This is Max when he was eight months old, about the time he started doing baby food. As you can see, more of it typically ended up on his bib than in his mouth. From the first time he ate, he’d thrust food out of his mouth with his tongue. It was an issue that took me by surprise: I never imagined he’d have trouble eating. Out of all his challenges, that was the one that got to me the most. It seemed like such a basic thing to be able to do, although I learned to understand how the cerebral palsy affected his oral-motor skills.
My husband, Dave, wasn’t the least bit bothered by the food issues. Max needed to eat, period. And so, oftentimes Dave ended up feeding him. I did everything else—got him dressed, changed his diaper, bathed him. But Dave was the feeder back then. Max is six, and Dave still does a lot of it, though Max is getting better about feeding himself. More food is staying inside his mouth, too—slowly but surely, he’s progressing.
Do you and your husband divvy up childcare, too?
Ellen blogs daily over at To The Max.
Absolutely. My daughter also has some feeding issues, and my inclination is to just give up…but my husband has more tolerance and patience when it comes to the gagging and vomiting that sometimes happens. So he is the designated feeder in our house.
I do the majority of it especially the medical stuff but I make sure that my husband feels comfortable doing it on his own as well so that I can get out of the house now and then. Now that Evan is older and not as dependent of things like a tube for eating, it is not as big of a deal but when he was a baby it was a huge deal.
Yes we divvy, although……maybe not quite as much as I would like.
Best wishes
Such a cute smile.