Eating and climbing

It never fails to amaze me how much I used to take the idea of eating orally for granted.  You just have no clue how difficult it really is to teach someone how to eat when they have never eaten with their mouth before.  

Babies can develop oral aversions for many reasons.  Evan just was never given the opportunity due to poor health while he still had his sucking reflex as a baby. Yes, they lose it. Add to that some reflux, and being intubated (on a ventilator) and (ironically) having a naso-gastric feeding tube, and you have a child that won't eat or drink. It takes time and patience for him to learn what is instinctual for most babies. 

That being said- OH MY GOD, I AM SO PROUD OF HIM! 

We started an experiment where we gave him formula through his feeding button only once in the morning and once in the evening.  The rest of the day we give him water through his g-button, since he's still not drinking, and let him experience cause and effect with hunger and eating. He's doing AWESOME. We started the "experiment" over two weeks ago, and have not looked back! He eats great through the day, chowing down on bread and peanut butter, cheese, crackers, soft meats, apples, bananas, etc.  We're working on expanding his food choices. 

I really can't express how amazing this is to me.  

I'm hoping that we can get him drinking sometime soon in the coming months.  

His little sister is 2 months in a few days. She has been fantastic, getting more and more expressive and sweet. 

She resembles her big brother an awful lot. 

Evan still isn't sure about her, but I think they'll be good buddies when she's big enough to play. 

In the meantime, he is FAR too busy climbing.  On everything. And running.  Because I needed a workout routine, obviously. 

In just a month, we will be celebrating two years since we began our crazy journey with Evan. <3