Speech Therapy Appointment

     We were initially referred to speech therapy for feeding support. When Leo was in the NICU with an ng tube and starting to work towards feeding on his own orally, a speech pathologist was the one who came to his bedside and worked with him (and us) doing paci-dips. Now look where we are! Since leaving the hospital, our pediatrician has been monitoring his feeds and weight gain. Seeing as Leo is taking all of his food orally and is working on breastfeeding, I had asked our pediatrician if we still needed this appointment. He said it would be good to go be seen by them, and mentioned the added benefit of asking about his cry (or lack thereof). So, there's the background for our appointment. 

    I explained as briefly as I could Leo's history, where he was at with feeding, and his journey to get there. She asked questions to get the correct details. And I mentioned that he doesn't cry. Her response was, "Well, that's a new one for me!" And my response (in my head) was, "Well great, I thought you were the one to give me some answers on this." So I got the bottle out to feed him so that she could see how he was and hear his whimpers, grunts, and squirms. 

    Here's what she told me. He was calm when taking the bottle which was really good. He seems very capable and accepting of the bottle. She gave me some tips on how to make sure that we are feeding him at his pace and not forcing stuff in his mouth. With his experience being intubated and such, it's important that we give him positive oral experiences so that he connects swallowing to getting food. When I put him on my shoulder to burp him, she said, "There it is! There's his cry. I'm happy with that." Basically, she heard his vocal chords working and confirmed for us that his vocal chords are not damaged. So that's good news; however we are still wondering what sort of muscle control he has over them. Perhaps the hypo or hypertonia is present in his vocal chords. The other thing she looked at was his muscle tone. She asked what the doctor has been saying about his muscle tone. She said he looks very normal. And this comment stuck with me and makes me smile every time I think about it, "I'm going to be honest with you," she said, "he doesn't look like a neuro baby."

    Lastly, she told us that we don't need to go back! I have her information if I have any questions, but she doesn't see a need to continue to see Leo. People, this feels like good news after good news. I'm amazed by our little fighter, continuing to surprise the doctors. We are so grateful for where he is at. 

    Though he is not "crying" as we are all used to hearing, I believe God has been answering the prayers. Those vocal chord muscles are getting stronger. Praise God! He does have a cry.

    Nights are going well. He's a good sleeper. Breastfeeding is going well. We will see about his weight gain on Monday. 

    Every now and then Brad and I have more difficult days. Personally, it feels like I'm juggling a lot of balls and I can't let any of them drop. Well, every now and then I feel like I just can't keep up with everything and I'm struggling. That's when my mom or one of my sisters will come over and spend the night with us to let us get a little more sleep. What a gift community is. We don't have to do everything by ourselves.