Miracles

Andrew has really made progress with his oral aversion! And what is he eating here? A wad of rice crispy treats that didn't turn out so great, but he really enjoyed it. He loves to try whatever we're eating now. Most of the time he likes it, as long as you start with it on your finger. He's not big on spoons yet, and we only give him tastes of things. He doesn't eat enough to count as nutrition.
A few days after I posted last he caught on to the bottle and has done great with it!! He has off days, but most of the time will drink most or all of what I offer him. It still takes him a very long time, relative to other kids his age. It takes 20-30 minutes for him to drink 2 ounces.
We finally had our appointment with the Dysphagia clinic last week. (Our NICU therapist scheduled it before we left the hospital and the wait was this long). We met with a GI Dr., a speech therapist, dietitian, and psychologist. They were all amazed with what we've been able to do. When we told them that he'd been gagging and heaving for several months, they were even more amazed. Dr. O'Gorman said that kids who gag and heave like that have a really hard time with oral things. Andrew likes his bottle now, and will reach for it and put it in his mouth when he sees it.
The team recommended that we try to stretch his stomach 5 cc's a day, which is a big jump from the 1cc I had been doing. He's tolerated it very well. He sometimes seems a little uncomfortable right after I add volume through his tube, but it resolves pretty quickly. We're currently at 66 cc's, which is just over 2 ounces. For every 1.5 ounces we increase, we can take an hour off his time on the J feed with the pump. So if everything goes very smooth, we'll have him on the pump at night only about Christmas time. That will be awesome for him, because I expect that he'll be crawling before then, and you can't get very far attached to a 4 ft tube. :)
So far he's not throwing up, or even spitting up AT ALL!! I still hear the reflux sometimes, especially with tastes of our food, but he doesn't seem bothered by it.

Drew adores Tyler, and Tyler loves playing with Drew. The other day we were driving and with Drew still rear-facing, they were looking at each other and taking turns making the other laugh.

Drew is also sitting well now, which has made him a lot happier. He will sit for long period of time and be very content as long as he can see me. He still has big time separation anxiety, and will cry as soon as I say, 'I'll be right back.' or when he realizes that I've walked out of the room.

This month should be much slower for us. We only have one trip to Primary's planned vs. the four we made in Sept!! I'm really looking forward to the free time.