Lane shaved his head a few days ago If you want to learn about reborning, you’ll have to come out. i bought the DVD series and about $300 worth of Genesis paints so we can go to town while Lane and Reed are out riding…you are coming right…hint hint…:) xo

Remember the old saying, “Nobody never said that life wasn’t semi-tough”.

Hang in there!

Dad

Yes, “Nobody.” I remember you never saying that very well. I think we are making some progress. This morning we were able to get food down him with only screaming and very little gagging. He has developed quite an arm, though! He can slap that spoon so fast you don’t even see it coming!

Sheasa,

I wonder if this is hereditary??? Pat told me there is another family member on her side that had this too. I’ve never heard of it before. I’m not so sure Carson has true oral aversion, but he definitely has some of it. He’s just not consistent with his aversions. I’m thinking some of it is just plain stubborness. Like he will take a bottle of breast milk - no problem. It’s liquid, right? No texture, nothing to make it feel weird in his mouth. But try to give him the same bottle with fruit juice and he gags as if we’ve given him extra-crunchy peanut butter! I don’t understand it. That HAS to be the flavor, not the texture. Ugh! I’m going to take your advice about the messy foods, even if he just plays with it and doesn’t put it in his mouth. That might just help him become less scared of it anyway.

I can’t wait to see the babies!!!!! I don’t have any locks of Olivia’s hair. We can’t bare to cut it at this point, it’s just too long and silky. And, I would never in a million years expect a free baby. Too much time and money put into them. But, we can discuss that when we see you this summer. We are trying hard to work that all out.

Hi! I am a mother of a 4 yr old and almost 2 yr old triplets, one of whom has an oral aversion. We actually fed her for 6 months in her sleep to avoid using a feeding tube. She now at least tries just about any food. If you ever want to talk, please feel free to contact me. My biggest peice of completely unsolicited advice would be “don’t try to force him to eat.” I know this is hard, but it may actually help him to progress more quickly and trust you along the way. Try to make food fun, and not stressful for him. I don’t know your exact situation, and mommy knows best, so please take this with a grain of salt.

Anyway, congrats on the french fry!! (My daughter’s favorite food for a while was cheese puffs because they are yummy and dissolve quickly in your mouth. We were happy that she was eating ANYTHING!) Good luck and I feel your pain!!!

Hi Mandy,

Thank you so much for your comment and please excuse this late response!!! It seems lately we are having more and more good days…he’s putting more things (toys) in his mouth, we are able to get food down him without him gagging, etc., but we still cannot get him to willingly open his mouth to accept food. We have to “trick” him into eating either by making him laugh or waiting until he’s so frustrated he cries and opens his mouth. I know you said not to force him…but I’m so worried that he’s not eating!! When I do trick him into opening his mouth, like I said, he’s not nearly as gaggy about it as he was even a week ago.

Anyway, thangs again for the support and advice!