Overjoyed!!!

A miracle happened this evening. Want to be succinct, shout it out. Yet,  feel the need to give background so you can understand how amazing I feel right now.

I have been wrestling with a conundrum; when should we tube wean Aero? It is a tough call and here's all the reasons why and how I have gotten so twisted in trying to figure it all out.

-Aero is an eater, no doubt. When the stars align, the boy can chow down. Usually, it is in social situations. Like when we have dinner at Nate & Audra's home, both visits have yielded break through milestones in oral consumption (coincidence that Nate is a great chef? ).

-Aero has not shown me to be a drinker. This is the sticky point. He needs to be comfortable with drinking because his breast milk intake by g.i. tube is 120-160 ml. At most, he has only taken in about 10-15 ml by mouth and it is so random. I offer him water quite often at meals and throughout the day. He has gotten stronger but not the level he needs to be to take in the nutrition that he needs. Purees just don't pack the same dense nutrition of breast milk. And, boy can not live by cheese puffs alone.

-I strongly want him to take breast milk his 1st year of life.  I totally have the power to affect his health in positive because children with Down syndrome need really balanced diets to thrive. Has to do with the way their bodies metabolize, i.e. they degenerate cells much quicker. Therefore, they need really healthy diets chock full of whole foods to thrive and reach fullest potential . So, I have reasoned, if I have to keep up with the tube feeding and breast milk pumping past his 1st year, so be it. Maybe we should wait and wean after his 1st birthday? That makes the most sense, right? If he can't drink the bulk of his nutrition right now than I need to wait until this critical 1st year is behind us.

-He has become very familiar with the function of the g.i. tube. Just the other day, he put his hand on his tube and started pulling. I thought he was just finding a new toy until he leaned forward and bit my boob. Oh, you are hungry! During feeding, he has recently started grabbing for the syringe full of milk, spilling it and having momma bite back cuss words. I have been trying to understand that one...does he want to drink the contents? I grab a small cup and offer him some milk, no way...that is not the proper decoding.

Ok, so what happened this evening that gives me so much hope and joy?  It was the last feeding of the day, 7 pm. This is the feeding that he can usually take in the most volume, at least 150 ml. I pushed it a bit and gave him 155 ml based on how comfortable he looked and I had not heard any grunts (I interpret as 'enough'). I unhooked the y port from this g.i. tube and he grunted. Hmm, that was curious. Maybe he is not feeling full? No, that has never happened. I proceed to gather up the  feeding supplies, take them to the sink and wash them. This is what I usually do to give him some time for digesting. He just hangs out and watches Elmo for a few minutes. When I checked on him he was still chowing on cheese puffs. Interesting and odd. His appetite has been nil lately. Maybe he is not feeling full? I grabbed a bottle, filled it 35 ml of breast milk, popped on a nipple and held it gently to his lips. He readily took it, compressed and sucked down 15 ml with no problem. He seemed to time it right, swallow when he needed to and start again. That is a miracle, miracle, miracle. The boy can drink.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!