Re: WAS Hello from Oregon NOW Eating issues

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 7/17/2007 12:50:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

smterrill@... writes:

it was on our plate and

safe for her to try, she got a sample. We did sensory

therapy on her hands to help with the adversion to

picking up certain types of foods. Part of our oral

motor included sensory therapy in her mouth

We did that with Micah. When he was 6 months old I would put all the

different foods that we were having and were safe for him ie. mashed poitatoes,

custard, pudding, peas etc. so that he would do all the exploring he needed to

but it didn't work. Our first SLP wanted us to force feed him which I

refused to do...still would even knowing how badly he has food sensitivities.

I

would never force feed any of my kids. Then she told me to starve him lol.

There is a difference between starving him and giving him everything we ate

plus one thing that he liked. No in between snaacking. Micah also has reflux

which we only discovered after he had pneumonia and was in hospital 4 times.

Ped said no I said yes and took him to gastro. Pretty bad reflux..he came

off al asthma meds and went on acid reflux meds which helped him but not his

eating. The new thing we are trying is having him kiss one new food a day. Yes

you read that right...kiss. We figure it is a slow way to introduce new

textures to his lips in a non-threatening way that will not cause him to gag or

spit. He has to do this before he eats what he likes. It is a struggle but

he does it...we wil see how it progresses. This is such a huge issue for so

many kids with DS. He goes off to school every day with either spaghetti

(which the SLP told me not to feed him cause that is one food most don't

like..thank goodness I didn't listen as it is his favorite food), mac and

cheese or

pasta pickups. That is it no variation. Can ypou imagine what they are

thinking lol! Oh well it's a process.

Loree

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[Guest guest]

I wanted to mention Resource ThickenUp for anyone

considering Thick It. You can get this OTC at

Walgreens and CVS. The only place I've found the Thick

It OTC was at a compounding pharmacy.

has been on thickened liquids since 5 months.

We started at a honey-pudding consistency and are down

to a thin-nectar consistency. (for reference: we

started with 1 1/2 tsp per oz of liquid and are down

to 1/2 a tsp per ounce).

With we started oral motor therapy and speech

at 6 months. The early intervention was wonderful. At

27 months, eats better than her typical

cousins.

We were told by the therapist and doctor to put

EVERYTHING in front of her. If it was on our plate and

safe for her to try, she got a sample. We did sensory

therapy on her hands to help with the adversion to

picking up certain types of foods. Part of our oral

motor included sensory therapy in her mouth.

For anyone having feeding issues early - get the help

now. Find a really good oral motor therapist as well

as speech and occupational therapists that know about

sensory issues.

~

--- Original Message ---

From: RSYOSH@...

Subject: WAS Hello from Oregon NOW Eating

issues

>I didn't catch all of the original email but I'm

reiterating what Lorrie

>said - get professional intervention NOW. Also get

him checked out to make sure

>nothing medically is going on like reflux. It can be

very subtle but because

>it causes the child pain when he eats he'll develop

an aversion to eating

>solids that might not go away easily even after the

condition has been treated.

>

>There is a product called " Thick-it " which is good

for gradually helping

>develop a tolerance for textures. You can buy it over

the counter at places like

>Target or buy online

[Guest guest]

Every area is different - but look around and see if

there is a place offering facial massage. We did this

on our own with . You can buy books with

simple techniques or even take a class on the subject.

The speech therapist showed us how to make face

washing after dinner a time for massage and facial

stimuation. We used chewy tubes and nuk brushes with

Sammy for further stimulation - and they were/are

great for periods of teething.

For sensory we were told to not clean her face and

hands immediately. This was to give her time to

realize there was food there and then she could try to

lick off her lips or fingers. If she is hesitant to

pick up something - I will smash her finter into the

food item and then show her she can lick her fingers.

Very slowly, she is getting the hang of utensils, but

she is mostly a self-finger-feeder at this point. We

still don't clean her up right away. I figure a little

extra oral motor won't hurt her in the long run.

I try very hard to buy healthy snacks for .

Early on I wanted to keep her away from junk foods -

but her therapist pointed out that those textures are

things she needed to be exposed to and the earlier the

better. I went looking and found healthier solutions

to things like chips, ice cream, cakes, and cookies.

Try a health food store or a speciality market.

When all else fails - I resorted early on to making

smoothies. This was in that period when had

very poor oral motor control and hadn't really gotten

the hang of chewing. She did great with thick liquids

and soft foods...but the options were limited. I used

my blender and made smoothies with fresh fruits,

veggies and included oat bran for fiber and flax seed

oil for a laxative. I used yogurt, milk and 100% juice

for the liquid portion. It introduced her to lots of

new flavors and a HUGE variety of foods. To this day -

the kid will gladly take anything in smoothie form.

~

--- Original Message ---

From: " DeAnn Schmelz " <rndschmelz2@...>

smterrill@...

Subject: Re: WAS Hello from Oregon NOW Eating issues

>Excellent! Robby's therapist worked alot with waking

his mouth and I

>didn't realize it was to help him eat, and I like the

idea of putting

>everything in front of him. We haven't had a

highchair here because

>there is just not a whole lot of room in my uncles

apt (our temp

>place to stay till we sell our house in MN) but I

think I'm just

>going to squeeze it in somewhere and start back doing

all the things

>the therapists were doing with him in MN. He started

eating, but when

>we travelled out here he regressed a little, so we

will pick it back

>up. Thank you so much for the support! I am very

grateful to all of

>you and all your advice.

>DeAnn

[Guest guest]

Loree,

How old is Micach?

You mention teeth brushing and

hair cuts...we also have a

terrible time. Sammy just

HATES brushing her teeth. We

stick with it each night and

just do our best to make it a

game...never works, she cries

and then wants away and goes

to pout. If I'm lucky - she

will take the tooth brush and

try to brush her own teeth,

then lets us finish up and do

the real brushing. I figure

little progress is still

progress, so we try and are

always looking for new

tactics.

~

Re: WAS

Hello from Oregon NOW Eating

issues

In a message dated 7/17/2007

12:50:15 PM Eastern Daylight

Time,

smterrillprodigy (DOT)

<mailto:smterrill%40prodigy.ne

t> net writes:

it was on our plate and

safe for her to try, she got a

sample. We did sensory

therapy on her hands to help

with the adversion to

picking up certain types of

foods. Part of our oral

motor included sensory therapy

in her mouth

We did that with Micah. When

he was 6 months old I would

put all the

different foods that we were

having and were safe for him

ie. mashed poitatoes,

custard, pudding, peas etc. so

that he would do all the

exploring he needed to

but it didn't work. Our first

SLP wanted us to force feed

him which I

refused to do...still would

even knowing how badly he has

food sensitivities. I

would never force feed any of

my kids. Then she told me to

starve him lol.

There is a difference between

starving him and giving him

everything we ate

plus one thing that he liked.

No in between snaacking. Micah

also has reflux

which we only discovered after

he had pneumonia and was in

hospital 4 times.

Ped said no I said yes and

took him to gastro. Pretty bad

reflux..he came

off al asthma meds and went on

acid reflux meds which helped

him but not his

eating. The new thing we are

trying is having him kiss one

new food a day. Yes

you read that right...kiss. We

figure it is a slow way to

introduce new

textures to his lips in a

non-threatening way that will

not cause him to gag or

spit. He has to do this before

he eats what he likes. It is a

struggle but

he does it...we wil see how it

progresses. This is such a

huge issue for so

many kids with DS. He goes off

to school every day with

either spaghetti

(which the SLP told me not to

feed him cause that is one

food most don't

like..thank goodness I didn't

listen as it is his favorite

food), mac and cheese or

pasta pickups. That is it no

variation. Can ypou imagine

what they are

thinking lol! Oh well it's a

process.

Loree

******************************

******** Get a sneak peek of

the all-new AOL at

http://discover.

<http://discover.aol.com/memed

/aolcom30tour>

aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

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message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

Teeth Brushing -

We have failed 100% on getting Trent to brush his teeth - I have even given

up on doing it for him - very hard to clean teeth the way he holds his

mouth, lips firmly wrapped around his teeth.

Don't give up at this point but supplement the brushing with healthy eating.

My youngest is a Dental Assistant and her boss recently was able to do a

check-up and clean (in the past no way would he go into the Dentists

surgery). Dennis was impressed overall with the condition of his teeth -

has a couple of fillings and a broken tooth which needs to be removed - all

under anesthetic. One thing he did say - his diet must be very good for

his teeth to be in such condition. I also attribute certain foods with

natural cleaning - we all know apples are good I also wonder if cooked

tomato is a natural cleaner. He does eat a lot of spaghetti bolognaise.

is Sammy young enough to work on a star system for brushing her own

teeth?

Keep smiling

Jan , mother of Trent 23yo w/DS from the LandDownUnder

Re: WAS

Hello from Oregon NOW Eating

issues

In a message dated 7/17/2007

12:50:15 PM Eastern Daylight

Time,

smterrillprodigy (DOT)

<mailto:smterrill%40prodigy.ne

t> net writes:

it was on our plate and

safe for her to try, she got a

sample. We did sensory

therapy on her hands to help

with the adversion to

picking up certain types of

foods. Part of our oral

motor included sensory therapy

in her mouth

We did that with Micah. When

he was 6 months old I would

put all the

different foods that we were

having and were safe for him

ie. mashed poitatoes,

custard, pudding, peas etc. so

that he would do all the

exploring he needed to

but it didn't work. Our first

SLP wanted us to force feed

him which I

refused to do...still would

even knowing how badly he has

food sensitivities. I

would never force feed any of

my kids. Then she told me to

starve him lol.

There is a difference between

starving him and giving him

everything we ate

plus one thing that he liked.

No in between snaacking. Micah

also has reflux

which we only discovered after

he had pneumonia and was in

hospital 4 times.

Ped said no I said yes and

took him to gastro. Pretty bad

reflux..he came

off al asthma meds and went on

acid reflux meds which helped

him but not his

eating. The new thing we are

trying is having him kiss one

new food a day. Yes

you read that right...kiss. We

figure it is a slow way to

introduce new

textures to his lips in a

non-threatening way that will

not cause him to gag or

spit. He has to do this before

he eats what he likes. It is a

struggle but

he does it...we wil see how it

progresses. This is such a

huge issue for so

many kids with DS. He goes off

to school every day with

either spaghetti

(which the SLP told me not to

feed him cause that is one

food most don't

like..thank goodness I didn't

listen as it is his favorite

food), mac and cheese or

pasta pickups. That is it no

variation. Can ypou imagine

what they are

thinking lol! Oh well it's a

process.

Loree

******************************

******** Get a sneak peek of

the all-new AOL at

http://discover.

<http://discover.aol.com/memed

/aolcom30tour>

aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

[Non-text portions of this

message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

Sammy is 2 1/2 - at this point

my concern is totally warping

her mind against teeth

brushing. She just HATES that

part of bedtime. We even tried

making it part of the morning

ritual. Now we try it both

times and if we are lucky - we

get one good brushing between

the 2 attempts.

I keep at it - hoping that by

the time she is tall enough to

see in a mirror, she will be

happy to brush her own teeth.

Part of me thinks it is

sensory, part of me thinks it

has to do with her cutting

teeth.

~

Re: WAS

Hello from Oregon NOW Eating

issues

In a message dated 7/17/2007

12:50:15 PM Eastern Daylight

Time,

smterrillprodigy (DOT)

<mailto:smterrill%40prodigy.ne

t> net writes:

it was on our plate and

safe for her to try, she got a

sample. We did sensory

therapy on her hands to help

with the adversion to

picking up certain types of

foods. Part of our oral

motor included sensory therapy

in her mouth

We did that with Micah. When

he was 6 months old I would

put all the

different foods that we were

having and were safe for him

ie. mashed poitatoes,

custard, pudding, peas etc. so

that he would do all the

exploring he needed to

but it didn't work. Our first

SLP wanted us to force feed

him which I

refused to do...still would

even knowing how badly he has

food sensitivities. I

would never force feed any of

my kids. Then she told me to

starve him lol.

There is a difference between

starving him and giving him

everything we ate

plus one thing that he liked.

No in between snaacking. Micah

also has reflux

which we only discovered after

he had pneumonia and was in

hospital 4 times.

Ped said no I said yes and

took him to gastro. Pretty bad

reflux..he came

off al asthma meds and went on

acid reflux meds which helped

him but not his

eating. The new thing we are

trying is having him kiss one

new food a day. Yes

you read that right...kiss. We

figure it is a slow way to

introduce new

textures to his lips in a

non-threatening way that will

not cause him to gag or

spit. He has to do this before

he eats what he likes. It is a

struggle but

he does it...we wil see how it

progresses. This is such a

huge issue for so

many kids with DS. He goes off

to school every day with

either spaghetti

(which the SLP told me not to

feed him cause that is one

food most don't

like..thank goodness I didn't

listen as it is his favorite

food), mac and cheese or

pasta pickups. That is it no

variation. Can ypou imagine

what they are

thinking lol! Oh well it's a

process.

Loree

******************************

******** Get a sneak peek of

the all-new AOL at

http://discover.

<http://discover.aol.com/memed

/aolcom30tour>

aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

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Click reply to all for

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Just hit reply for messages to

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message.

[Guest guest]

hates having his hair cut- his first one when he was 1 went

well- t hen went to h*** in a handbasket ever since. His interchange

family who take him once a month, they went and all got their hair cuts,

so they go s cut, and the monkey sat there properly and had it

cut.*grumble**grumble**grumble* But he is very proud AFTER the fact,

and tells everyone he sees for about 3 weeks afterwards ''look haircut''

and roughs his hair up .....

Teeth- we havent had huge problems with teeth. I make them make noises

when they ( all the kids) brush their teeth. They have to say

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee with their teeth clenched and we quickly

brush them, then aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa or

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr with mouth wide open and agian we

brush real quick. hates the rrrrr one, but he lets me do it

quickly . We aldo get a baby toothpaste here that is low foam- do you

get that? Also we now use character toothbrush ( not electric tho- altho

BJ is FASCINATED by Trentes electric toothbrush and will use it for

hours if allowed) has Buzz, Natasha has Princess and NAthan has

tigger. They seem to like having cute toothbrushes.

used to eat only vegemite sandwhich ( yes I know Yanks hate it ,

but here is Oz most of us enjoy it ) but now will eat a range of

foods- but they need to be soft. He wont eat pizza crust/edge,fish

fingers,nuggets, some steak etc . sometimes wont eat toast crust.

loves cheesburgers,spagetti,pasta,yogurt mainly soft stuff as you can

see. He eats more variety now as he gets older and also because

eats like a hog Tho will eat fruit and also fries and

crisps/chips - he swallows m and m s and refuses to eat some chocolate

and lollies- go figure that out

Chat later!! and good luck!!

Aussie Leis- mum to 9 , Natasha 5 and 3.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy

enough people to make it worth the effort.

Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

M Terrill wrote:

>

> Loree,

>

> How old is Micach?

>

> You mention teeth brushing and

> hair cuts...we also have a

> terrible time. Sammy just

> HATES brushing her teeth. We

> stick with it each night and

> just do our best to make it a

> game...never works, she cries

> and then wants away and goes

> to pout. If I'm lucky - she

> will take the tooth brush and

> try to brush her own teeth,

> then lets us finish up and do

> the real brushing. I figure

> little progress is still

> progress, so we try and are

> always looking for new

> tactics.

>

> ~

>

>

[Guest guest]

My doesn't like getting his hair cut either although he is better now

than he was and we let him play with the clippers and try and do his own which

does seem to help but even then after a while he doesn't want to do it anymore

and we have to fight to finish so he doesn't look like he got into a fit with a

lawnmower.

As far as brushing his teeth he thinks its the greatest thing on earth and both

my little ones will brush all day if we let them

He doesn't really have any aversions to food and will put just about anything in

his mouth (not always a good thing) but he has a texture thing as far as

touching he has to feel everything he sees especially if it looks like it feels

different

He is a particular child as far as other things go he would only drink a certain

type of formula out of a certain type of bottle and then when we changed over to

sippy cups we had to use a soft spouted one until he figured it out now he'll

drink from any kind. He would only use one kind of binky too. but luckily for

us he wasn't too bad.

- Mom to 4- Robbie (9.5), Zoë (9), ♥ ♥ (4.5), (2.5).

☻☻♥♥☺☺

Massachusetts

Re: WAS Hello from Oregon NOW Eating issues

hates having his hair cut- his first one when he was 1 went

well- t hen went to h*** in a handbasket ever since. His interchange

family who take him once a month, they went and all got their hair cuts,

so they go s cut, and the monkey sat there properly and had it

cut.*grumble**grumble**grumble* But he is very proud AFTER the fact,

and tells everyone he sees for about 3 weeks afterwards ''look haircut''

and roughs his hair up .....

Teeth- we havent had huge problems with teeth. I make them make noises

when they ( all the kids) brush their teeth. They have to say

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee with their teeth clenched and we quickly

brush them, then aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa or

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr with mouth wide open and agian we

brush real quick. hates the rrrrr one, but he lets me do it

quickly . We aldo get a baby toothpaste here that is low foam- do you

get that? Also we now use character toothbrush ( not electric tho- altho

BJ is FASCINATED by Trentes electric toothbrush and will use it for

hours if allowed) has Buzz, Natasha has Princess and NAthan has

tigger. They seem to like having cute toothbrushes.

used to eat only vegemite sandwhich ( yes I know Yanks hate it ,

but here is Oz most of us enjoy it ) but now will eat a range of

foods- but they need to be soft. He wont eat pizza crust/edge,fish

fingers,nuggets, some steak etc . sometimes wont eat toast crust.

loves cheesburgers,spagetti,pasta,yogurt mainly soft stuff as you can

see. He eats more variety now as he gets older and also because

eats like a hog Tho will eat fruit and also fries and

crisps/chips - he swallows m and m s and refuses to eat some chocolate

and lollies- go figure that out

Chat later!! and good luck!!

Aussie Leis- mum to 9 , Natasha 5 and 3.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy

enough people to make it worth the effort.

Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

M Terrill wrote:

>

> Loree,

>

> How old is Micach?

>

> You mention teeth brushing and

> hair cuts...we also have a

> terrible time. Sammy just

> HATES brushing her teeth. We

> stick with it each night and

> just do our best to make it a

> game...never works, she cries

> and then wants away and goes

> to pout. If I'm lucky - she

> will take the tooth brush and

> try to brush her own teeth,

> then lets us finish up and do

> the real brushing. I figure

> little progress is still

> progress, so we try and are

> always looking for new

> tactics.

>

> ~

>

>