Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Don't fall over from the shock of it all ....

If you know me very well at all,you would know that I am a notorious therapy slacker when it come to the little love.I hate,absolutely hate, seeing her have to work and I don't mind admitting it either.But I seriously have to get over myself.And I'm trying.Really I am.In the the quest to do just so, I have,for the past 3 weeks running,Monday and Tuesday of each week,at 8 am,gotten Miss Zoey to PT.Insert applause here please.See for yourself the evidence that follows and while your at it,would you look at the child's face?Agony,fear and loathing?I think not.Each day she greets everyone with the biggest smile,the princess wave and immediately signs music,instructing them to flip on the boom box to listen to some of her favorite tunes.Notice the one picture,where the ever patient Miss Wendy is receiving the patent stink eye from the girl.Trademark look of Zoey's,always followed by that melt your heart smile.But work she does,while she is there and I am determined to put my slacking ways in the past.







But as long as we are being honest,I only feel it right to tell you that I have blown off OT entirely.I am fairly confident I have the tools to do most of it myself.Coupled with what she gets at school,I think we are good for now.Feeding is our main focus.Which continues to be mostly slow and mostly a no go.I did order this cup, and a new one of this cup and the honey bear bottle as well.I am changing up my game plan for now and hoping I can get the stubborn thing to instead drink, since we have been working diligently on the food for a year now and we still are spinning our wheels.Frustrating to me.Especially because she use to be an oral feeder and was a master nurser.Today we were at Starbucks,surprise,surprise and I gave her a few licks of cream cheese and you would have thought I gave her dirt,which,on some occasions she HAS actually eaten and has hardly seemed phased by it at all!Dirt,sand and licking floors but no food ... go and figure.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hate to even ask this, but is it possible that the chemo from leukemia damaged her taste buds? Maybe things don't taste the same to Zoey as they do to us??? Or maybe she's gotten so used to not eating that she just doesn't want to. On a happier note, good job on the therapy. She is such a cutie.

Kristin said...

I get Max to his appts, it's just the inbetween when we're home without someone looking in on us that we're slackin (and he only has PT at the moment)!

Lacey said...

Sweet girl! I can't wait to see her again next month, and a little playmate for her to play with!

Rochelle said...

Applause, applause, applause for both of you. She looks like she is having a great time at PT.
Hoping the drinking comes along nicely, maybe that will spark her eating interests? Praying for you guys.

Ivey's Mom said...

So when are you moving to Georgia? I would really love to have someone else in my court. Yeah, not Ivey's but mine. I am not a therapy fanatic. We do more than the average and she is doing great, getting stuff at school so I refuse to do private. You would think I committed a murder. For Pete's sake, the feeding thing, yikes. Not happening around here and (shhh) I dont care.. Her life is hard, the tube is one of the only really easy things she has. And guess what, the rest of the world eats socially, but she doesn't see it barely hears it and could give a rip about sitting down to a table for a meal. It is pointless to her. (Did I mention my MIL is a speech therapist. Really. Okay - do the PT, but do what you can, and don't make the family revove around therapy - its not normal. Love to you. G

Unknown said...

I totally get your point on the OT...I wonder most of the time if it is just a waste of my time to have her OT come out...I am pretty confident I can help her do the things they work on but then I feel guilty and just go on with it...Zoey is so beautiful and I just love seeing her beautiful smile...YOU are a wonderful mom and inspire me to do better...thanks for sharing...

Runningmama said...

Adorable pictures...I too hate putting Emily to work during her PT sessions...lately she is just choosing to crawl away in an effort to not participate HAHA

Angi said...

My niece Syren will be 3yrs old in January and is still G-Tube fed...however, they do give her whatever she shows even remote interest in (maybe even dirt,lol) her latest...a taste of a chip and sip of daddy's soda...she is also in a Montessori preschool and sits with the kids at lunch...they think it is helping...good luck with the princess...lover her!

Cammie Heflin said...

I love the stink eye!!! Next time ask me before you order stuff!!!! I have ALL of those tools, cups etc. !!!! Good luck! Addy's session didn't go well, d*$m C-diff!

Tina said...

I hate to admit it but I'm a bit of a PT slacker myself, just can't bear to put her through it at times. She certainly doesn't enjoy it unlike what I see from the pictures of Miss Zoey. Saira has become so obstinate that we just can't get her to do anything she doesn't want to. It's quite an ordeal at times. Perhaps we are at the wrong therapist!

Zoey seems to be enjoying herself from the looks of her beautiful beaming smile, and I do know how much it will help them in the long run, so we must keep at it....unfortunately!!

Jamie said...

OMg for real. I am right there with you. I dropped out of Feeding therapy thinking it was so stupid watching a 20-something young girl "try to feed madie"...Feeding is STILL an issue with Madie. Wont chew food..holds pure' in her mouth and wont swallow..suckles her food down with her thumb and pointer in her mouth..*sigh. I too hate watching her struggle...but I get usually good reports from school that madie did great in her PT and OT...
Still Loves her BOttle....sigh. cant hold a sippy...:( dunno kiddo. Keep workin on it.

Anna said...

Heather, thanks for being real. We no sooner got off the airplane and people were asking about school! I mean REALLY?! She doesnt even know how to be part of a family or what a momy really is and I am going to send her off to school?! Thankfully the Dr could hear where I was and was pleased with the progress we were making and didnt even suggest anything. G got her contacts last week and they were wanting her to recieve OT at their office. Our ins wont cover it and its $180 per session! I politely called and cancelled the appt. Dont know what we will do now. Sigh.

Sweet Pea's Mommy said...

I am so happy that Zoey is enjoying her PT! She should teach Sweet Pea a lesson or two!

As for the new cups, you are going to have to let us know if you like the recessed lid cup. I've been contemplating buying one, but at $11 a pop it seems a bit pricey. I don't think I'm going to have a choice though!

Anonymous said...

APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE Miss Z! Love seeing you upright and you obviously love to go to this place and hang out with Wendy. Yep Mom, gotta get over it. hug/hug)

Good luck with the eating though - 2 tough mountains to climb, but Miss Z I JUST know you will conquer this as you have everything else in the past two years. ATTITUDE (positive) girly, and boy oh boy do you have it.....

Love it

Aunt Bluebelle

PS Just heard the "s" word on newscast - possible snow showers this evening. ARRGH!!!!

The VW's said...

HMMM? Cream cheese or dirt for dinner?.....You silly girl! Gavin unfortunately agrees with you though! Keep working hard Miss Zoey! You are ADORABLE!!! Hugs!!

Becca said...

My husband stayed at home with Samantha for her first 3 years, and was always there for her therapies, which I am grateful for because he pushed her so much harder than I would ever do. I, too, hated to see her work! We never got an OT that we really liked, so we relied on what she got in school, which eventually worked just fine. Great pics - Zoey's got the most beautiful, radiant smile!! Feeding? Can't help you there, but I totally have seen that "you just gave me dirt" look, too, when giving Samantha something perfectly delicious. If she wasn't expecting it, she automatically rejected (and still often rejects) it. Grrrr...

Bea Braun said...

Oh my gosh that second picture is soooo funny. That's our little Zoey, let's you know what she's thinking! You're an amazing mom, therapy or not!

SECRET PEPPER PERSON: said...

We have the blue cut out or "nosey" cup. She hates it.

Unknown said...

I knew there was a reason I liked you. I've blown off so many therapies. OT? Never even went there with either of my kids. As for Moise, he can't hear, can't talk, can't walk and I'm supposed to get worked up over how he holds a spoon? Nah, I'll pass. He's now testing at his age level in computer and technology skills. Here's another secret...I blew off the whole freakin' summer of PT because I was just plain too tired. I "fired" his feeding therapist long ago because she seemed to lack a brain. Contrary to the advice and docs and therapists, I took out his G tube balloon one day-and left it out. Nearly gave everyone a heart attack :)Now he's a red blooded carnivore, eating anything and everything in site.
We need the therapists for some guidance, that's for sure. But the best therapy takes place right at home. No one knows them like we do and some times it's okay to opt for easiest when life is just plain hard.

BTW. Love the stink eye. Laynee had an eye too. An eye that said "you know I'm just going to have to do something bad." Oh how I miss that "badness eye"

Shelly Turpin said...

Between them, the girl have 11 therapy appointments a week. But they are ALL here at home - I could never do it outside of the house - don't know how you do that! I often think of you and wonder if we are overdoing it. :) I love how happy that sweet girl of yours is and I ponder that!! We have worked for a year on sensory issues with Bella - just to be able to now touch her face. Sensory issues get us with both of the girls.
Love those pictures of Zoey!