Can speech therapy help my toddler learn to eat?

My 3 year old talks like a champion! He knows all his letters, strings together very complex sentences, can count to almost 50 and knows his 2 times tables.  So why, you may ask, are we going to speech therapy?

Because he doesn't eat :(

Now I know from experience that many mums complain their child "doesn't eat". But when I say Jasper doesn't eat, I actually mean it.  He turned 3 back in March and this is the meager list of foods he will eat:
- strawberries
- dry crackers (premiums, watercrackers)
- sliced cheese (only Mainland brand for some reason)
- rice cakes

And that is it! He's never eaten a piece of meat, weaned himself off milk/formula/other dairy at about 10mths and chokes on anything else he tries to chew or swallow (even lollies).  I've tried all manner of "interesting" things to get him eating (it's a heck of a list!). For instance, here's one of his lunch boxes...

Jasper's lunch box for speech therapy -
I try to mix in the things he will eat with some "testing" foods

Funnily enough though, as a mum, I always knew something wasn't right. As a baby he couldn't breastfeed (I was told it was a yield issue, me not producing enough, although I could express 250mls a go).  On the bottle he'd take 1ml per minute, so 45mins to feed 45mls to him....I spent most of my day feeding him as you can imagine.

At 5mths our pediatrician suggested starting solids stating "kids like him often turn around on solids". So solids began.  It took 3 months before he could swallow a spoonful of pureed food without choking, and even then half of it would still be stuck to the roof of his mouth.

So that is where we are today....for some reason, that no specialist person can detail for me, Jasper can't, or doesn't want to, eat.  Every specialist we've ever seen has a theory:
1. our allergist believes it allergy related
2. our nutritionist says it's oral hypersensitivity
3. the head nurse at the hospital says it's purely behavioral
4. the dentist said it's teeth misaligned
5. our GP said we're abusing him through starvation (thus, we've changed doctors)
6. our pediatrician said I was a hypochondriac

But at least the speech therapist is being more helpful and positive. Mary says it's a strange & complex case, and she's pulling together various modalities to get to the bottom of it.  Plus she doesn't think we're plain crazy!

So I'll keep you in the loop as we progress and here's hoping we finally get some answers - and some food into my little man :(

Cass x

The Birthday Olympics

This time, 6 years ago, I was VERY pregnant and eagerly awaiting our first addition! Actually, if I'm being honest, I was terrified of going into labour...that's why I did my first ante-natal class when I was only 4 months pregnant..lol!  And at that class I met someone who has become one of my closest friends, Tash.

We got chatting at the class and discovered our bubs were due only days apart, which lead to catch-ups and coffee mornings whist waiting for the bubs to arrive.  It was nice to have a friend in exactly the same situation as me.  Funnily enough, we didn't realize how similar we would become...

June 17th 2006, we BOTH had our bubs! 

It started June 16th......I sent Tash a text saying "I'm in labour!!!" and got a response of "yay for you, nothing happening here :( ".  A few hours later I got another text saying "Me too!".  And a few hours after that, whilst I was STILL going, I got another text which read "All done!".  It was a few hours after that message (about 12hrs to be exact...) that I was finally able to send Tash my very own "All Done!!!" message.  So both our baby bundles now celebrate their birthday on the same day, June 17th.

Here I am with Alex the day he was born - gee, I really look like I've had 24hrs of labour too!

And so the Birthday Olympics where born.  We coined the phrase to sum up the crazy, obsessive, enjoyably creative process we both undertake in an effort to throw great parties for our kids.  It's fun having someone to do this process with every year who loves it as much as me!

Alex's first birthday cake - luckily my skills have improved since then

 This year Tash threw a fantastic Disco inspired party for her daughter, which was held last weekend.  I am organising my son's Circus Carnival party to be held this Saturday.  I'm still in the throws of fondant clowns, side show alley games & cake baking! I'll be posting throughout the week showing you all the party prep, and fun things like cake pop making and how to make fondant clowns.  Here's the inspiration for this years party...

I've designed a two tiered version of this cake under special direction to "add more clowns mummy".  So let's see how we go....

Till next time, have a great day x
Cass

Drinks anyone???

Ah, the funny things the kidlets get up to in the midnight hours! I swear my two are vampires, all wrapped up in cuteness and blue-eyes.  And let me tell you something, if you want a baby who's a GOOD sleeper...don't name them after a vampire in Twilight ;)  (yep, my youngest is Jasper...namesake taken from movie in question).

But back to the drinks...

It's 9.30pm when I hear little feet stalking up the hallway just now.  I wander out of my study to find Mr 6 standing in the hallway, bleary eyed and yawning.  I ask, "what's up honey", to which he replies, "well, I just wanna know, are you making drinks?".

Huh???
As my mind drifts to thoughts of Bailey's and a wee midnight-cap, Mr 6 details how he'd like a drink of water "as soon as you can mummy", in his favourite blue drink bottle, "you know, the one with the press button?".  He then turn tails and wanders back to his room & into bed!

Photo Credit

The joys of motherhood and the 24-7 a-la-carte kitchen my friends!

Wishing you all a good night x
Cass

Time for a home detox...

Yes, it’s time for a home detox!

Last week we chatted on the facebook page about my current desire to do a home detox.  You see, as much as I try to “do the right things” it’s gotten easier over time to cheat on things that didn’t seem to matter too much, like buying toothpaste from the supermarket instead of ordering the natural one; using chemical cleaners around the home on occasions (after helping a friend clean her house to move, I accidentally “adopted” some of the chemical cleaners); or grabbing the occasional loaf of “plastic bread” from the supermarket.

Yes, on their own these things are little I guess, but they do add up…let me tell you the story…
A little under 2 years ago we moved into a brand new house. We built it, selecting all the bits & bobs, decorating it how we wanted. But our budget didn’t extend to some of the low-allergen & eco friendly options we would have liked (like low allergen paints, carpets, solid timber cabinets etc).   So , we compromised & got what we could afford, now two years on we’re wondering why we did that.  Our little family now has a raft of health issues, that seem to be getting worse.  That’s why I think it’s time for a home detox.

Let me tell you a little of what’s going on…
1. My kids have developed asthma.  My youngest has an immune deficiency, so this is a BIG concern

2. Both my kids are more reactive these days, every little thing sets off their allergies, plus their allergies are increasing

3. Sleeping is a nightmare! Both my kids are unsettled at night (they’re 3 and 6)and get up multiple times each a night, due everything from night terrors & breathing issues, to overactive hypnagogic reflex

4. And although I’m exhausted, I have insomnia and can’t sleep

5. My youngest son isn’t growing. He’s the size and weight of an 18mth old…and he’s 3yrs….

6. Personally, I feel sick and tired all the time, literally. I have constant headaches, migraines, dizzy spells, vertigo and all sorts of weird and wonderful things going on.  An MRI, catscan & blood tests failed to find reasons for it.

7. My family’s immunity seems to have completely deteriorated.  My youngest get’s sick every couple of weeks, each time now it’s very croupy, and the rest of us get it too.  We just get over one thing, when another hits us.

Generally, we just don’t feel “right”, and feel like we are never getting past the sickness.  I think, among other things, we are dealing with MCS (mulitiple chemical sensitivity disorder), VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and off-gassing issues (house paints, carpets, furniture etc) which is why I’m setting a course for a total home detox!

So I’ll be clearing out, cleaning up and fixing up everything I can to get my family’s health back in shape! Moving out isn’t an option for us, as I”m sure it’s not for many of you, so follow me as I take you step by step through things we can all do to make our homes healthier places for our families.
So, who’s with me????  Why not visit our facebook page to introduce yourself too, we’d love to get to know you all better!


I’d love to share this little journey with you! Please share this post so we can get as many involved as possible   Add a little comment below & tell me about your situation and why you’re joining the Home Detox Journey!  The first post in our detox journey will be Mon June 4th so be sure to keep a look out. I’ll post a link on the fb page too…


Cass x