Lynn Howard

Ethan has had a good week. He went to OT and speech therapy today. It is going to be a long road before he will eat anything. He will hold a cookie, cracker or something of that nature between his lips for a little while but does not like anything with a mushy texture (pudding, mashed potatoes, grits, etc). If you put some on his lips, he will grab a napkin or whatever is in reach and wipe it off. If he can't wipe it off he will hold his mouth open so his lips won't touch. We put chapstick on him to try to desensitize his lips and he held his mouth open for a long time. About 30 minutes later, he had his back to me and I called his name. He turned around with that mouth open and was drooling up a storm. I wish I had a picture of it. It's not funny but then it is at the same time; the look on his face. You can't help but laugh (secretly of course). He doesn't like anything like this on his hands or anywhere on his body. (Although he doesn't seem to mind a dirty diaper). We are working with finger paints and he gets so upset at having it on his hands. Sometimes he will put the tip of his index finger between his lips and suction it so you can't put anything in his mouth. He is figuring things out. His therapists still call him the little engineer. Maybe he will go to engineering school one day. He's going to be a tough little cookie in the eating department. That's ok, though. We have a lot of patience and are just grateful he is doing as well as he is. Potty training is another story, but he is interested. We'll see how that goes. We just keep letting him sit on the potty; sometimes with clothes on and sometimes without. Whichever he is in the mood for. We are not pushing too hard for that, just whatever he seems ready for. But as long as he is interested we will keep working with him and maybe we will hit that window where it clicks with him. Just enjoying the summer. He does like the pool. Last year he wouldn't go near it. That's a big change. He loves the water; he even helped me wash the car this evening. He kept playing in the bucket with the soap in it. That's about it for now. As always, voting and praying for all CDH babies and families.